Citation Nr: 22010905 Decision Date: 02/24/22 Archive Date: 02/24/22 DOCKET NO. 17-63 767 DATE: February 24, 2022 ORDER Entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities (TDIU) from May 1, 2012 to April 8, 2013 is granted. FINDING OF FACT From May 1, 2012 to April 8, 2013, the record reasonably shows that the combination of the Veteran's service-connected disabilities precluded him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for TDIU from May 1, 2012 to April 8, 2013 have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1155, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.340, 3.341, 3.400, 4.16. . REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from October 1969 to November 1995. The Board remanded the issue of entitlement to a TDIU for additional development in June 2019. Entitlement to a TDIU prior to April 8, 2013. The Veteran asserts that his service-connected disabilities have rendered him unemployable. The Veteran reports that he has been unemployable since April 30, 2012. The Board notes that the Veteran is in receipt of 100 percent disability rating from April 8, 2013 and in receipt of special monthly compensation (SMC), effective December 29, 2020, the date entitlement arose. Additionally, the evidence of record shows the Veteran was self-employed as a contractor/subcontractor 2013 through 2016. See Income Statements 2013 through 2016. Therefore, the Board will address the period from May 1, 2012 to April 8, 2013. It is the established policy of VA that all Veterans who are unable to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation by reason of service-connected disabilities shall be rated totally disabled. 38 C.F.R. § 4.16. A finding of total disability is appropriate "when there is present any impairment of mind or body which is sufficient to render it impossible for the average person to follow a substantially gainful occupation." 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.340 (a)(1), 4.15. A TDIU may be assigned where the schedular rating is less than total and it is found that the disabled person is unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation as a result of either (1) a single service-connected disability ratable at 60 percent or more, or (2) two or more disabilities, provided at least one disability is ratable at 40 percent or more, and there is a sufficient additional service-connected disability to bring the combined rating to 70 percent or more. 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.340, 3.341, 4.16 (a). For the purposes of determining rating level, disabilities resulting from a common etiology or affecting a single body system are considered a single disability. 38 C.F.R. § 4.16 (a). The central inquiry is, "whether the veteran's service-connected disabilities alone are of sufficient severity to produce unemployability." Hatlestad v. Brown, 5 Vet. App. 524, 529 (1993). Consideration may be given to the Veteran's education, special training, and previous work experience, but not to his age or to the impairment caused by nonservice-connected disabilities. See 38C.F.R. §§3.341, 4.16, 4.19; Van Hoose v. Brown, 4 Vet. App. 361, 363 (1993). The determination of unemployability is to be made by a VA adjudicator and is not a medical question. Geib v. Shinseki, 733 F.3d 1350, 1354 (Fed. Cir. 2013). The Veteran listed April 30, 2012 as the last time he worked full-time. The January 2012 VA examiner noted the Veteran's service-connected Parkinson's disease with depressive disorder limited his ability to work on a keyboard and moderately impacted his fine motor skills. In April 2013, the examiner noted that the Veteran's Parkinson's symptoms, to include muscular stiffness and pain, limits his ability to rest. The Veteran's service-connected disabilities satisfy the schedular criteria since August 31, 2010. The Veteran reported that starting in 2004, his primary care physician treated his symptoms but was not able to come up with a diagnosis. He stated that the failure to recognize his service-connected Parkinson's diagnosis and associated issues resulted in him having to retire in April 2012. See January 2019 Correspondence. As to educational and employment history, the Veteran completed 4 years of college and has a master's degree in finance. The Veteran reported that in 2008 he began experiencing a significant amount of sickness which impacted his job performance and ability to work 8 hours a day. He reported coming to work tired due to service-connected sleep apnea symptoms. He reported serious physical aches and pains and developing severe pain in his left upper torso to the neck, shoulder and side that was related to his service-connected Parkinson's disease. He also reported developing severe anxiety. After resolving any doubt in the Veteran's favor, the Board finds the impact of the Veteran's service-connected disabilities rendered him incapable of obtaining or maintaining substantially gainful employment consistent with his education and occupational history from May 1, 2012 to April 8, 2013. Hence, entitlement to TDIU is warranted effective from May 1, 2012 to April 8, 2013. See Geib v. Shinseki, 733 F.3d 1350 (Fed. Cir. 2013). David Gratz Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Jordan, Jacquelynn 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.