tdiu Tdiu Form

[Josephine]

Seems that I have been in the system for a long time, and my Service

Officer and myself did not know that my asking for, " 100% Service

Connection for Chronic Anxiety" was not the same being Unemployable.

I wonder why the VA never sent me this form with any of my filing

dates.

Not much on the duty to assist, this is only my opinion.

I thought the NSC Pension which stated:

We are granting you a Non service connected pension as we find that you Suffer from disability which is sufficient to render it impossible for you to follow substantially gainful occupation.

I thought this statement alone was stating " You are unemployable due to these disabilities.

I have the treatment records for chronic anxiety from 1965 to 2008.

Dr. Muller in his C&P stated she is taking such and such medicine and has since 1967 and has not been able to work since 1983 secondary to her high level Chronic Anxiety Disability.

My question, now how do I go back in time and secure TDIU to the last day I worked.

Is this the impossible?

We are talking about 25 years.

I quit my job the morning I had a nervous breakdown on the job.

How do I prove that now?

Thanks,

Betty

Edited April 29, 2008 by Josephine

[Hoppy]

Betty,

Paragraph five, forth sentence (in bold) of this post is the best I can come up with. If you can do what I exlplain your claim will be much stronger.

I have read several BVA cases where they recognize something called an "Informal claim" for TDIU. I have read others that talk about a formal claim for TDIU.

The question in my mind is; if they recognize an informal claim, does this prompt further development by the RO or does the veteran need to file a formal claim for TDIU before the RO develops that part of the claim.

Also, consider the possibility that if you continue with the appeal for the 100% for a mental condition and win the higher rating on appeal this could at least get you the 100% back to the time they gave you the 70% rating. Getting from 10% to 100% seems harder to me. However, if you can do this then the TDIU is a non issue.

"Dr. Muller in his C&P stated she is taking such and such medicine and has since 1967 and has not been able to work since 1983 secondary to her high level Chronic Anxiety Disability."

This appers to me to be a statement of the circumstatnce as you related them to a C&P examiner. Subjective histories related to examining physicians are not what the RO considers as evidence. For this statement by the C&P examiner to have teeth the examiner would need to site specific facts noted in the previous doctors reports he reviewed that prohibited you from working. With this in mind a good way to deal with this is to get yet another new opinion based on the medical reports on file that the meds and level of disability noted by previous treating physicians in there reports were sufficient to prohibit you from working since 1983. Thus, establishing that the reports on file the entire time justified a medical determination that you were unable to work.

The best thing is to appeal for the 100% and do what you can to establish the claim for TDIU in case the 100% is rejected. Now this is where I get confused. If you win the 100% that is the same as TDIU. However, it would circumvent the need to have filed a claim for TDIU if such is required and they hold the upgrade to TDIU back to the date the formal or informal claim for the TDIU is recognized by the RO.

Edited May 1, 2008 by Hoppy