TDIU or IU or unemployability is a pathway to reach a 100% rating when you don't reach the rating by adding up your conditions by The Schedule but you still aren't able to work at gainful employment because of the cumulative effect of your rated disabilities.
To be eligible for the TDIU benefit you must have at least a single rating of 60% or greater or a rating of 70% or greater with at least one rating of 40% or greater in the mix.
The TDIU benefit may be temporary or it may be permanent in the way it's assigned to you and it is equal in every way to a 100% schedular rating other than you are not allowed to work at Gainful Employment.
Many veterans mistakenly attempt to change their 100% TDIU rating for a 100% schedular rating in the false hope of some sort of increased benefit. That's a waste of time and often backfires when VA reviews the record and lowers a rating.
The link you see below takes you to a talk given years ago and is a great explanation of the details of the TDIU benefit.
You may want to consider whether you are eligible for Extra schedular ratings under 38 C.F.R. § 3.321(b)
TDIU...how it works, what you need to know
Published in 2005, this is the best explanation of the TDIU benefit you'll find.
What Is IU
Individual Unemployability or IU is the basis on which the Department of Veterans Affairs pays service-connected disability compensation at the rate payable for a 100-percent evaluation to qualified veterans with combined evaluations that are less than 100 percent.
Regional office decision-makers assign IU ratings when veterans meet minimum combined evaluation criteria and, in the judgment of the rating official(s), are unemployable due solely to their service-connected conditions.
In exceptional circumstances, regional offices may refer cases that fail to meet the minimum combined evaluation criteria to the Director of the Compensation and Pension Service for consideration of an IU rating.
Total Disability Individual Unemployability
TDIU, IU, Unemployability
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Title 38 - Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief
Volume: 1
Date: 2019-07-01
Original Date: 2019-07-01
Title: PART 17 - MEDICAL
"It's a little like wrestling a gorilla. You don't quit when you're tired.
You quit when the gorilla is tired." — Robert Straus
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Jim's Mailbag is a regular column featured at Stateside Legal where veterans, servicemembers,
and family members can ask Jim their questions about VA and Social Security disability benefits.
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Government leaders to their workers: Get vaccinated or get tested
“Whenever a Veteran or VA employee sets foot in a VA facility, they deserve to know that we have done everything
in our power to protect them from COVID-19,” Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough said in a statement Monday.
“With this mandate, we can once again make — and keep — that fundamental promise.”
Independent Medical Opinion / Nexus Letter
The Board assigns significant probative weight to the September 2019 independent medical opinion of D.B.M., M.D
finding it is at least as likely as not that the veteran’s present left knee condition is the direct result
of his motor vehicle accident injuries that occurred while on active duty.
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Providing Military Veterans Personalized Psychological and Medical Evaluations. Complete the Contact form, and you'll get a personal phone call from us. We listen, and want to know what you are going through. We provide Independent Medical Evaluations (IME), Independent Medical Opinions (IMO) and nexus letters for ratings reviews, secondary conditions, medical conditions, discharge upgrades, and many types of denied claims. We also provide Social Security Disability claim reports.
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VA Online Scheduling (VAOS) lets eligible Veterans request community provider appointments
(This looks simple enough. There are only 4 different links you have to click-through to get to ever more complex instructions.
I'll try to use this today. I have no hopes I'll be able to get any appointments. /s/ Jim)
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access to a hunting lease and discounts for America's
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Are Social Security Disability Benefits Set for Life?
Once SSDI begins, is there any way to increase the benefit amount?
Nexus and IMO Letters
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About the Nexus Letter
The professionally written Nexus Letter is often the single most valuable tool we have at our disposal to win claims. If you doubt any of that please go to the Board of Veterans Appeals and use their search to look for cases with Nexus Letters or IMOs. You'll find, "...the Board finds the September 2019 Independent Medical Evaluation Report to be probative even though the Veteran’s service treatment records are silent...". I've referred vets to a small handful of reliable doctors for years. I've received hundreds of positive messages that tell me that the IMO/Nexus Letter works for you as well as it did for me. If you're caught up in an appeal and you aren't sure what else you need or if you want to file a new claim and prevail without a lot of fuss...talk with these doctors and make a plan to win.
Good luck! /s/ Jim
Veterans Struggle to Get Copies of Needed Service Records Due to Pandemic
Access to some VA benefits, services delayed as backlog of requests hits 500,000
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/End/
Hey Jim: This Court of Appeals decision is a bit of a smack-down for VA’s implementation of the Appeals Management Act. VA will need to relook what they are doing under AMA - although this case only speaks to three specific regulations, a broader relook of their overall implementation of AMA would probably be prudent. /s/ Drew
Decided: July 30, 2021
Congress enacted the AMA in 2017 to reform the exist-ing VA administrative appeals system, which was,
by all accounts, “broken,” marked by lengthy delays, and plagued with a formidable backlog of cases.
More problematic, however, was the “continuous evidence gathering and readjudication
of the same matters”that caused appeals to “churn” in the system.
MILITARY-VETERANS ADVOCACY, Petitioner v. SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
Schedule for Rating Disabilities
Independent Medical Opinion / Nexus Letter
In a November 2011 nexus statement, the Veteran's neurologist opined that that the Veteran's progressive supranuclear
palsy is most likely caused by or a result of his exposure to Agent Orange. The neurologist explained that PSP is a
movement disorder very similar to Parkinson's disease. The neurologist further explained that PSP affects the same areas
as Parkinson's disease and is possibly causally related to chemical exposure such as Agent Orange.
The Board finds that the evidence is at least in equipoise regarding service connection for progressive
supranuclear palsy and will resolve reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran.
C&P Service Clinician’s Guide
This is your C & P examiners guide.
The language used in this guide is very much in effect at your VA. When you have a nexus letter, it should conform
to the phrases you'll find here. For example, your doctor should write "More likely than not" when talking of service connection.
That phrase wins claims, anything less may not.
See Page 14 Section 1.16 How do I give an opinion for nexus (relationship to a military incident?
VA unemployment benefit would be protected under this plan
A new House proposal would make the Department of Veterans Affairs Individual Unemployability program
permanent even for elderly veterans, following attempts in recent years to pare back the benefit. President Donald
Trump’s administration, which proposed cutting back on the benefit for veterans after they reach retirement age.
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Find out how to file a claim for disability compensation
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To receive some benefits, Veterans need a letter proving their status.
When You Hit A Dead End
White House Hotline
855 - 948 - 2311
< Denis.McDonough@va.gov >
Yes, this really works. No, it doesn't ring in the White House.
Be sure to include your DOB, your last 4, contact info...a couple of numbers, your preferred email and such.
Describe the problem as briefly as you can. Don't rant.
Tell them you read about this at The VAWatchdog Dot Org...they know who we are.
Too many of us skip this important
step.Spending a few minutes taking care of this may give you months
of additional benefits.
You may file claims on eBenefits or you can mail them in using certified mail or you can even fax them in.