tdiu Should I Have Waited?

[Deacon 2011]

I am 80% SC, with one condition(TBI) rated at 70% effective March 2011. After reading post here, I quickly applied for SSDI in Feb. 2011 and was awarded SSDI in April 2011. In the meantime, the VA never informed me of TDIU, however my VSO sent all of the documentation and I applied for TDIU while my SSDI was still pending. My question is, should I have waited until the SSDi claim was complete before filing for TDIU so that I would have been able to provide additional info to show that my SC conditions resulted in SSDI?

My TDIU claim has been in the decision phase for more than 4 months; I have 4 other conditions pending with this claim (some were initiated by the VA, long story). "Peggy" states that as of August 18, some conditions were decided upon and others deferred but I have hit a brick wall in my efforts of trying to find out the "true" status of this TDIU claim. I have a VSO, that's the most positive thing I can say about that... I have a VSO.

Any suggestions or should I just take a long nap?

[john999]

No, you were right to file for TDIU. You should file as soon as you are unable to work due to SC condition.

[Berta]

John is right!

"In the meantime, the VA never informed me of TDIU, however my VSO sent all of the documentation and I applied for TDIU while my SSDI was still pending"

I am stunned that they failed to consider you for TDIU-but maybe they were going to when the opther claims were resolved- still you did the right thin! Make sure they know of the SSDI award.

You could use the 21-4138 form as a cover letter and tell them you have enclosed copy of the SSA award letter. (I assume this was solely for the TBI...?)

Send a copy of the 21-4138 to your vet rep too.

They should give you the date of TDIU forj for the retro EED unless the SSDI award predates the TDIU filing date and then they should use the SSDI date if it is the most favorable date for entitlement.

[Berta]

To clarify -the VA will use the earliest date "entitlement arose" for TDIU claims- meaning usually the date of the formal TDIU claim or if an SSDI award solely for same SC preceeds that date by a year-they can and should award entitlement to the SSDI entitlement date.But I have never seen them go back further than a year on that.

[Interested]

I am stunned that they failed to consider you for TDIU- (snip) . You don't solicit a claim for Individual Unemployability unless the evidence indicates (or, sometimes merely suggests) that a veteran is unable to work because of a service-connected disability(s). Guessing whether a veteran can or cannot work, based solely on a mere disability percentage or perhaps a particular disability, is not the way to go.

John is right!

"In the meantime, the VA never informed me of TDIU, however my VSO sent all of the documentation and I applied for TDIU while my SSDI was still pending"

I am stunned that they failed to consider you for TDIU-but maybe they were going to when the opther claims were resolved- still you did the right thin! Make sure they know of the SSDI award.

You could use the 21-4138 form as a cover letter and tell them you have enclosed copy of the SSA award letter. (I assume this was solely for the TBI...?)

Send a copy of the 21-4138 to your vet rep too.

They should give you the date of TDIU forj for the retro EED unless the SSDI award predates the TDIU filing date and then they should use the SSDI date if it is the most favorable date for entitlement.

[Deacon 2011]

<br />John is right!<br /><br />&quot;In the meantime, the VA never informed me of TDIU, however my VSO sent all of the documentation and I applied for TDIU while my SSDI was still pending&quot;<br /><br />I am stunned that they failed to consider you for TDIU-but maybe they were going to when the opther claims were resolved- still you did the right thin! Make sure they know of the SSDI award.<br /><br />You could use the 21-4138 form as a cover letter and tell them you have enclosed copy of the SSA award letter. (I assume this was solely for the TBI...?)<br /><br />Send a copy of the 21-4138 to your vet rep too.<br /><br />They should give you the date of TDIU forj for the retro EED unless the SSDI award predates the TDIU filing date and then they should use the SSDI date if it is the most favorable date for entitlement.<br />

<br /><br /><br />

Unless theVA has requested something from the SSA, I have not sent them anything. I was totally unaware of sending a 21-4138 and the SSDi award letter to them. The Effective date of the SSDi is Sept. 2010 with the first payment coming in April of 2011. The official filing date for TDIU was March of 2011... Should I still send the 21-4138? I am concerned that if I do anything else, this thing will drag on for another year. The VA posted info on my ebenefits page regarding the possibility of an increase based on the 70% rating for the single SC condition but never sent me anything; perhaps it was because I had provided documents to them before they could get them out to me.

I am at my wits end, not sure if the TDIU will be inferred and approved due to the TBI or if it will be shot down because they don't have my info from the SSA.

[Deacon 2011]

<br /><i>I am stunned that they failed to consider you for TDIU- (snip) .</i>  <b>You don't solicit a claim for Individual Unemployability unless the evidence indicates (or, sometimes merely suggests) that a veteran is unable to work because of a service-connected disability(s).  Guessing whether a veteran can or cannot work, based solely on a mere disability percentage or perhaps a particular disability, is not the way to go.   </b><br /><br /><br />

<br /><br /><br />

I understand and appreciate your comments. It is stated in my C&P exams both from a cognitive and physical exam(s); that the SC disabilities moderately to highly impact my ability to perform/engage in both a work and social setting. The SSA screened all of my records to include the C&P exams and after completing assessments of their own, they concurred with the findings of the C&P examiners, thus the award for SSDi.