Is it safe to put in a claim with P&T TDIU?

[Abyss]

I am rated 70% for PTSD but am paid at 100% for TDIU and am P&T. There are additional claims I could put in for, especially for things like sleep apnea which I have been diagnosed with that could be considered secondary to PTSD.

My concern is that my file is P&T so it will never be opened again. Is it safe for me to put in for new claims, or is there any chance that my P&T could be reviewed? There is no new evidence that contradicts my rating but I guess when it comes to the VA I've learned to play it safe. 

My hope would be to get a schedular 100% if the VA saw fit so that I could try to work without being at risk of dropping down to 70% with no additional income if the job didn't work out which would mean I'd be unable to pay my bills. Thanks for any assistance.

[john999]

I was rated TDIU 70% in 2002.  Since that time I have filed numerous claims including DMII, Heart Disease and serious neuropathy due to DMII.  I also claimed "S" smc.  I actually went from 70% to 90% to 100% but it took years.   If I had TDIU P&T I think I would probably not try and go back to work.  Are you getting SSDI?  If you start to monkey around with TDIU it might get more involved than you want it to be.  When I got TDIU I knew I would never work again.  I was 52 years old and had serious pain issues and mental health stuff.  My advice is to not get too greedy.  I got 100% but I will never work again.  If I had 100% when I was 40 it might have been different.

 

The other thing is that as CUE says you can never tell what a LHI might come up with if they don't like the way you part your hair.  I have had good luck with them, but it was just dumb luck.

[pwrslm]

But say you are 35. What do you do if you are bored out of your mind with TDIU?
 

Introduction to Marginal Employment and Protected or Sheltered Work Environments

In order to gain approval for TDIU claims, a veteran is required to demonstrate that they are unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation as a result of their service-connected disabilities.

Substantially Gainful Employment is defined as SGA, Substantial Gainful Activity, an amount of earnings that is at or above the federal poverty threshold for one person. Anything less than this is known as Marginal Employment.

...

Self & Family Employment Does Not Bar Vets From Individual Unemployability Benefits

Self-employment and family employment are other examples of protected or sheltered work environments.

https://www.woodslawyers.com/marginal-employment-sheltered-work-environments/

A small family run business can be very profitable and not violate TDIU requirements. Husband/wife teams can become very successful.

Always consult with a lawyer when thinking about this. One mistake could cost your TDIU award.

[brokensoldier244th]

Just now, pwrslm said:

But say you are 35. What do you do if you are bored out of your mind with TDIU?
 

Introduction to Marginal Employment and Protected or Sheltered Work Environments

In order to gain approval for TDIU claims, a veteran is required to demonstrate that they are unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation as a result of their service-connected disabilities.

Substantially Gainful Employment is defined as SGA, Substantial Gainful Activity, an amount of earnings that is at or above the federal poverty threshold for one person. Anything less than this is known as Marginal Employment.

...

Self & Family Employment Does Not Bar Vets From Individual Unemployability Benefits

Self-employment and family employment are other examples of protected or sheltered work environments.

https://www.woodslawyers.com/marginal-employment-sheltered-work-environments/

A small family run business can be very profitable and not violate TDIU requirements. Husband/wife teams can become very successful.

Always consult with a lawyer when thinking about this. One mistake could cost your TDIU award.

Im not 35 but I feel you. I was rated 100% about 6 yrs ago, so I was 39. It took a few years to wrap my head around. I was a stay at home dad/uncle for a few of them and I could tell you more about Paw Patrol and Fancy Nancy than I could about Game of Thrones or BS Gallacta.  That said, I started volunteering at the local library for a few hours a week in the stacks, and eventually started working part time doing the same. It certainly wasn't SGA, but over the next two years I figured out what my tolerances were for situations when working and volunteering, and how to mitigate or temporarily step around them when possible. I work full time for the VA now, and they are fully aware of my limitations- but, im not I/U either. 

 

One thing to be careful of with the sheltered environment is that the Dept of Labor waffles back and forth on what they consider to be sheltered employment, and for family employment you have to be really well documented to justify it should there be any doubt down the road.

Honestly, having been I/U for 6 months prior to a pending decision, I wrestled with this and spent my time being home dad, catching up on my hobbies, and trying to make myself the (reasonably) best person I could be.  I volunteered a bit at the VA clinic, too, wearing one of those blue jackets and giving people coffee or whatever, too. The going back to work part still happened a few years after being rated P&T, partly because I couldn't believe it and felt that I had to 'justify' to other people that I was disabled by not working or engaging in much outside the house because part of my stuff is mental, and part of it is physical- but none of it is 'obvious'. Im not missing limbs, or blind or anything like that. I avoided people just because I didnt want to have to explain all the time why I wasn't 'working' during the days when everyone else was. Eventually I just told them that I was self employed and that seemed to shake most people off. 

 

 

[pacmanx1]

40 minutes ago, brokensoldier244th said:

I avoided people just because I didnt want to have to explain all the time why I wasn't 'working' during the days when everyone else was

Unfortunately, here is another issue TDIU veterans have to be aware of. I am not nor have I ever been TDIU, I was rated 100% scheduler and dealing with other veterans and people in general, it is none of their business. I would tell other veterans that I retired being rated 100%, I knew I was not going back to work so to me it is not a lie, but some veterans think that if you/I did it they can do it, or you/I could help them. I quickly explained/explain to them that it is really what is in your/their medical records. The VA is just not going to grant you/them 100% or TDIU if there is no medical reason.

I have been  called a liar and a cheat because after trying to help other veterans and informing them that I did not think I could help them that they would turn on me. I really don’t care, and no VA doctor is going to lie just to help a veteran out. Either your medical evidence proves or disprove that you have a legitimate disability or not, it is what it is. I even had a VA doctor lie on my C & P exam and had to file a statement in support that proved that the C & P exam was inadequate for rating purposes because the examiner failed to address my remanded issues. After given a new C & P exam my disability was corrected and increased. People/VA do some crazy things and you the veteran have to do what ever you have to do and to be honest because if you ever lie, it will catch up with you. IMHO (IN MY HUMBLE OPINION).

[brokensoldier244th]

5 minutes ago, pacmanx1 said:

Unfortunately, here is another issue TDIU veterans have to be aware of. I am not nor have I ever been TDIU, I was rated 100% scheduler and dealing with other veterans and people in general, it is none of their business. I would tell other veterans that I retired being rated 100%, I knew I was not going back to work so to me it is not a lie, but some veterans think that if you/I did it they can do it, or you/I could help them. I quickly explained/explain to them that it is really what is in your/their medical records. The VA is just not going to grant you/them 100% or TDIU if there is no medical reason.

I have been  called a liar and a cheat because after trying to help other veterans and informing them that I did not think I could help them that they would turn on me. I really don’t care, and no VA doctor is going to lie just to help a veteran out. Either your medical evidence proves or disprove that you have a legitimate disability or not, it is what it is. I even had a VA doctor lie on my C & P exam and had to file a statement in support that proved that the C & P exam was inadequate for rating purposes because the examiner failed to address my remanded issues. After given a new C & P exam my disability was corrected and increased. People/VA do some crazy things and you the veteran have to do what ever you have to do and to be honest because if you ever lie, it will catch up with you. IMHO (IN MY HUMBLE OPINION).

Great points, all.