Citation Nr: 25009294
Decision Date: 07/16/25	Archive Date: 07/16/25

DOCKET NO. 16-11 244A
DATE: July 16, 2025

REMANDED

The issue of entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual employability (TDIU) prior to May 3, 2017 is remanded.

REFERRAL

In March 2017, within one year of the issuance of a July 2016 rating decision denying service connection for heart disease, the Veteran submitted treatment records from his cardiologist which have not been addressed by the agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ). The Board referred a claim for service connection for heart disease to the AOJ in a January 2018 decision, but that claim has not been adjudicated by the AOJ. It is again referred to the AOJ for appropriate action.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty from October 1961 to January 1983.

This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal of an April 2012 rating decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) AOJ.

The Board issued a decision as to this matter in November 2023, denying entitlement to a TDIU prior to May 3, 2017. The Veteran subsequently appealed the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court). In February 2025, the Court granted the parties' Joint Motion for Remand ("Joint Motion"), vacating the Board's denial and remanding the claim to the Board for action consistent with the terms of the Joint Motion.

The issue of entitlement to a TDIU prior to May 3, 2017 is remanded.

The Appellant contends that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities rendered him unable to obtain or maintain substantially gainful employment prior to May 3, 2017.

In an August 2013 VA examination, the examiner determined that the Veteran's metabolic equivalent (METs) testing was consistent with activities such as eating, dressing, taking a shower, and slow walking for one to two blocks in relation to the Veteran's diagnosed heart disease. However, the Veteran's claim for service connection for heart disease remains pending at the AOJ. Here, a service-connected disability is a prerequisite to an award of TDIU, and a nonservice-connected disability cannot serve as a basis for such. See 38 C.F.R. § 4.16. 

Thus, the issue of entitlement to a TDIU is inextricably intertwined with the claim for service connection for heart disease that is currently pending before the AOJ and has again been referred as discussed above. See Harris v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 180, 183 (1991). Therefore, adjudication of the claim of entitlement to a TDIU is deferred pending adjudication of that claim.

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The matter is REMANDED for the following action:

Readjudicate the issue of entitlement to a TDIU after issuing a decision on the referred issue of service connection for heart disease.

 

 

L. STEPANICK

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	E. Barbato

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.