Citation Nr: 21025879 Decision Date: 04/29/21 Archive Date: 04/29/21 DOCKET NO. 18-25 683 DATE: April 29, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to a total disability rating based upon individual unemployability (TDIU) prior to May 1, 2017 is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Army from October 1970 to April 1972. This appeal comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) from a June 2018 rating decision of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The Veteran’s claim for TDIU has previously been before the Board. In a November 2020 decision, the Board remanded the TDIU claim as inextricably intertwined with the Veteran’s claims for service connection for chronic headaches (granted in the November 2020 Board decision) and for an acquired psychiatric disorder. The order did not provide any further instructions regarding the TDIU claim, and the Board thus finds its instructions were substantially complied with. Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268 (1998). A March 2021 rating decision granted service connection for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) so that issue is not longer before the Board. It granted a 50 percent rating for PTSD, effective May 1, 2017 and awarded TDIU from that same date. Entitlement to TDIU prior to May 1, 2017 is remanded. The Veteran seeks entitlement to TDIU prior to May 1, 2017, arguing his service-connected hearing loss, tinnitus, psychiatric, and migraine headache conditions rendered him unemployable, and that he last worked in 2012. See April 2018 VA Form 21-8940, Application for Increased Compensation based on Unemployability. A preliminary review of the Veteran’s claim file indicates he currently receives Social Security disability benefits for his headache and hearing disabilities. See e.g., March 2019 VA Medical Treatment Record. Social Security Administration (SSA) medical records associated with the claim file in April 2018 appear to be incomplete, as they only contain records of a 2008 denial for pelvis and ankle conditions. On remand, updated SSA records are to be obtained as they may contain relevant information concerning the Veteran’s employment status and the impairment from his service-connected disabilities. Additionally, the Veteran’s complete employment history is unclear from the record. On his TDIU application, the Veteran indicated he has been too disabled to work since May 25, 2012. However, the Veteran did not complete section 17 of the application, which directed him to indicate his history of employment for the last five years that he worked. The Veteran provided a brief statement in an attachment that he worked as an electrician from 1980 to 1984. See April 2018 VA Form 21-8940, Application for Increased Compensation based on Unemployability. On remand, the RO should attempt to obtain the Veteran’s employment history. This matter is REMANDED for the following actions: 1. Obtain the Veteran’s federal records from the Social Security Administration, to include a copy of any determination concerning the Veteran’s entitlement to SSA disability benefits and the applications and medical evidence upon which such determination was based. Document all requests for information as well as all responses in the claim file. 2. Ask the Veteran to complete a VA Form 21-8940 including block 17, to indicate his history of employment for the last 5 years that he worked. Indicate is import to the TDIU matter on appeal to supply information concerning his work history for a full and fair adjudication. Paul Sorisio Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board J. Hermsdorfer, Associate 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.