Case A26040717

DELYVONNE M. WHITEHEAD · 2026 · Case ID: A26040717

GRANTED

Summary

The veteran, who served from May 1967 to May 1969, appeals the effective date assigned for his Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability (TDIU) award. The Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) reviewed the case, which originated from a July 2025 rating decision granting TDIU with an effective date of March 2, 2024. The veteran sought an earlier effective date of August 10, 2022, arguing it should align with the award of service connection for hypertension, which was granted with that date under the PACT Act due to herbicide exposure in Vietnam. The Board found the veteran's TDIU claim was raised in conjunction with the hypertension claim, thus supporting the earlier effective date. Evidence indicated the veteran met the schedular criteria for TDIU by September 2018 due to an 80% total rating, including 50% for PTSD. His self-reported last full-time work in 2014, corroborated by VA examinations, showed he met the economic component for TDIU by August 2022. Psychiatric symptoms documented in both December 2018 and July 2025 VA examinations, including distressing dreams, intrusive memories, avoidance of triggers, and diminished interest, met the noneconomic component for TDIU. The Board granted entitlement to TDIU with an effective date of August 10, 2022, finding no evidence to support an earlier date.

Rationale

TDIU claim raised in conjunction with hypertension claim; Veteran met schedular criteria by September 2018 (80% rating); Veteran met noneconomic criteria by August 2022 (symptoms documented in VA exams)

Special Benefit

TDIU

Docket No.

260408-645686

Full Decision Text

Citation Nr: A26040717
Decision Date: 04/30/26 Archive Date: 04/30/26

DOCKET NO. 260408-645686
DATE: April 30, 2026

ORDER

Entitlement to an effective date of August 10, 2022, but no earlier, for the award of a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) is granted.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. In an October 2023 rating decision, entitlement to service connection for hypertension was granted from August 10, 2022. Within one year of this decision, the Veteran submitted a Supplemental Claim requesting a higher rating for hypertension and entitlement to a TDIU.

2. Since August 10, 2022, the Veteran's service-connected disabilities prevented him from obtaining or maintaining gainful employment.

CONCLUSION OF LAW

The criteria for?an effective date of August 10, 2022, but no earlier, for the award of entitlement to a TDIU have not been met.? 38?U.S.C. §?5110;?38?C.F.R. §§?3.155,?3.400,?3.2501, 4.16.

REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION

The Veteran served on active duty from May 1967 to May 1969.

In a July 2025 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office, which is the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ), entitlement to a TDIU was granted, and assigned an effective date of March 2, 2024. The Veteran submitted a request for Higher-Level Review in October 2025 requesting an earlier effective date, and a Higher-Level Review decision was issued in February 2026.

In the April 2026 VA Form 10182, Decision Review Request: Board Appeal (Notice of Disagreement), the Veteran appealed the decision to the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) under the Direct Review docket.

The Board may only consider the evidence of record at the time of the July 2025 AOJ decision. 38 C.F.R. § 20.301. Any evidence submitted after that decision 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, he 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, considering the new evidence in addition to the evidence previously considered. Id. Specific instructions for filing a Supplemental Claim are included with this decision.

Earlier Effective Date for TDIU

The Veteran has requested an earlier effective date of August 10, 2022, for the award of entitlement to a TDIU. He has argued that because the claim for a TDIU was submitted in conjunction with his claim for a higher rating for hypertension, then the appeal period should extend back to the date that service connection for hypertension was awarded. See Rice v. Shinseki, 22?Vet. App.?447 (2009).

After reviewing the evidence, the Board agrees, and finds that an effective date of August 10, 2022 can be assigned.

The procedural history shows that in March 2023, the Veteran submitted a Supplemental Claim, requesting service connection for hypertension based on Agent Orange exposure in Vietnam. This claim had been previously denied several times by the AOJ, most recently in October 2021. However, because of changes in the law under the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxins Act of 2022 (PACT Act), hypertension was added as one of the diseases that may be presumed to have been incurred in service when a veteran has been exposed to herbicide agents, such as Agent Orange, in service.? 38?U.S.C. §?1116(a); 38?C.F.R. §§?3.307(a)(6), 3.307(d)(1), 3.309(e).?

Because the Veteran's claim was submitted within one year of August 10, 2022, the date that the PACT Act went into effect, the Veteran was assigned an effective date of August 10, 2022 for the award of service connection for hypertension. 38 C.F.R. § 3.114(1)(a). The Veteran then submitted a Supplemental Claim in April 2024, requesting a
veteran has been exposed to herbicide agents, such as Agent Orange, in service.? 38?U.S.C. §?1116(a); 38?C.F.R. §§?3.307(a)(6), 3.307(d)(1), 3.309(e).?

Because the Veteran's claim was submitted within one year of August 10, 2022, the date that the PACT Act went into effect, the Veteran was assigned an effective date of August 10, 2022 for the award of service connection for hypertension. 38 C.F.R. § 3.114(1)(a). The Veteran then submitted a Supplemental Claim in April 2024, requesting a higher rating for hypertension and for a TDIU. The claim for a TDIU was granted by the Board in July 2025, and a July 2025 rating decision effectuated the grant and awarded an effective date of March 2, 2024.

The effective date for direct service connection is the day following separation from service or date entitlement arose if the claim is received within one year after separation from service; otherwise, it will be the date of receipt of claim, or date entitlement arose, whichever is the later.? 38?C.F.R. §?3.400(b)(2)(i).??

In this case, the Board finds that the TDIU claim was clearly raised in conjunction with the claim for a higher rating for hypertension, and the appeal period therefore begins from August 10, 2022. The evidence also shows that entitlement to a TDIU had arisen from this date. Since September 2018, the Veteran has had an 80 percent total rating, including a 50 percent rating for PTSD. He therefore did meet the schedular criteria for eligibility for a TDIU. 38?C.F.R. §?4.16(a).?

The Veteran submitted a VA Form 21-8940 in April 2024, in which he wrote that he had last worked full time in 2014. The Board finds no reason to doubt this self-reporting, and it shows that he had met the economic component required for a TDIU by August 2022. ?See?Ray?v. Wilkie, 31?Vet. App.?58, 73 (2019).?

The evidence of record also shows that most of the psychiatric symptoms which were found at the May 2024 VA mental health examination, which were primarily the basis for the AOJ's granting the claim of entitlement to a TDIU, were already present when the Veteran attended an earlier VA examination in December 2018. At both VA examinations, the Veteran had distressing dreams, intrusive memories, intense psychological distress at external cues of trauma, marked physiological reactions, avoidance of triggers, persistent negative emotional state, markedly diminished interest, detachment or estrangement, irritable behavior and angry outbursts, hypervigilance, exaggerated started response, sleep disturbance, depressed mood, anxiety, disturbances of motivation and mood, and difficulty establishing and maintaining effective work and social relationships.

The Board therefore finds that he also met the noneconomic component required for entitlement to a TDIU, which is that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities impaired his ability to secure and follow gainful employment. See id. An effective date of August 10, 2022 can therefore be granted.

There is no?indication?that an effective date earlier than August 10, 2022, is warranted, as this is the date that service connection for hypertension was granted from. There is no evidence of any formal or informal claims related to TDIU that were submitted and were still pending prior to August 10, 2022. The Veteran has also clearly stated that August 10, 2022, is the effective date that he is seeking, and he has not argued that an effective date any earlier than this should be assigned. The Board therefore finds that an effective date earlier than August 10, 2022, cannot be assigned.

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In sum, the Board finds that the current period on appeal begins on August 10, 2022, and it is at least as likely as not that the Veteran has been prevented from obtaining and maintaining gainful employment due to his service-connected disabilities since that time. Entitlement to a TDIU from August 10, 2022, but no earlier, is granted.

DELYVONNE M. WHITEHEAD

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board Mary E. Rude, 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

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DELYVONNE M. WHITEHEAD

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board Mary E. Rude, 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.

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