Total Disability Based on Individual Unemployability (TDIU)
You may be eligible for total disability based on individual unemployability (TDIU) if your service-connected disability is preventing you from being a productive member of the workforce. When veterans are given a rating for individual unemployability, this means that the VA determined them unable to obtain gainful employment due to an injury sustained while in the military.
Our Kalamazoo, MI veterans attorneys will be able to help you seek a rating for so you have peace of mind. Please contact us if you have any additional questions or concerns regarding your case.
A veteran is entitled to a 100% VA disability rating if one or more service-connected disabilities precludes them from engaging in “substantially gainful employment.” A substantially gainful occupation is defined as that which provides annual income exceeding the poverty threshold for one person. If your claim for individual unemployability has been wrongly denied, our VA disability lawyers will help you through the steps of filing an appeal.
Qualifying for Individual Employability
Generally, in order to qualify for , a claimant must meet one of the following requirements:
- If the claimant has only one service-connected condition, that condition must have a schedular rated at least 60% or more
- If the claimant has two or more service-connected conditions, at least one of those conditions must be rated at 40% or more, and the veteran’s combined disability rating must be 70% or more
In either case, the veteran must be unemployable because of his or her service-connected conditions.
If the above criteria for VA unemployability are not met, the veteran can still petition the VA for an “extra-schedular” rating at 100%. This means that the VA will consider several factors to determine whether your case is so “exceptional” or “unusual” that the regular rating method used by the VA is inadequate. Some of these factors the VA considers include your work history, education, periods of hospitalization, and your service-connected disabilities. Our accredited VA lawyers will be able to help you gather the necessary evidence to prove individual unemployability.
Has your claim for veteran unemployability been denied by the VA? If so, our VA disability lawyers may be able to help. To request a consultation with one of our veteran disability lawyers in Kalamazoo, MI, and learn more about VA unemployability, call the VA Disability Group at 1-844-VET-LAWS (1-844-838-5297).
