Citation Nr: 25004529 Decision Date: 04/02/25 Archive Date: 04/02/25 DOCKET NO. 15-04 789 DATE: April 2, 2025 REMANDED Entitlement to a total disability evaluation based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities (TDIU) prior to November 16, 2021, is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from October 1968 to September 1970. His awards and decorations include the Combat Action Ribbon and the Purple Heart. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a February 2015 rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The Veteran testified at a hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge in July 2018. A transcript has been associated with the claims file. The Board mostly remanded the case for further development in September 2023. That development was completed, and the case has since been returned to the Board for appellate review. Following the most recent remand, the Veteran and his representative requested another hearing in this appeal. See April 2024 VA Form 9. However, in a January 2025 written statement, they cancelled a hearing that was scheduled in February 2025. Therefore, the Board finds that there is no outstanding hearing request. Upon review, the Board finds that additional development is needed prior to adjudication of the issue remaining on appeal under this docket. The Board notes that there was a separate appeal involving this issue that was docketed under the modernized review system created by the Appeals Modernization Act (AMA). In a March 2025 remand, the Board found that the issue of entitlement to a TDIU prior to November 16, 2021, was part and parcel of a claim for an increased evaluation for the Veteran's service-connected posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that was adjudicated in an April 2019 AMA rating decision. However, as previously noted, the issue of entitlement to TDIU prior to November 16, 2021, is also on appeal stemming from a February 2015 rating decision under the Legacy system. Thus, although the appeal periods are overlapping, the issue is currently on appeal under two different review systems absent a withdrawal. Notably, in March 2025, the Board remanded the TDIU issue, finding that it was inextricably intertwined with other issues being remanded at that time. The Board finds that the AOJ's development and adjudication of those other remanded claims may impact this appeal stream. Therefore, the Board finds that this appeal stream must also be remanded. Harris v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 180 (1991). Moreover, the Board notes that additional evidence has been associated with the claims file since the April 2024 supplement statement of the case (SSOC), and there is no automatic waiver for evidence obtained by VA. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: After the agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ) has completed the development directed in the March 2025 remand and adjudicated those claims, the AOJ should readjudicate the issue of entitlement to TDIU prior to November 16, 2021, that is on appeal under the Legacy system. In so doing, the AOJ should consider all of the evidence obtained or received since the April 2024 SSOC. If the benefit sought is not granted, the Veteran and his representative should be furnished a supplemental statement of the case (SSOC) and be afforded a reasonable opportunity to respond before the record is returned to the Board for further review. J.W. ZISSIMOS Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Deverter, Rebecca M. 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.