do I qualify for tdiu?

[Anguis87]

I'm currently 80% with knee and hip arthritis......ive been doing pain management and working since I got my initial 80% but its hard to even get out of bed anymore......any info on the process ect would be helpful

[GBArmy]

Anguis87 To answer your question: possibly. Do you have a disability that stated you are unable to work as part of the C&P exam? If you get a 70% rating or higher and the evidence shows that you are unable to work, they should be sending you a letter/form to apply for TDIU. If you don't have it, request it. It is a pretty thorough process though. Do you have evidence that you missed a lot of work because you couldn't get to work? Have you been fired/layed off from work? More than once? All this will be gotten from your previous employers.

[pacmanx1]

OK, I will make this as plain as I can GBArmy is partially correct.  The regulation states that a veteran must be 70% with at least one condition rated as 40% but due to the fact that you are rated at 80% you may still be eligible for TDIU if you have a Medical Opinion that you cannot work due to your service connected disabilities. The problem is most veterans are informed about the 70% criteria and one disability rated as 40% but if you continue to read it also states. Under section (b), VA should evaluate your service connected claim and raise any condition that you claim to meet the TDIU criteria and grant them if they warranted it. Keep in mind that you would need a Medical Opinion that you cannot work due to your service connected conditions/disabilities. You may also need a Voc Rehab Specialist Opinion that you cannot work due to your service connected disabilities.  If you are not working you should also file for SSDI. Also keep in mind that TDIU is for veterans that are not working and can't work due to their service connected disabilities. 

4.16 Total disability ratings for compensation based on unemployability of the individual.

§ 4.16 Total disability ratings for compensation based on unemployability of the individual.

(a) Total disability ratings for compensation may be assigned, where the schedular rating is less than total, when the disabled person is, in the judgment of the rating agency, unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation as a result of service-connected disabilities: Provided That, if there is only one such disability, this disability shall be ratable at 60 percent or more, and that, if there are two or more disabilities, there shall be at least one disability ratable at 40 percent or more, and sufficient additional disability to bring the combined rating to 70 percent or more. For the above purpose of one 60 percent disability, or one 40 percent disability in combination, the following will be considered as one disability: (1) Disabilities of one or both upper extremities, or of one or both lower extremities, including the bilateral factor, if applicable, (2) disabilities resulting from common etiology or a single accident, (3) disabilities affecting a single body system, e.g. orthopedic, digestive, respiratory, cardiovascular-renal, neuropsychiatric, (4) multiple injuries incurred in action, or (5) multiple disabilities incurred as a prisoner of war. It is provided further that the existence or degree of nonservice-connected disabilities or previous unemployability status will be disregarded where the percentages referred to in this paragraph for the service-connected disability or disabilities are met and in the judgment of the rating agency such service-connected disabilities render the veteran unemployable. Marginal employment shall not be considered substantially gainful employment. For purposes of this section, marginal employment generally shall be deemed to exist when a veteran's earned annual income does not exceed the amount established by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, as the poverty threshold for one person. Marginal employment may also be held to exist, on a facts found basis (includes but is not limited to employment in a protected environment such as a family business or sheltered workshop), when earned annual income exceeds the poverty threshold. Consideration shall be given in all claims to the nature of the employment and the reason for termination.

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501)

(b) It is the established policy of the Department of Veterans Affairs that all veterans who are unable to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation by reason of service-connected disabilities shall be rated totally disabled. Therefore, rating boards should submit to the Director, Compensation Service, for extra-schedular consideration all cases of veterans who are unemployable by reason of service-connected disabilities, but who fail to meet the percentage standards set forth in paragraph (a) of this section. The rating board will include a full statement as to the veteran's service-connected disabilities, employment history, educational and vocational attainment and all other factors having a bearing on the issue.