Citation Nr: 23058751 Decision Date: 10/31/23 Archive Date: 10/31/23 DOCKET NO. 19-27 297 DATE: October 31, 2023 REMANDED The issue of entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disability (TDIU) is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from January 1975 to January 1980. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a June 2018 rating decision of a Department of a Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO), which granted entitlement to service connection for PTSD and assigned a 30 percent rating. The Veteran timely perfected an appeal of the initial rating assigned. See November 2018 Notice of Disagreement; July 2019 Statement of the Case; September 2019 VA Form 9. In a June 2023 decision granting a 50 percent rating for PTSD, the Board expanded the appeal to include a derivative claim for a TDIU pursuant to Rice v. Shinseki, 22 Vet. App. 447 (2009). The Board remanded the TDIU issue for further development. After a thorough review of the Veteran's claims file, the Board has determined that additional evidentiary development is necessary prior to the adjudication of the issue on appeal. As an initial matter, remand is required to obtain potentially outstanding, relevant Social Security Administration (SSA) records. In this regard, an April 2020 SSA Profile and Benefit Data report shows that the Veteran had a denied SSA claim. When VA has actual notice of the existence of relevant SSA records, the duty to assist includes requesting those records from the SSA. See Golz v. Shinseki, 590 F.3d 1317, 1323 (Fed. Cir. 2010) (finding that VA must seek to obtain relevant records under 38 U.S.C. § 5103A when "there exists a reasonable possibility that the records could help the veteran substantiate his claim for benefits"); see also Murincsak v. Derwinski, 2 Vet. App. 363, 370 (1992) (finding VA's duty to assist specifically includes requesting information from other Federal departments). On remand, any relevant SSA records should be obtained. In the June 2023 remand, the Board noted that the evidence of record reasonably raised a claim for a TDIU pursuant to Rice v. Shinseki, 22 Vet. App. 447, 453-54 (2009). Accordingly, the Board directed the AOJ to request that the Veteran complete and return a VA Form 21-8940. Pursuant to the Board's June 2023 remand instructions, in July 2023, VA furnished the Veteran with a notice letter and requested that he complete VA Form 21-8940, Veteran's Application for Increased Compensation Based on Unemployability. The Veteran did not provide the requested information. In light of the fact that this matter is being remanded, on remand, the Veteran should be given another opportunity to provide employment information, including exact dates of all employment. The Board notes that while VA has a statutory duty to assist in developing evidence pertinent to a claim, the Veteran also has a duty to assist and cooperate with VA in developing evidence, and the duty to assist is not a one-way street. See Wood v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 190 (1991). The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Obtain and associate with the Veteran's claims file all outstanding VA treatment records documenting treatment for the issues on appeal. The Veteran should also be given the opportunity to identify and/or submit any additional private treatment records pertinent to his claim. 2. Request from SSA any records relevant to the issue on appeal. All attempts to fulfill this development should be documented in the claims file. If the search for these records is negative, that should be documented in the claims file, and the Veteran must be informed of this in writing in accordance with 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(e). 3. Send the Veteran a VA Form 21-8940 and request that he complete it with exact dates for all periods of employment. He should also be advised that he may submit other evidence, such as statements from previous employers or his Social Security earnings record, in support of his claim. (Continued on the next page) ? 4. After accomplishing any additional development deemed appropriate, readjudicate the Veteran's claim, to include, if necessary, consideration of whether referral for consideration of a TDIU on an extraschedular basis is warranted. If the benefits sought in connection with the claim remain denied, the Veteran and his representative should be provided with an appropriate Supplemental Statement of the Case (SSOC) and given the opportunity to respond. Thereafter, the claims folder should be returned to the Board for further appellate review, if otherwise in order. B. MULLINS Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board R. Kipper, 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.