Citation Nr: 21025203 Decision Date: 04/27/21 Archive Date: 04/27/21 DOCKET NO. 16-37 114 DATE: April 27, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to a total disability rating due to individual unemployability (TDIU) is denied. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran has not provided requested evidence of unemployability necessary to adjudicate her claim for TDIU. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for TDIU are not met. 38 U.S.C. § 1155; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.340, 4.16. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from August 2011 to February 2016. She testified before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge at an August 2019 travel Board hearing. The transcript is of record. The Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) remanded this claim in January 2021 for further development. It has returned for adjudication. 1. Entitlement to a TDIU TDIU will be granted when the evidence shows that a veteran is precluded, by reason of service-connected disability, from obtaining and maintaining any form of gainful employment consistent with his education and occupational experience. 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.340, 3.341, 4.16. The Board previously remanded this appeal with instructions to the agency of original jurisdiction to seek an employment and educational history from the Veteran. The AOJ sent a letter to the Veteran in January 2021 requesting that the Veteran fill out a form identifying her previous work experience. No response was received. “It is the veteran’s ‘general evidentiary burden’ to establish all elements of his claim.” Fagan v. Shinseki, 573 F.3d 1282, 1287 (Fed. Cir. 2009). VA “is required to reject a disability claim if the claimant fails to put forth sufficient evidence showing that he suffered an injury or incurred a disease during service.” Holton v. Shinseki, 557 F.3d 1362, 1370 (Fed. Cir. 2009). Although VA has a duty to assist, this duty is not “a one-way street.” Wood v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 190, 191 (1991). The Veteran has information about her employment efforts and her employment history that she can provide without significant burden. This information is necessary for proper consideration of TDIU as employability is a fundamental aspect of the equation. As VA does not generally have the Veteran’s employment history, she cannot “passively wait for [help] in those circumstances where he may or should have information that is essential in obtaining the putative evidence.” Id. The Veteran has not provided information necessary to trigger VA’s duty to assist and has otherwise not provided sufficient information to establish entitlement to TDIU. The Board acknowledges that the Veteran testified that she been unable to work due to her service-connected disabilities. This is not sufficient information for TDIU. “The question is whether the veteran is capable of performing the physical and mental acts required by employment, not whether the veteran can find employment.” Van Hoose v. Brown, 4 Vet. App. 361, 363 (1993). The details of her employment history are necessary to determine if the Veteran could perform a different type of work or any type of work. The Board also acknowledges that the Veteran sought vocational rehabilitation benefits in August 2020. This application was denied, however, for failure to attend an interview. This does not provide sufficient information about the Veteran’s employment capabilities. As the Veteran has not provided sufficient information for VA to further assist her or to determine that she is unemployable, TDIU must be denied. MICHAEL A. HERMAN Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board Paul Saindon, Counsel The Board’s decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.