Case A26040476

Summary

The Veteran, an Army Veteran who served from May 1966 to May 1969, including service in Vietnam, appeals the denial of a Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability (TDIU) rating. The Veteran is service-connected for PTSD (70%), tinnitus (10%), right ear hearing loss (noncompensable), and hypertension (noncompensable). The Board found the Veteran met the schedular criteria for TDIU based on his 70% PTSD rating. The primary issue was whether his PTSD precluded substantially gainful employment. Evidence included two VA PTSD examinations (April 2017, November 2025) detailing symptoms like depressed mood, anxiety, sleep disturbances, concentration problems, and difficulty adapting to work settings. A VA physician's October 2025 letter indicated PTSD and insomnia made the Veteran unfit for employment. The Veteran's TDIU application and his own testimony also supported unemployability due to PTSD. The Board found the Veteran's PTSD symptoms and resulting functional impairments significantly interfered with his ability to secure and follow substantially gainful employment, citing his last part-time work in construction in July 2010. The Board granted TDIU, applying the benefit of the doubt where appropriate.

Rationale

Veteran meets schedular criteria for TDIU (70% PTSD rating).; Service-connected PTSD symptoms preclude substantially gainful employment.; Evidence reflects functional impairments from PTSD impacting employment.

Full Decision Text

Citation Nr: A26040476
Decision Date: 04/30/26	Archive Date: 04/30/26

DOCKET NO. 260320-639936
DATE: April 30, 2026

ORDER

A total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) is granted.

FINDING OF FACT

The Veteran's service-connected posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) renders him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation consistent with his education and work history.

CONCLUSION OF LAW

The criteria for entitlement to a TDIU are met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1155, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.340, 3.341, 4.16(a).

REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION

The Veteran served honorably in the United States Army on active duty from May 1966 to May 1969, to include service in the Republic of Vietnam.

This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a December 2025 rating decision issued by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO), the agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ).

In the March 2026 VA Form 10182, Decision Review Request: Board Appeal (Notice of Disagreement), the Veteran elected the Direct Review docket.

Therefore, the Board may only consider the evidence of record at the time of the December 2025 AOJ decision on appeal. 38 C.F.R. § 20.301. Any evidence submitted after the AOJ decision on appeal cannot be considered by the Board. 38 C.F.R. §§ 20.300, 20.301, 20.801. 

If the Veteran would like VA to consider any evidence that was submitted that the Board could not consider, the Veteran may file a Supplemental Claim (VA Form 20-0995) and submit or identify this evidence. 38 C.F.R. § 3.2501. If the evidence is new and relevant, VA will issue another decision on the claim[s], considering the new evidence in addition to the evidence previously considered. Id. Specific instructions for filing a Supplemental Claim are included with this decision. 

TDIU

The Veteran contends that he is entitled to a TDIU based on his service-connected posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).  

VA will grant a TDIU when the evidence shows that a veteran is precluded, by reason of his service-connected disabilities, from securing and following "substantially gainful employment" consistent with his education and occupational experience. 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.340, 3.341, 4.16. 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). The Board must evaluate whether there are circumstances in a veteran's case, apart from any non-service-connected condition and advancing age, which would justify a total rating based on individual unemployability due solely to the service-connected conditions. Van Hoose v. Brown, 4 Vet. App. 361, 363 (1993).

The regulations provide that if there is only one such disability, it must be rated at 60 percent or more, and if there are two or more disabilities, at least one disability must be rated at 40 percent or more, and sufficient additional disability must bring the combined rating to 70 percent or more. 38 C.F.R. § 4.16(a).

The Veteran is currently in receipt of service connection for PTSD, rated at 70 percent from February 9, 2017; tinnitus, rated at 10 percent from September 27, 2010; right ear hearing loss rated noncompensable from September 27, 2010; and hypertension rated noncompensable from August 10, 2022. Thus, the Veteran's combined schedular rating is 70 percent throughout the appeal period and he has at least one disability rated 60 percent during this time period. He therefore meets the schedular criteria for entitlement to a TDIU under 38 C.F.R. § 4.16(a) from February 9, 2017.

The remaining and relevant question is then whether the Veteran's service-connected PTSD precluded gainful employment for which his education and occupational experience may have otherwise qualified him.

The term "unable to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation" is defined as having two components: one economic and one non-economic. The economic component means an occupation earning more than marginal income (outside of a protected environment) as determined by the U.S. Department of Commerce as
 is 70 percent throughout the appeal period and he has at least one disability rated 60 percent during this time period. He therefore meets the schedular criteria for entitlement to a TDIU under 38 C.F.R. § 4.16(a) from February 9, 2017.

The remaining and relevant question is then whether the Veteran's service-connected PTSD precluded gainful employment for which his education and occupational experience may have otherwise qualified him.

The term "unable to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation" is defined as having two components: one economic and one non-economic. The economic component means an occupation earning more than marginal income (outside of a protected environment) as determined by the U.S. Department of Commerce as the poverty threshold for one person. The Court defined "employment in a protected environment" within 38 C.F.R. § 4.16(a) to unambiguously mean "a lower-income position that, due to the veteran's service-connected disability or disabilities, is shielded in some respect from competition in the employment market." LaBruzza v. McDonough, 37 Vet. App. 111, 123-24 (2024). The non-economic component includes consideration of the veteran's history, education, skill, and training; whether the veteran has the physical ability to perform the type of activities required by the occupation at issue; and whether the veteran has the mental ability to perform the activities required by the occupation at issue. Ray v. Wilkie, 31 Vet. App. 58, 73 (2019).

For the following reasons, the Veteran's service-connected PTSD precluded gainful employment for which his education and occupational experience might have otherwise qualified him.

During the April 2017 and November 2025 VA PTSD examinations, the Veteran endorsed symptoms of depressed mood, anxiety, suspiciousness, disturbances of motivation and mood, chronic sleep impairment, mild memory loss, such as forgetting names, directions or recent events, flattened affect, difficulty in establishing and maintaining effective work and social relationships, difficulty adapting to stressful circumstances, including work or a work like setting, suicidal ideation, hypervigilance, grief/sense of loss, lack of engagement with others, lack of sleep, disturbing dreams/nightmares, persistent and exaggerated negative beliefs or expectations about oneself, others, or the world, persistent negative emotional state, markedly diminished interest or participation in significant activities, feelings of detachment or estrangement from others, and problems with concentration.

In an October 2025 letter, the Veteran's VA physician indicated that the Veteran experienced symptoms from his PTSD and insomnia that make him unfit for employment. 

In his October 2025 formal TDIU application, the Veteran indicated that his service-connected PTSD prevented him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation.  He noted that he completed one year of college. He last worked in July 2010 doing concrete and construction work part time. 

The above evidence of record therefore reflects that the Veteran last worked in July 2010 in construction. Overall, he experienced symptoms associated with his service-connected PTSD that resulted in functional impairments that would significantly interfere with his ability to secure and follow any substantially gainful employment consistent with his education and occupational experience.

Specifically, the evidence of record reflects symptoms and impairments associated with his service-connected PTSD (including, but not limited to, depressed mood, anxiety, suspiciousness, disturbances of motivation and mood, difficulty adapting to stressful circumstances, including a work or worklike setting, hypervigilance, grief/sense of loss, lack of engagement with others, lack of sleep, disturbing dreams/nightmares, increased frustration, helplessness, persistent negative emotional state, irritable behaviors, angry outbursts, suicidal ideation, persistent and exaggerated negative beliefs or expectations about oneself, others, or the world, persistent negative emotional state, markedly diminished interest or participation in significant activities, feelings of detachment or estrangement from others, persistent inability to experience positive emotions, problems with concentration, mild memory loss, flattened affect, difficulty in establishing and maintaining effective work and social relationships, inability to establish and maintain effective relationships that would prevent him from performing any type of substantially gainful employment (physical or non-physical) consistent with his education and occupational experience. Geib v. Shinseki, 733 F.3d 1350, 1354 (Fed. Cir. 2013) ("applicable regulations place responsibility for the ultimate TDIU determination on the VA, not a medical examiner."). Moreover, the Veteran's private physician found that the Veteran's PTSD symptoms severely and negatively impacted his ability to maintain employment.

Thus, entitlement to a TDIU due to the Veteran's service-connected PTSD is warranted. In reaching the above conclusions, the Board has considered the applicability of the benefit of the doubt doctrine and applied it where appropriate. See 38 U.S.C. § 510
 substantially gainful employment (physical or non-physical) consistent with his education and occupational experience. Geib v. Shinseki, 733 F.3d 1350, 1354 (Fed. Cir. 2013) ("applicable regulations place responsibility for the ultimate TDIU determination on the VA, not a medical examiner."). Moreover, the Veteran's private physician found that the Veteran's PTSD symptoms severely and negatively impacted his ability to maintain employment.

Thus, entitlement to a TDIU due to the Veteran's service-connected PTSD is warranted. In reaching the above conclusions, the Board has considered the applicability of the benefit of the doubt doctrine and applied it where appropriate. See 38 U.S.C. § 5107 (b); 38 C.F.R. § 3.102; Lynch v. McDonough, 21 F.4th 776, 781 (Fed. Cir. 2021) (en banc).

 

 

Cory M. Picton

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	McNew, Mia B.

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.