Will VA back pay convalescent pay and TDIU question.

[metallicide]

I am working on getting my back injury service-connected. I have Dr. Anaise writing a nexus letter and have one sworn statement from a soldier who was with me in Afghanistan during the incident. I am having a fusion done on my lower back in October. I am not sure if I will have this service connected before then. Jan Dils Law firm is doing my appeal case and we don't have a hearing date yet. Will the VA back pay convalescent pay if it gets connected after the surgery? And can you get TDIU while you are working and then quit working, I cannot really quit my job until I would be approved as I have a family to support.

[pwrslm]

So you were not approved for SC on your spine and it is in appeals now?

Back pay will only go to the date that you put your claim in. If you are in appeals now, your award will be the date you initially applied for disability. The law will not allow then to backdate entitlement any further. If you were turned down years before and didn't appeal, the only way to get back pay that far back would be if the VA committed a CUE, and you would want a lawyer for that issue. A lot of technical grounds on appeals because it starts to get adversarial  then on.

I had fusion from S1 to L3, they gave me 3 months convalescent pay at 100%,  could have done 6 months the surgeon asked me what I wanted and I picked college (began VR&E the next month as a 60% disabled).

[metallicide]

27 minutes ago, pwrslm said:

So you were not approved for SC on your spine and it is in appeals now?

Back pay will only go to the date that you put your claim in. If you are in appeals now, your award will be the date you initially applied for disability. The law will not allow then to backdate entitlement any further. If you were turned down years before and didn't appeal, the only way to get back pay that far back would be if the VA committed a CUE, and you would want a lawyer for that issue. A lot of technical grounds on appeals because it starts to get adversarial  then on.

I had fusion from S1 to L3, they gave me 3 months convalescent pay at 100%,  could have done 6 months the surgeon asked me what I wanted and I picked college (began VR&E the next month as a 60% disabled).

Yes the service connection is in appeal now. Awaiting a hearing and my nexus letter to hopefully get it connected. It has been in appeal for two years at this point so the way it sounds by what you said is they should back pay the convalescent pay as long as it gets connected in the future?

[broncovet]

Ok.  Good news and bad news.  First, the good news.  Yes you can get retro on your convalescent 100 percent but that will be for a limited period, usually a year.  

Now the bad news.  You posted:

 

Quote

 

And can you get TDIU while you are working and then quit working, I cannot really quit my job until I would be approved as I have a family to support.

 

 

No.  That is not the way TDIU works, on several levels.  First, you are not supposed to "quit" working to get TDIU.  You have to have a doctor state you are "unable to maintain SGE due to SC conditions".  You cant quit your job to collect TDIU.  Perhaps you dont understand TDIU.  TDIU means you are unemployable, it does not mean you are unemployed.  I will explain the differences. 

Lots of people are unemployed for many different reasons:  They got laid off, they quit, the company shut down and a bunch more.  They can simply find another job.  Sometimes, they will have to be retrained, and Voc Rehab may help there.  For example, if your knees go bad, and you might be able to get a job where you dont have to have good knees, such as maybe a computer programmer.  

Unemployable means you cant find another job because your doc says you can no longer work due to injuries related to service.  

[metallicide]

18 minutes ago, broncovet said:

Ok.  Good news and bad news.  First, the good news.  Yes you can get retro on your convalescent 100 percent but that will be for a limited period, usually a year.  

Now the bad news.  You posted:

 

No.  That is not the way TDIU works, on several levels.  First, you are not supposed to "quit" working to get TDIU.  You have to have a doctor state you are "unable to maintain SGE due to SC conditions".  You cant quit your job to collect TDIU.  Perhaps you dont understand TDIU.  TDIU means you are unemployable, it does not mean you are unemployed.  I will explain the differences. 

Lots of people are unemployed for many different reasons:  They got laid off, they quit, the company shut down and a bunch more.  They can simply find another job.  Sometimes, they will have to be retrained, and Voc Rehab may help there.  For example, if your knees go bad, and you might be able to get a job where you dont have to have good knees, such as maybe a computer programmer.  

Unemployable means you cant find another job because your doc says you can no longer work due to injuries related to service.  

I totally understand that. What I am getting at is it's getting very difficult for me to work with my back and PTSD. I don't want to quit because I just want to draw TDIU but if I need TDIU am I able to work up until it would be approved or not. Hopefully this surgery helps and I will be able to get back to work and recover well. I will not be able to stay on light duty at my job forever so if it came to me needing it I wasn't sure if I would have to quit first. 

[metallicide]

25 minutes ago, broncovet said:

Ok.  Good news and bad news.  First, the good news.  Yes you can get retro on your convalescent 100 percent but that will be for a limited period, usually a year.  

Now the bad news.  You posted:

 

No.  That is not the way TDIU works, on several levels.  First, you are not supposed to "quit" working to get TDIU.  You have to have a doctor state you are "unable to maintain SGE due to SC conditions".  You cant quit your job to collect TDIU.  Perhaps you dont understand TDIU.  TDIU means you are unemployable, it does not mean you are unemployed.  I will explain the differences. 

Lots of people are unemployed for many different reasons:  They got laid off, they quit, the company shut down and a bunch more.  They can simply find another job.  Sometimes, they will have to be retrained, and Voc Rehab may help there.  For example, if your knees go bad, and you might be able to get a job where you dont have to have good knees, such as maybe a computer programmer.  

Unemployable means you cant find another job because your doc says you can no longer work due to injuries related to service.  

I should have clarified, the TDIU question is more of a just in case. I can actually stay on disability leave from work for a while if it came to it and apply for TDIU. Just didn't want to be left hanging if this surgery did not go well as i've heard some horror stories about fusions as well as some really good results.  

[pwrslm]

4 hours ago, metallicide said:

don't want to quit because I just want to draw TDIU but if I need TDIU am I able to work up until it would be approved or not.

TDIU is because you can not work. I ended up losing my business because of my back, out of work 1.5 years before 60% disability kicked in. (I almost lost everything.) IF you get a statement from employer that they make special exceptions for you because of your disability, then it may be sheltered employment and you can work but the VA will put it under a microscope and check every detail, so you should study up if you go that way. If not, just the fact that you "are working" will go against you. Its a double edged sword...

Alternatively, have you looked at the VR&E program yet? They put me in college for a 4 year degree to replace my loss of employment. I could not run my business because of the physical work load, but just like you, I am not ready to quit and go out to pasture. Over 30% you have a good shot, but just like all VA benefits, study up and follow the reg's, get ready by being informed and knowing what it takes to qualify to get what you want from the VA.

Chapter 31 VR& E info here; 
https://www.disabledveterans.org/chapter-31-voc-rehab-page/

Edited May 5, 2018 by pwrslm