tdiu What Does This Mean ?

[jlshand]

Berta or anyone. I got my award letter today and I am qualified for I.U as far as the numbers are concerned. They didnt include forms to apply for I.U but I know I can get them easily enough. My question has to do with the following. In the part of the letter where they are explaining their decision point by point, when they come to number 8 "Entitlement to individual unemployability" It reads " the issue of whether or not the veteran is entitled to Individual Unemployability is deferred for the following: veteran's claim assistance letter.

Anybody know specifically what is meant by "veterans claims assistance letter" ?????

I have been SSDI for heart problems the VA agrees are DM11 caused, so I havent worked in four years. Seems like the I.U should be a slam dunk but this terminology "veterans claims assistance letter" has me confused.

I also thought I'd read that when you are at a certain disability level as they have granted, they are required to suggest what other help you may be qualified for (as in I.U) but no mention or forms other than the number 8 refferred above.

Thanks

Edited June 29, 2006 by jlshand

[Berta]

jlshand-the VCAA regs require that the VA send claimants-in most cases- but not all-

a VCAA letter-

I have never got one but they promised me I would get some-last year- my claim went out of the rating board and is with a Coach/supervisor- almost done- no VCAA letter yet-I dont expect one now.

My local VARO is way behind in sending out these letters-

There are remands at the BVA because,among other reasons, the veteran never got one-

The VCAA letter is supposed to be tailored to the specific claim-and to tell the veteran what they need-

If the evidence is sufficient to award, they usually dont send a VCAA letter-

In your case- it sounds like- since they dont have the formal TDIU yet-they are developing the VCAA letter-

but I think these letters are often one more way to stall and get out of making a claim decision at the VARos.

Did they list as evidence your SSA award?

Actually I am baffled that- it appears they do not need to send you a VCAA letter-yet they should have sent you a TDIU form.

A VCAA letter should be specific and tell the veteran what the claim is lacking-such as federal records they are not able to attain-

I am assuming they have gotten your SSA records by now-

I would check with the 800# of you dont get this letter soon-it might show on the COVERS screen-

then again -they could award the TDIU and you wont get the letter-

Is there anything they mentioned in the award letter that would indicate they need more info for TDIU?

Berta

(PS_ I think is sucks that these letters are not being sent to the claimant right from the git go-the claimant waits month after month and gets denied and then still has no clue what they need)-

there are many claims on remand at the BVA to show what I mean like:

http://www.va.gov/vetapp06/files1/0601194.txt

"A preliminary review of the claims file does not indicate the

veteran was properly advised of the changes brought about by

the VCAA regarding his claim for a higher rating for his

PTSD. See 38 U.S.C.A. §§ 5102, 5103, 5103A, and 5107. The

RO failed to explain the type of information and evidence

necessary to substantiate this claim. Furthermore, although

the RO provided a copy of some of the regulations

implementing the VCAA in the January 2003 statement of the

case (SOC), the RO failed to provide the veteran with an

adequate explanation of the provisions of the VCAA, including

notice of his rights and responsibilities under this law and

whose ultimate responsibility - his or VA's, it is in

obtaining the supporting evidence. And mere notification of

the provisions of the VCAA, without a discussion of his

rights and responsibilities, VA's responsibilities, and the

necessary evidence to be obtained with regard to the specific

issue before the Board is insufficient for purposes of

compliance with the VCAA. See Charles v. Principi, 16

Vet. App. 370, 373-74 (2002).

As a consequence, the veteran's claim was certified to the

Board without him being given appropriate notice of the

evidence necessary to substantiate his claim, his rights and

responsibilities under the VCAA, and VA's responsibilities

under this law. See Quartuccio v. Principi, 16 Vet. App. 183

(2002) (failure by the BVA to enforce compliance with the

requirements of 38 U.S.C.A. § 5103(a) for the VA to inform a

claimant of the information or evidence necessary to

substantiate a claim, as well as to inform a claimant of

which evidence the VA will seek to provide and which evidence

the claimant is to provide, is remandable error). Thus, a

VCAA letter must be issued to correct this procedural due

process problem before the Board can decide the case. And

the Board, itself, cannot correct this procedural due process

deficiency; rather, the RO must. See Disabled American

Veterans (DAV) v. Secretary of Veterans Affairs, 327 F.3d

1339 (Fed. Cir. 2003). "

Like I said- a fully substantiated claim might get a mention of a VCAA letter that is coming but the VARO might not need to send one-

this VCAA crapola is becoming one of my biggest areas of disgust wth the VA-

This vet above was represented by the American Legion- why aren't these service officers taking a stand when the vet does not get a VCAA letter yet gets denied at the VARO level?

The VAROS are just skimming through fast as they can to get an end product 930 code-

They are npt taking the time to read our claims and develop the VCAA early on in the claims process to tell the vet what they need-

I do not know the CUE potential of VCAA but it probably falls under DTA regs- therefore not Cue able- but it is a legal failure to the detriment of claimants like the above veteran in the BVA decision-to wait and wait for a denial that could have been averted with a VCAA letter.

[Guest DON20906]

You should get a letter from VA with 10-12 pages of boilerplate. At the bottom of the stack should be a VCAA Notice Response Form that gives you the option to have your case abeyed for 60-days to give you the opportunity to develop and submit additional evidence. You may also waive the 60-days and tell VA to proceed with your claim. If you do nothing VA will sit on your claim for the 60 days anyway.

[jlshand]

Hi Berta, thanks for the quick reponse.

1. No mention whatsover of my status with SSDI despite this info being "all over" my application.

2. They included a form for vocational rehabilitation but not for TDUI. Why, I cant begin to say. I havent been able to work since my SSDI in December of 2000!!!!!

3. No other mention in the awards letter of info they might need related to a TDUI claim

4. The claim date they are using is August 19, 2005 , despite the fact that I have in my hands right now a stamped acknowledgement (Copy) of the letter alerting them to my intended claime which i hand carried to the VARO on June 18, 2005!!!!!!!!!!

So as I understand it this VCAA letter or package which defers any TDUI business is something else I need to get from them in order to pursue the TDUI?????

jlshand-the VCAA regs require that the VA send claimants-in most cases- but not all-

a VCAA letter-

I have never got one but they promised me I would get some-last year- my claim went out of the rating board and is with a Coach/supervisor- almost done- no VCAA letter yet-I dont expect one now.

My local VARO is way behind in sending out these letters-

There are remands at the BVA because,among other reasons, the veteran never got one-

The VCAA letter is supposed to be tailored to the specific claim-and to tell the veteran what they need-

If the evidence is sufficient to award, they usually dont send a VCAA letter-

In your case- it sounds like- since they dont have the formal TDIU yet-they are developing the VCAA letter-

but I think these letters are often one more way to stall and get out of making a claim decision at the VARos.

Did they list as evidence your SSA award?

Actually I am baffled that- it appears they do not need to send you a VCAA letter-yet they should have sent you a TDIU form.

A VCAA letter should be specific and tell the veteran what the claim is lacking-such as federal records they are not able to attain-

I am assuming they have gotten your SSA records by now-

I would check with the 800# of you dont get this letter soon-it might show on the COVERS screen-

then again -they could award the TDIU and you wont get the letter-

Is there anything they mentioned in the award letter that would indicate they need more info for TDIU?

Berta

(PS_ I think is sucks that these letters are not being sent to the claimant right from the git go-the claimant waits month after month and gets denied and then still has no clue what they need)-

there are many claims on remand at the BVA to show what I mean like:

http://www.va.gov/vetapp06/files1/0601194.txt

"A preliminary review of the claims file does not indicate the

veteran was properly advised of the changes brought about by

the VCAA regarding his claim for a higher rating for his

PTSD. See 38 U.S.C.A. §§ 5102, 5103, 5103A, and 5107. The

RO failed to explain the type of information and evidence

necessary to substantiate this claim. Furthermore, although

the RO provided a copy of some of the regulations

implementing the VCAA in the January 2003 statement of the

case (SOC), the RO failed to provide the veteran with an

adequate explanation of the provisions of the VCAA, including

notice of his rights and responsibilities under this law and

whose ultimate responsibility - his or VA's, it is in

obtaining the supporting evidence. And mere notification of

the provisions of the VCAA, without a discussion of his

rights and responsibilities, VA's responsibilities, and the

necessary evidence to be obtained with regard to the specific

issue before the Board is insufficient for purposes of

compliance with the VCAA. See Charles v. Principi, 16

Vet. App. 370, 373-74 (2002).

As a consequence, the veteran's claim was certified to the

Board without him being given appropriate notice of the

evidence necessary to substantiate his claim, his rights and

responsibilities under the VCAA, and VA's responsibilities

under this law. See Quartuccio v. Principi, 16 Vet. App. 183

(2002) (failure by the BVA to enforce compliance with the

requirements of 38 U.S.C.A. § 5103(a) for the VA to inform a

claimant of the information or evidence necessary to

substantiate a claim, as well as to inform a claimant of

which evidence the VA will seek to provide and which evidence

the claimant is to provide, is remandable error). Thus, a

VCAA letter must be issued to correct this procedural due

process problem before the Board can decide the case. And

the Board, itself, cannot correct this procedural due process

deficiency; rather, the RO must. See Disabled American

Veterans (DAV) v. Secretary of Veterans Affairs, 327 F.3d

1339 (Fed. Cir. 2003). "

Like I said- a fully substantiated claim might get a mention of a VCAA letter that is coming but the VARO might not need to send one-

this VCAA crapola is becoming one of my biggest areas of disgust wth the VA-

This vet above was represented by the American Legion- why aren't these service officers taking a stand when the vet does not get a VCAA letter yet gets denied at the VARO level?

The VAROS are just skimming through fast as they can to get an end product 930 code-

They are npt taking the time to read our claims and develop the VCAA early on in the claims process to tell the vet what they need-

I do not know the CUE potential of VCAA but it probably falls under DTA regs- therefore not Cue able- but it is a legal failure to the detriment of claimants like the above veteran in the BVA decision-to wait and wait for a denial that could have been averted with a VCAA letter.

[Berta]

BOY!

been there done that with SSA evidence-

If the SSA award is for the same conditions that you are SCed for- they cannot ignore that critical evidence!

That's good- they know you get it but have not gotten your SSA records yet?

I would-if I were you- send them the SSA award, ask them to get those records, and attach a TDIU form to it-refer to this all in a NOD-

I am thinking however- hope others chime in-

this to me is a case where a Request for Reconsideration might get this resolved faster? with the evidence above attached to it?

[jlshand]

Gee,

What a pain in the B!!!!! Can't I just go to the VARO personally, see someone in the right department and hand deliver both the SSDI Award letter copy, application for TDUI and the letter they stamped acknowledging the earlier claim date???/

I'm not actually disputing the rating (except for the claim date which has to be just an oversight) Surely I dont have to file a NOD just to get them to correct the claim date to the date on my informal claim letter. Do I???

When you say request for reconsideration is that different from a NOD ?

BOY!

been there done that with SSA evidence-

If the SSA award is for the same conditions that you are SCed for- they cannot ignore that critical evidence!

That's good- they know you get it but have not gotten your SSA records yet?

I would-if I were you- send them the SSA award, ask them to get those records, and attach a TDIU form to it-refer to this all in a NOD-

I am thinking however- hope others chime in-

this to me is a case where a Request for Reconsideration might get this resolved faster? with the evidence above attached to it?

[mssoup1]

Only my opinion. Anytime you are in a position that you can personally take any info you have on your claim personally to the RO, you are much better off doing so. If you mail it in, it can sit in the mailroom forever before it is sent to the intended area. There is tons of mail which, I have been told, that comes into the RO everyday that someone has to sort through. Imagine the time it takes and the lag time in getting your info where you need it to go. Another way to slow your claim process up. Again, I would personally take it to the RO if at all possible.

We have gone to the RO before and told them we had questions on my husbands claim and needed to speak to someone on it. When we gave them information which needed to be included in his claim, they took the information and said that they would take it straight upstairs and give it to the person working my husbands claim. They also answered any questions we had. Did this help in anyway? Don't know, but I can't see where it hurt either.

mssoup1