11-28 681, 11-28 681

Veteran served active duty Aug 1954–Feb 1958 and appealed denial of TDIU due to service-connected disabilities (primarily back disorder).
RO rating decisions from April 2009 and April 2010 are on appeal; Board remanded in Oct 2014 for additional development.
A November 2014 VA exam was scheduled but the Veteran, who has dementia/Alzheimer’s and is very ill, was unable to attend.
Representative notified VA in June 2012 that the Veteran was very ill; Board found Veteran should not be penalized for inability to attend exam.
Board ordered further development: file review or in‑facility exam, opinions on neurologic abnormalities (e.g., radiculopathy), functional effects on employability, and consideration of extraschedular evaluation/TDIU; readjudication after development.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether VA complied with prior remand and whether further development is required for TDIU	Veteran asserts he is unemployable due to service‑connected back disorder and related neurologic symptoms; cannot attend exam because of dementia/illness	VA had scheduled exam but Veteran could not attend; further development may be needed and must accommodate his illness	Remanded: AOJ must provide file to an examiner, arrange in‑facility exam or file review, and obtain opinions addressing neurologic abnormalities and occupational functioning
Whether extraschedular evaluation/TDIU referral is warranted	Veteran seeks TDIU and potentially a separate neurologic evaluation for radiculopathy that could affect rating or TDIU	If no separate neurologic rating, RO should consider extraschedular evaluation or extraschedular TDIU referral	Remanded: After exam/file review, AOJ must refer case to Director, C&P for extraschedular consideration and then readjudicate on schedular and extraschedular bases

Kutscherousky v. West, 12 Vet. App. 369 (1999) (appellant has the right to submit additional evidence and argument on remanded matters)