Fortunately, a TDIU denial lawyer from our team can help you understand the reasons for a rejection from VA and take steps to help you win entitlement to TDIU on appeal. One of our VA-accredited attorneys can assist you by reviewing your evidence, filing a response, and developing the case to give you the best chance of success in obtaining a favorable decision.
 · Again, if you don’t understand how to apply for TDIU benefits, need help filing your VA claim, or have claims that have been denied, call Berry Law Firm’s team of experienced attorneys today at (888) 883-2483 for a free consultation. For more information on applying for TDIU, follow the link provided: How To Apply For TDIU
Individual Unemployability (TDIU) Claims Lawyer When a service-connected disability prevents a veteran from working, the VA is authorized to pay the veteran at the 100 percent rate, even if the veteran’s service-connected disability is rated less than 100 percent.
Data from past TDIU cases has strongly suggested that having a vocational opinion greatly increases the chance for an approval. Hire a Parkersburg VA lawyer. At Jan Dils Attorneys at Law we have helped hundreds of veterans get approved for TDIU benefits. Our years of experience help us guide you through the process without any unpleasant surprises.
Veterans currently out of work or those who have been unemployed for years may find that they qualify for TDIU almost immediately. To qualify, one disability must be rated at an overall of 70% or higher. However, in some instances a veteran can have lower than 70% and still qualify.
The VA generally refers to a claim as a TDIU claim when two conditions are met: (1) the veteran has one service-connected disability with a 60% or more disability rating, or has two or more service-connected disabilities with a combined rating of 70% or more, and (2) there is medical evidence of unemployability.
In order to qualify for TDIU under 38 CFR § 4.16(a), or schedular TDIU, a veteran must have:One service-connected condition rated at 60% or higher; or.Two or more service-connected conditions, one of which is rated at 40% or higher, with a combined rating of 70% or higher.
How long will my TDIU claim take? The VA may take 4-10 months to issue an initial decision.
VA regulations provide that if a veteran has one-service-connected disability, to be eligible for unemployability,it must be rated at least 60-percent or higher.
annuallyVeterans assigned a TDIU rating will be subject to completing VA Form 21-4140: Employment Questionnaire, annually. This form verifies that the veteran has not taken part in substantially gainful employment over the past year.
Proving ONE thing gets you VA Individual Unemployability.file a claim for an increased VA rating for your service connected condition, and tell the VA you are having trouble getting or keeping work due to that service connected condition; or,file a VA claim using VA Form 21-8940 – the VA claim form for TDIU.
To receive TDIU, your PTSD must be rated 60% or higher if it is your only service-connected disability. If you have two or more service-connected disabilities, they must have a combined rating of 70% or higher with one that is rated 40% or higher.
The schedular requirements for Individual Unemployability are as follows:The veteran has one service-connected disability rated at least 60 percent disabling; OR.The veteran has more than one service-connected disability, with one condition rated at least 40 percent, and a combined rating of at least 70 percent.
$3,332.06 per monthAs of December 2021, the benefit amount for TDIU is the same as the highest schedular benefit amount available: $3,332.06 per month, along with free healthcare and other ancillary benefits. This amount increases for veterans who have spouses or dependent children or parents.
Technically, TDIU is different than a 100 percent disability rating. That being said, the compensation for TDIU and 100 percent disability are the...
In general, the disability rating you have received from the VA will determine how difficult or straightforward getting TDIU benefits will be. Gett...
The VA’s TDIU program can increase your disability compensation benefits to the maximum available level if your condition leaves you unable to main...
posted on September 10, 2018. TDIU (sometimes simply referred to as IU) stands for the total disability rating based on individual unemployability. In other words, TDIU is an acronym for the scale the VA uses to measure compensation for veterans who cannot work due to service-connected disabilities.
NOTE: A determination by one of these benefits is not binding on the other. Each Department gets to make an independent determination. However, they are a factor to be considered by the other.
If the veteran is rated less than 60 percent and still wants TDIU, they still may be able to receive TDIU by applying for something called an extraschedular rating.
While in most cases, the VA does not grant TDIU when a veteran does not have one individual 60 percent rating or a combined 70 percent rating with one individual rating at least 40 percent, the VA is allowed to make exceptions.
This is not true. The VA may grant TDIU when a veteran is unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation due to their service-connected disabilities. While to most the words “substantially gainful occupation” may seem like meaningless jargon, the courts have determined that these words specifically mean employment where the Veteran earns more than what the current federal poverty level is for an individual. Right now, the Federal poverty level is about $12,000. This means, an employed Veteran who earns $12,000 or less per year, may be eligible for TDIU despite the fact that they are employed.
Getting professional medical and vocational experts to attest that you are unable to stay employed, can help your case. You can even reference experts outside of the VA. In fact, working with a doctor to define your symptoms can be critical evidence in getting your TDIU benefits and having a vocational expert state that you are unemployable can also be critical.
Any veteran with a single disability rated at 60% or higher should be considered for TDIU, but do not let this stop you. Any veteran who has service-related disabilities that prevent them from obtaining a job could potentially qualify.
TDIU is an acronym for Total Disability Individual Unemployability. TDIU is a rating designated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for veterans who are unable to work due to disability. Veterans who are unable to obtain or maintain employment due to injuries or conditions sustained from their service may be granted TDIU.
That means that if a veteran’s claims file contains evidence that indicates the veteran may be unemployable due to a service-connected condition, then the VA is required to consider and adjudicate a claim for a TDIU rating. As you can guess, the VA often ignores such evidence and fails properly decide the issue of a TDIU rating.
If you’re trying to win a TDIU case, here’s 5 steps to follow. The VA form 21-8940 is the first step you’ll need to take. This is the form used to apply for an increase of benefits based on individual unemployability.
The doctors at the VA are typically hesitant to award full disability and will often claim you can handle sedentary work. A vocational opinion can refute the VA doctor’s assessment by looking at how the combination of multiple disabilities affects your ability to work.
But TDIU was not granted because, VA contended, he was not prevented from doing sedentary work. However, this veteran's vocational background was exclusively in heavy, physical labor jobs. The veteran had absolutely no experience or training in sedentary lines of work. And this is the first most critical factor: vocational background.
Total disability individual unemployability (TDIU) takes into consideration the unique vocational history of a veteran. A veteran with work experience as an accountant would likely not be totally disabled as a result of a back disability, but someone whose background is manual labor would be far more impaired.
Not all TDIU claims are created equal. That is, what makes one veteran totally unemployable may not affect another veteran's ability to work. There are two key factors that you must consider when addressing claims for total disability based on individual unemployability.
Also, in VA appeals for a higher rating for a psychiatric disability, most veterans benefits lawyers will raise a claim for TDIU as part and parcel of the appeal for a higher rating. In fact, it should be standard practice for any veterans disability lawyer to raise TDIU in any case where it appears that the service-connected disabilities cause a veteran to be unable to work.
TDIU is a very powerful tool for a lot of Veterans, allowing them to live on a sustainable income when their service-connected conditions, illnesses, injuries and disabilities prevent them from working.
However, the focus of the TDIU evaluation is the totality of your present circumstances – not speculation on the path forward for the highly educated or long-employed Veteran.
Don’t get me wrong – you still have to prove all the elements of the claim for TDIU, whether schedular or extra-schedular. However, the “essence” of the analysis depends on whether you are claiming schedular or extra-schedular TDIU .
TDIU most commonly comes into play when your service-connected disabilities prevent you from engaging in substantially gainful activity.
If so, the Veteran may not need to fight for extra-schedular TDIU at all, depending on the outcome of the secondary or aggravation claim.
Frequently, SSDI is approved for a collection of conditions that preclude the Veteran’s ability to participate in a “substantial gainful activity”. These often leads to confusion for Veterans who believe that their SSDI was based on “Condition A” which is service-connected, but in reality the SSDI Decision was based on Condition A and Condition B (the latter of which is frequently not service connected).
In fact, extra-schedular TDIU almost always involves perfecting a BVA appeal in the goal of securing a remand, or an appeal to the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC) .
This precedential decision finally gives more of a road map so veterans can be treated fairly throughout the VA system and no longer hides standards from veterans, adjudicators, and representatives. This increased structure and transparency will better help veterans obtain the disability benefits to which they are rightfully entitled.
Precedential means that this decision will be persuasive for VA when deciding subsequent cases with similar fact patterns.