Citation Nr: 21026428 Decision Date: 05/03/21 Archive Date: 05/03/21 DOCKET NO. 07-27 913 DATE: May 3, 2021 REMANDED A total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities (TDIU) prior to December 27, 2018 is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from October 1978 to October 1983 in the U.S. Army. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) from a September 2006 rating decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in North Little Rock, Arkansas. This case was most recently before the Board in September 2020, at which time the issue on appeal was remanded for further development. A remand by the Board confers on the Veteran, as a matter of law, the right to compliance with the remand order. Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268, 271 (1998). While the Board sincerely regrets further delay in this matter, after a review of the record, the Board finds that there has not been substantial compliance. Specifically, the September 2020 Board remand instructed that an addendum medical opinion be obtained to determine the aggregate effect of the Veteran's service-connected disabilities on his ability to secure and follow substantially gainful employment throughout the appeal period. However, the Board finds that the January 2021 VA opinion is inadequate because the physician only discussed the Veteran's service-connected psychiatric disability. Accordingly, remand is necessary to obtain another addendum opinion. Additionally, the record indicates that the Veteran did not receive the January 2021 supplemental statement of the case (SSOC) as it was returned as undeliverable. See February 2021 Returned Mail. Although the record shows that the Veteran's address was subsequently corrected; the claims file does not reflect that the SSOC was sent to the current address. In order to afford the Veteran all due process, the RO should resend a copy of the January 2021 SSOC and any other returned mail. The matter is REMANDED for the following action: 1. Send a copy of the January 2021 SSOC, and any other returned mail, to the Veteran at his verified mailing address. 2. Obtain an addendum opinion from an appropriate medical professional addressing the aggregate effect of the Veteran's service-connected disabilities on his occupational functioning from July 2006 to December 2018. The clinician should be given access to the entire claims file, including a copy of this remand. If the clinician determines that examination/interview is needed to address the below inquiries, such should be scheduled. Based on a review of the claims file, including lay and medical evidence, the clinician should fully describe any occupational impairment, physical and mental, resulting from the Veteran's service-connected disabilities for the period from July 2006 to December 2018. All service-connected disabilities must be addressed. The clinician is advised that the Veteran has been service connected for adjustment disorder with depressed mood, pruritus and asteatotic eczema, bilateral knee disabilities, and erectile dysfunction. A complete rationale must be provided for all opinions offered. JOHN Z. JONES Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board T. Kernen, 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.