When you experience severe disabilities due to medical conditions resulting from your military service, you may become unable to hold down a job, making VA disability benefits critical to affording living expenses. Although a 100 percent disability rating can maximize your benefits, what happens if the VA assigns you a high rating, but doesn’t rate your disability 100 percent? Fortunately, specific VA programs may entitle you to enhanced benefits for a severe disability.
Understanding TDIU
The VA operates a special claims program called Total Disability due to Individual Unemployability (TDIU). TDIU can grant a veteran who cannot maintain stable employment due to a service-connected medical condition disability compensation and benefits comparable to those offered to veterans with a 100 percent disability rating, even if the veteran has an individual or total disability rating below 100 percent.
TDIU vs. 100 Percent Disability Rating
TDIU and 100 percent disability ratings differ in several fundamental respects. First, TDIU does not raise a veteran’s disability rating to 100 percent. A veteran who qualifies for TDIU keeps their current disability rating; instead, TDIU allows them to receive benefits comparable to those provided to veterans with a 100 percent disability rating.
Furthermore, a 100 percent disability rating focuses on the percentage of impairment caused by a veteran’s service-connected condition. Veterans can receive a 100 percent disability rating if they have a service-connected condition that renders them fully disabled or two or more conditions that result in a combined disability rating of 100 percent. Conversely, TDIU focuses on functional limitations and unemployability caused by service-connected conditions.
Eligibility Requirements for TDIU
Veterans may qualify for TDIU if they meet the requirements for unemployability and schedular rating. The unemployability requirement requires veterans to demonstrate they cannot perform substantial gainful employment due to a service-connected disability. The VA considers substantial gainful employment to include steady, regular employment; a veteran who occasionally works odd jobs may still qualify for TDIU.
A veteran can meet the schedular rating requirement if they have at least one service-connected disability rated at 60 percent or more, or two or more service-connected disabilities with at least one rated at 40 percent or more and a combined disability rating of 70 percent or more. However, veterans with service-connected conditions that require frequent hospitalization can meet the schedular rating requirement with a lower disability rating.
The VA does not automatically grant TDIU status. A veteran must apply to the VA to review whether the veteran meets the criteria for TDIU.
Can You Get a 100 Percent Disability Rating Without TDIU?
Some veterans obtain 100 percent disability ratings and receive the benefits corresponding to that rating without qualifying for TDIU. A veteran with an extremely severe service-connected condition may receive a 100 percent disability rating for that condition. Alternatively, veterans with two or more significant service-connected conditions may receive a combined 100 percent disability rating under the VA’s combined disability rating chart.
Veterans with severe disabilities may pursue a 100 percent disability rating rather than accepting a lower disability rating and applying for TDIU because a 100 percent disability rating offers flexibility to work. A veteran with a 100 percent disability rating can work and receive disability compensation at the 100 percent rate. In contrast, a veteran on TDIU may lose the higher disability compensation rate if they return to the workforce.
Key Considerations for Veterans
Veterans should evaluate their needs and circumstances to determine whether to pursue TDIU or a 100 percent disability rating. A VA disability attorney can help veterans assess their legal options and the strength of their claim for TDIU or a 100 percent rating.
Contact a VA Disability Lawyer Today
If you qualify for TDIU, a VA disability attorney can help you secure the financial benefits you need and deserve. Contact Veterans Law Attorneys today for a free initial consultation to learn more about TDIU benefits and discuss your options.