## Facts

- A U.S. Army veteran sought VA disability compensation for PTSD in December 1998.
- VA ultimately awarded service connection for PTSD and assigned a disability rating that became the subject of an appeal for a higher initial rating.
- During the PTSD rating appeal, the veteran asserted that PTSD prevented substantially gainful employment and sought TDIU.
- VA granted TDIU effective November 1, 2000; the veteran sought an earlier effective date.
- The Board denied an earlier effective date for TDIU while remanding the initial PTSD rating issue, treating TDIU as a separate, freestanding claim rather than part of the ongoing initial-rating appeal.
- The veteran appealed the Board’s denial of an earlier effective date for TDIU to the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.

## Issues

1. Whether a request for TDIU is a separate, freestanding claim for increased compensation or is part of an initial disability claim or an increased-rating claim when unemployability is raised.
2. Whether the Board erred by denying an earlier effective date for TDIU based on treating TDIU as a separate claim, rather than considering it within the pending initial PTSD rating appeal.

## Decision

- The court held that a request for TDIU is not a separate claim; it is best understood as part of an initial claim for disability compensation or as a type of increased-compensation claim based on the effects of service-connected disabilities.
- The court held that, on these facts, entitlement to TDIU had to be considered as part of determining the proper initial disability rating for PTSD.
- The court vacated the Board’s denial of an earlier effective date for TDIU and remanded for readjudication consistent with the court’s characterization of TDIU.
- The court concluded it had jurisdiction to review the Board’s final decision denying an earlier effective date for TDIU even though the initial PTSD rating issue had been remanded.

## Legal Principles

- When a claimant seeks a higher initial rating or an increased rating and the record reasonably raises unemployability due to the service-connected disability, TDIU must be addressed as part of that rating matter.
- Submitting a formal TDIU application does not, by itself, convert TDIU into a separate claim stream detached from the underlying rating appeal.
- Treating TDIU as part of a pending rating matter affects effective-date analysis; entitlement may extend back to the period on appeal for the underlying rating claim if the evidence shows unemployability during that period.
- The court may review a Board determination that finally resolves TDIU effective-date entitlement notwithstanding a simultaneous remand of a related rating issue.

## Conclusion

The court required VA to treat TDIU as part of a pending initial or increased-rating matter when unemployability is raised by the claimant or the record, vacating the Board’s earlier-effective-date denial and remanding for consideration of when unemployability due to PTSD arose during the initial-rating period.


Rice v. Shinseki, 22 Vet. App. 447 (2009)