Citation Nr: 22036660 Decision Date: 06/24/22 Archive Date: 06/24/22 DOCKET NO. 17-46 857 DATE: June 24, 2022 REMANDED Entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) due to service-connected disabilities is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from October 1976 to August 1977 and from March 1978 to March 1982. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from an August 2013 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The Veteran testified at a hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge (VLJ) in July 2021. A transcript is of record. This matter was remanded by the Board in February 2022 for further development. The issues of entitlement to service connection for right carpal tunnel syndrome and service connection for a neurological disorder of the upper extremities were previously on appeal before the Board. Subsequently, in an April 2022 rating decision, the RO granted service connection in the field for right carpal tunnel syndrome/right upper extremity radiculopathy and for left upper extremity radiculopathy. The establishment of service connection for right carpal tunnel syndrome/right upper extremity radiculopathy and for left upper extremity radiculopathy represents a full grant of the benefit sought on appeal; therefore, those issues is are longer before the Board. See Grantham v. Brown, 114 F.3d 1156 (Fed. Cir. 1997). Entitlement to a TDIU is remanded. The Veteran asserts that his service-connected disabilities impact his ability to obtain and maintain substantially gainful employment. The Board finds that a VA medical opinion is warranted to address the impact of the Veteran's service-connected disabilities on his occupational functioning. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Obtain the Veteran's updated VA treatment records. 2. Obtain the Veteran's complete SSA records. 3. Schedule the Veteran for an appropriate VA examination (or telehealth interview, review of the record, etc. if an in-person examination is not feasible) to evaluate the issue of entitlement to a TDIU. The examiner should elicit from the Veteran his complete educational, vocational, and employment history and should note his complaints regarding the impact of his service-connected disabilities on his employment. After a full examination and review of the claims file, the examiner should identify all limitations imposed on the Veteran as a consequence of his service-connected disabilities. The examiner is asked to comment on and describe the functional impairment caused solely by the service-connected disabilities as it pertains to the Veteran's ability to function in an occupational environment. The opinion need not state whether the Veteran's disabilities prevented him from obtaining or maintaining substantially gainful employment, or whether the Veteran was capable of sedentary employment. Rather, the examiner should discuss how and to what extent the Veteran's service-connected disabilities affected his ability to perform occupational tasks in his particular field of employment. The examiner must provide a comprehensive report including complete rationales for all opinions and conclusions reached, citing the objective medical findings leading to the conclusions. If any opinion cannot be rendered without resorting to speculation, the examiner must state whether the need to speculate is caused by a deficiency in the state of general medical knowledge, i.e., no one could respond given medical science and the known facts, or by a deficiency in the record or the examiner, i.e., additional facts are required, or the examiner does not have the needed knowledge or training. P.M. DILORENZO Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board T. Mohammad 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.