Received Letter Today:

[Josephine]

Received letter today:

1992 - 1996 - 10%

1997 - 2004 - 50%

2005 to present 70%

Husband was not added

They gave me 10% in 1992 because I had been married for twenty years,

got along with my spouse, and children and had some friends. But they

also put in that I quit working in a public place in 1983 because I

favored to work at home.

A treatment record from Dr. Payne dated August 31,

1983, noted you worked a high stress job at Enxxx Mxxxxx. However,

there is no indication that you were having trouble handling that

stress. Several personal events occured over the years, causing acute

increases in your anxiety.

I never once said that I wanted to work at home, I would like to see

that in writing.

No mention of how much retro.

Will wait for check, cash it, and then hire a lawyer or write the NOD

myself.

Thanks Betty

[free_spirit_etc]

And she is STILL married!...just longer now...

Free

YES- enjoy the cash Josephine and then NOD this!!!!And Attach the TDIU form to the NOD-and you can get a lawyer under the June 20,2007 NOD regs-

and enjoy this Victory- it isnt want you want yet but I am sure it will be-

I wonder what happened to the 100% they said you would get-it is beyond me- but then again-you certainly can fight this.

Thats good -they say how long you have been married but forget to add in comp for your husband-

Does it say exactly why they did not give you TDIU or 100%?

[Josephine]

Free,

Only about 44 years now. I will take my money and keep my mouth shut for about one month and then continue on.

Always,

Betty

[jbasser]

Betty, fill this out and send it in if you have not already done so.

http://www.vba.va.gov/pubs/forms/VBA-21-686c-ARE.pdf

J

[free_spirit_etc]

So you are 10% disabled when you can stay married for 20 years, but 70% disabled when you can stay married for 44 years.

Their logic makes no sense. LOL

Free

Free,

Only about 44 years now. I will take my money and keep my mouth shut for about one month and then continue on.

Always,

Betty

[Josephine]

Free,

My arm is shocking me to death. Going to try Acupuncture this morning. Write me up a good NOD on that one.

I am thankful I have a year to get all of this mess together.

Thanks

Betty

[free_spirit_etc]

I am not sure where I got this info - but found it in my files. IT says the VA is will require VA form 21-8940 before they PAY TDIU benefits, but the VA is obligated to consider and adjudicate the claim, regardless of whether the form is filed.

So if they are ASKING you to file the form - they may already have determined you are eligible to TDIU - but can't PAY until the form is submitted.

I would think that once the form is submitted they SHOULD pay you pretty easily back to the date your SC disability was granted a percentage greater than 60%. And they should pay all the way BACK to that date, as there was ample evidence in your file that you couldn't work, but they did not send you the form before now.

TDIU CAN be granted when the SC disability is rated at LESS than 60%, but it is harder to get - I don't think the RO can even grant them - they have to be specially decided higher up.

"5.4.9 How to Apply for TDIU

VA Form 21-8940, Application for Increased Compensation Based on Unemployability, is the prescribed form for claiming individual unemployability (TDIU).53 The VA will require that a veteran complete and submit a VA Form 21-8940 before it will formally pay a claim for TDIU benefits.54 However, a veteran is not required to file this application form before the VA is obligated to consider and adjudicate a TDIU claim. When a veteran files an original claim for evaluation of a disability or a claim for an increase in the evaluation of a disability that has already been rated by the VA, the claimant is generally presumed to be seeking the highest benefit allowable.55 If either claim includes facts that indicate that the veteran is unemployable, the VA is obligated to consider and adjudicate a TDIU claim.56 For example, a veteran files a claim for a rating increase for an anxiety disorder, included in the evidence in the veteran’s claims file is a statement from a psychiatrist that the veteran’s mental disability precludes him from being able to work. Because of this evidence, the VA is obligated to consider and adjudicate the veteran’s entitlement to TDIU.

Advocates should not wait to file claims for TDIU until the VA sends them the application form. The advocate should simply send the VA a letter stating that his or her client wishes to be considered for TDIU benefits and asking the VA to send all appropriate forms so that the client’s claim can be perfected.

**Advocacy Tip** Some veterans who have inferred claims for TDIU may be entitled to

an earlier effective date for their TDIU benefits.57 In Servello v. Derwinski,58 the court held that the existence of an inferred claim for TDIU might have entitled the veteran to an earlier effective date because under 38 U.S.C.S. § 5110((2), the effective date of an award of increased compensation shall be the earliest date as of which it is ascertainable that an increase in disability occurred if the application is received within one year from such date.

The court reasoned that because under 38 C.F.R. § 3.155(a), the VA was required to, but

did not, forward to the veteran a TDIU application form, the one-year filing period for such application did not begin to run.59 Thus, as a matter of law, the inferred claim submitted prior to the date of a formal TDIU application must be accepted as the date of claim for effective date purposes."