12-16 295, 12-16 295

Veteran served on active duty Feb 1966–Jan 1968 and appealed a July 2011 RO rating decision denying TDIU.
Service-connected conditions include penile conditions, major depression, coronary artery disease, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and scars; nonservice-connected problems include left shoulder rotator cuff tear, left knee, and back conditions.
Veteran and spouse testified at a July 2013 Board hearing; multiple lay statements and letters (2009–2015) describe functional limitations and medication effects.
An August 2017 private vocational assessment (Z.T.F.) opined Veteran was unemployable due to service-connected disabilities since 2009, but it omitted discussion of several lay statements, nonservice-connected conditions, later VA exam records, and medication effects.
The Board found the vocational assessment inadequate and that no single VA exam addressed combined occupational impairment from service-connected disabilities, so remand for a VA examination and readjudication was ordered.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Entitlement to TDIU	Veteran: service-connected disabilities preclude substantially gainful employment since Sept 2009	RO/VA: prior decisions denied TDIU; record lacks adequate nexus showing combined occupational impairment	Remanded for further development (new VA exam and readjudication)
Adequacy of vocational evidence/exam	Vocational report supports unemployability	VA: vocational report omitted relevant lay statements, nonservice conditions, meds, and more recent VA exam findings	Vocational report deemed inadequate; order for comprehensive VA examination covering combined effects, meds, timeline, and lay testimony

Kutscherousky v. West, 12 Vet. App. 369 (1999) (VA must allow submission of additional evidence after remand and provide opportunity to respond)