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How To Apply For 100 Va Unemployability

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What Can I Expect From The Application Process

Important Tips Filing an Application for TDIU with the VA

The first step of the process involves gathering evidence and putting together an application that proves you qualify for TDIU. This evidence includes:

  • Proof that you have a service-connected medical condition. You can use your military service records, medical records, physicians statements, and other evidence to draw a causal link between a specific event in your military service and your current, diagnosed medical condition.
  • Evidence that your service-connected medical condition causes physical or mental limitations that are significant enough to make it impossible for you to obtain and maintain substantially gainful employment. Again, you can prove this using your medical records, diagnoses, lab test results, as well as statements and observations from your co-workers and managers.
  • Proof of a VA disability rating of 60 percent or higher if you are applying for TDIU with a single service-connected medical condition, or a combined VA disability rating of 70 percent or higher with one condition receiving a rating of 40 percent or higher on its own if you are applying for TDIU with multiple service-connected conditions.

After applying, you might have to wait several months to hear back from the VA, but once you receive a grant, you will be eligible for retroactive benefits that cover the period from when you submitted your application to when you received a grant for benefits.

Va Presumptive Conditions Decisions

The VA has created a list of medical conditions it presumes are related to certain types of military service. For example, if you served in Vietnam and develop symptoms associated with Agent Orange exposure, the VA presumes the condition to be connected with Agent Orange.

In the same way, the Department of Veterans Affairs has a set of medical issues it presumes will be permanent. Those who are awarded VA claims of 100% for PTSD may find the VA has rated them as 100% permanent and total disabled

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How Much Can I Earn For My 100 Percent Va Disability Rating

As we noted above, the monthly benefit amount is the same for 100 percent disability and TDIU. However, you can receive more per month if someone relies on you for financial support. A 100 percent disability rating garners $3,106.04 per month for a veteran alone as of 2020. Additional compensation depends on how many dependents you have:

  • A veteran with a spouse receives $3,279.22
  • Veteran with spouse and child: $3,406.04

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How Do You Increase Your Va Disability Rating

Once your claim for disability benefits has been approved, you can request an increase in your VA rating whenever you need one. The VA is well aware that a veterans condition can grow worse over time, and that as you age this is more likely to happen. All you need to do to seek an increase in your VA disability rating is to request the VA review your rating and provide evidence that your condition is worsening.

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Are You Eligible For Tdiu

Understanding Individual Unemployability Benefits

If your serviced-connected injury or illness prevents you from earning a living, but the VA has not granted you a 100% disability rating, seeking Individual Unemployability status may be appropriate for you. It allows the VA to pay certain veterans disability compensation at the 100% rate, even though the VA has not rated the service-connected disabilities at the total level.

The VA benefits lawyers of George Sink, P.A. Injury Lawyers can advise you about your eligibility forIndividual Unemployability and helpyou obtain this valuable benefitif you qualify. Weknow the VAbureaucracy and the evidence required to obtain favorable benefit claim decisions for disabled veterans. Our objective for every disabled vet we assist is to obtain the maximum benefit available for them.

The VA requires veterans to prove their qualifications for disability benefits and, even then, the VA routinely denies legitimate TDIU claims. George Sink, P.A. Injury Lawyers can help you avoid losing money because of the VA bureaucracy. Contact George Sink, P.A. Injury Lawyers for assistance today.

You do not have to go it alone. We want you to haveALL of the VA compensation you deserve.

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Proving One Thing Gets You Va Individual Unemployability

by Chris Attig

There are a lot of myths surrounding VA individual unemployability benefits what we commonly call VA TDIU. Some folks tell you that to qualify for TDIU have to be unemployed Some folks tell you that you have to be unable to do any work.

Heres the myth I want to tackle today: to get VA Individual Unemployability benefits, some folks say you have to already have a service connected disability or multiple service connected conditions rated at certain percents to qualify for TDIU.

Thats only half true.

Now, to be clear, we are talking about 100% TDIU ratings here this is not the same as a schedular 100% rating. Same amount of money, but totally different veterans benefits. There are several different paths to a 100% rating read about them here.

Heres how it works, generally. If you have difficulty keeping and maintaining substantially gainful employment because of a service connected condition or multiple VA disabilities, you are eligible for VA individual unemployability.

That phrase, substantially gainful employment, means something very different than most folks think, including VA raters. And Ill teach you about what it means elsewhere on the Veterans Law Blog®.

You file a claim for TDIU either one of two ways:

  • 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,
  • Frequently Asked Questions: 90 Percent Va Disability Ratings

    What does a 90 percent VA Disability rating pay monthly?

    The Veterans Administration will pay $1,887.18 monthly to veterans who are eligible according to the 2021 ratings tables. There is also extra monthly compensation available to veterans who have dependent children and parents. If you are approved at a 90% rating, you may also be eligible to receive back pay.

    Is it hard to get a 90 percent VA Disability rating?

    Some veterans have a clear-cut case where there is no question they deserve a 90% rating. For other veterans, you are going to have to jump through hoops to obtain a 90% rating from the VA. There is no quota of 90% ratings the VA must handout. Each VA claim is decided on a case-by-case basis. Your case will be decided solely upon the merits of your claim.

    What are my chances of getting a 90 percent VA Disability rating?

    If you provide relevant medical evidence, meet numerous deadlines, do excellent legal research, and correctly fill out all the paperwork, your chances will increase. Many veterans lose their claim because they did not provide evidence to prove they deserve a 90% rating.

    What if I think I deserve a 90 percent VA Disability rating and was denied?

    If you were denied a 90% rating within the last year, you may be able to appeal the VAs bad decision. If you were denied over a year ago, you can re-apply for your 90% rating. You can apply for VA Disability benefits as many times as you like there is no limit.

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    Medical Evidence To Include

    Medical evidence can support your TDIU claim by showing how your service-connected disabilities prevent you from obtaining and sustaining substantially gainful employment. Some medical evidence can include the following:

    • Medical Diagnoses
    • Dates of treatment and hospitalization
    • Medical opinion or letter from your doctor
    • Other Documentation from your doctor appointments that supports your inability to hold a job.

    How To File For Iu

    How to file for Individual Unemployability through the VA

    To get Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability benefits, a Veteran must make sure that their disability claim for the VA includes the following information:

    • Clear medical information supporting the Veterans statement regarding their physical and mental health. This should include all the documented information you have, such as medical exam records, hospital records , and outpatient records. If the VA considers your medical information insufficient or inconsistent, they may mandate a C& P exam
    • Detailed work history of the five years prior to acquiring the service-connected disability or disabilities preventing the Veteran from sustaining gainful employment, and records of any work performed after acquiring the injury or disability. This should contain information about all work, including sheltered work or work in a family business
    • A statement from every employer you have worked for during the year prior to becoming unable to maintain gainful employment
    • If you get Social Security Disability benefits, you should include all relevant Social Security Administration information as well
    • If you have undertaken the VAs Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Service , but the vocational rehabilitation was found impractical because of your condition, include all relevant information.

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    Our Tdiu Lawyer Will Fight For Your Iu 100% Disability Rating By The Va

    The veterans disability lawyers of George Sink, P.A. Injury Lawyers, can discuss requesting a total disability rating based in individual unemployability from the VA with you and help you compile the necessary evidence for such as disability rating. If it is at all possible for you to obtain this 100% disabilitybenefit, we want you to have it.

    George Sink, P.A.veterans disability lawyers havehelped thousandsof disabled individuals receive the full benefit the U.S. government promised them. We can provide you with a free, no-obligation assessment of your qualifications for IU benefits, and will fight for you if there is a way forward.

    Attorney George Sink Sr. isa disabled Vietnam veteran who has been fighting for vets and other injured and disabled individuals since 1977. Our primary objective is to get ALL disability benefits available to our clients into their hands as soon as possible.

    The VA is a large, overworked bureaucracy burdened by complex rules and regulations. Dont fight it alone. the experienced legal team at George Sink, P.A. Injury Lawyers today.

    Does It Help To Get Approved For One Program Is You Already Have The Other

    In the past, the answer was yes. If you were approved for VA Unemployability benefits, then your chances of getting approved for Social Security Disability benefits were very high.

    Unfortunately, from 2017 onwards, the Social Security Administration changed their regulations, stating that VA Unemployability approvals would not be taken into consideration while a persons application for Social Security Disability benefits was being processed.

    However, the evidence that you shared with the VA department will be used by the SSA in assessing your claim for Social Security Disability.

    The VAs office will also not take into consideration that you are being given Social Security Disability benefits. This is because the SSA does not ask whether the disabilities sustained were because of military service. And the main requirement for eligibility for VA Unemployability is that your disabilities need to be service-related.

    There are a lot of times that a Veteran has disabilities that are both service related as well as non-service related. So, the Veteran has to prove that it is a service related disability that is the reason for his or her Unemployability.

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    What If Im Self

    Self-employment can be tricky when it comes to VA disability benefits. Thats because if you own your own business or work as a freelancer, you have control over the amount of wages you receive.

    However, the VA still decides if your work is substantially gainful employment by comparing it to your work before your condition, not solely based on current wages.

    What Do I Need To Know About The Va And Social Security Programs

    Va Unemployability Life Insurance

    Both Social Security and VA pay disability benefits. However, their programs, processes, and criteria for receiving benefits are very different.

    A VA compensation rating of 100% Permanent and Total does not guarantee that you will receive Social Security disability benefits. To be approved for Social Security benefits, you must meet Social Securitys definition of “disability.” To be found disabled:

    • You must be unable to do substantial work because of your medical condition and
    • Your medical condition must have lasted, or be expected to last, at least one year or to result in death.

    If you receive VA compensation, this will not affect your Social Security benefits.

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    Legal Requirements For Qualifying As Unable To Work

    What counts as unable to work in the eyes of the law and the VA?

    According to the VA, substantially gainful employment is employment at which non-disabled individuals earn their livelihood with earnings comparable to the particular occupation in the community where the Veteran resides.

    In simpler words, if a disabled Veteran can make an income that is similar to non-disabled people employed in the same field, he or she is considered able to work.

    To count as substantially gainful employment rather than marginal employment, the income would have to be higher than the poverty threshold per the Census Bureau. In 2016, this was $12,486 per year for an individual under the age of 65 and $11,511 for individuals aged 65 or older.

    Exceptions to these rules are disabled Veterans who are self-employed, work in a family business, or find employment in a sheltered environment. In those cases, the VA may consider you for Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability benefits even if you earn an income higher than the poverty threshold.

    If you earn money through the Veterans Health Administrations Compensated Work Therapy Program , this will not count as income when the VA considers your eligibility for TDIU.

    Tdiu Factor #: Non Service

    The VA may not consider Non-service-connected disabilities in the evaluation of TDIU .

    However, my first question as a Veteran advocate is if the non-service connected disability is impacting the ability to work directly, or if the non-service connected disability is aggravating or secondary to the service-connected condition .

    If the latter situation applies, then I might ask why the Veteran hasnt pursued service-connection of the currently non-service connected condition.

    In quite a few cases, though, the Veteran may be overlooking the impacts that Condition A and Condition B are having on each other, and the question worth asking is this: can the non-service connected condition be service connected on a theory of aggravation or secondary service-connection?

    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.

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    How Vlg Can Help

    Veterans Law Group is committed to helping the men and women who so selflessly served our country. The VA is notoriously overburdened, making the claim process a challenging one. If you or someone you love needs help understanding your rights, filing a claim, or fighting for an appeal, we can help. There is no commitment or risk involved in our consultation process, and youll owe nothing until you successfully receive the benefits you deserve. Fill out this form to get started.

    % Disability Rating Qualifying Criteria

    TDIU Benefits Explained | VA Unemployability!

    There are two ways a veteran may be assigned a 100% disability rating:

  • The veteran must have one service-connected condition that meets the 100% rating criteria specified for that condition or
  • The veteran must have multiple service-connected disabilities whose individual disability ratings combine to 100%.
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    Straight From An Unemployability Lawyer’s Lips: 5 Ways To Win Your Tdiu Claim

    As a veterans benefits attorney, I have worked on and won countless TDIU claims since I began working with Sean Kendall. Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability , or simply, Individual Unemployability provide a 100 percent rating to veterans when their individual ratings do not add up to 100 percent. The basic requirements are that you have to be a veteran, and your service-connected disabilities prevent you from maintaining gainful employment. Sounds simple but TDIU claims are denied all the time. In my experience.

    How Do You Apply For Iu Benefits

    There are several ways that veterans can apply for IU. Veterans can apply online through www.ebenefits.va.gov or submit VA Form 21-8940. You can also work with an accredited representative or agent or visit your VA regional office to get help with your application.

    The VA has online resources available to help former military service members file claims for veterans benefits, including those for IU.

    Once accepted, veterans will begin IU enrollment and start receiving monthly payments.

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    What Are The Benefits Of Individual Unemployability

    Individual Unemployability is a unique part of VA’s disability compensation program. It allows VA to pay certain Veterans compensation at the 100 percent rate, even though VA has not rated their service-connected disabilities at that level. Who Is Eligible for Individual Unemployability? You must be a Veteran.

    Tdiu Factor #: Social Security Disability

     Va Compensation Unemployability Form

    Receipt of these benefits is relevant information.

    SSDI requires that a person be unable to participate in substantial gainful activity in order to be considered disabled. .

    If the SSDI is approved based solely on your service-connected disability, this is a very relevant factor for the VA Regional Office to consider.

    Frequently, SSDI is approved for a collection of conditions that preclude the Veterans 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 .

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    What Does It Take To Get A 70% Ptsd Rating

    VA uses diagnostic codes to assign ratings to all different conditions. It will help to discuss the diagnostic code used to rate PTSD so that you can understand what a 70 percent rating means.

    For a 70 percent rating, the PTSD diagnostic code states:

    • Occupational and social impairment, with deficiencies in most areas, such as work, school, family relations, judgment, thinking, or mood, due to such symptoms as: suicidal ideation obsessional rituals which interfere with routine activities speech intermittently illogical, obscure, or irrelevant near-continuous panic or depression affecting the ability to function independently, appropriately and effectively impaired impulse control spatial disorientation neglect of personal appearance and hygiene difficulty in adapting to stressful circumstances inability to establish and maintain effective relationships.

    The focus of the diagnostic code is on occupational and social impairment. This means VA focuses on how your PTSD affects your ability to work and your ability to maintain relationships.

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