CCK LIVE UNDER 5:00 : 100% Disability vs. TDIU
CCK Law: Our Vital Role in Veterans Law
Video Transcription:
Christine Clemens: Hi, my name is Christine Clemens. Today, we are discussing a hundred percent VA disability ratings versus TDIU for veterans. A hundred percent disability rating can come about in a number of different ways. You can get a one-hundred percent scheduler reading what that means is that VA has rated a one-hundred percent or totally disabling rating. The other way that a veteran could get a one-hundred percent rating is if he or she has multiple service-connected disabilities with individual ratings that combine to equal one-hundred percent. Now VA uses a special kind of math where they do not add conditions together. They combine them. For more information on that, you can check out our website. The third way that a veteran could get a one-hundred percent rating is if they are unable to work based on their service-connected conditions. This is called TDIU, which stands for Total Disability Based on Individual Unemployability. TDIU provides veterans with another way to receive compensation at the one-hundred level or the one-hundred percent payment rate, even if their disabilities do not combine to equal a one-hundred percent rating. So TDIU is for veterans who are unable to work or unable to engage in, with called substantially gainful employment.
Christine: There are two ways to get to the TDIU: It can be a schedular or an extra-schedular. Schedular TDIU means that a veteran either has a single service-connected condition with a rating of at least sixty percent. The other way is that a veteran if they multiple conditions with the combined rating of at least seventy percent and with at least one of the conditions rated at forty percent or higher. Now, for the purposes of TDIU in establishing one disability. Now when we say single disability or one disability for these combined ratings. Some conditions can actually be combined to meet that single criterion. If they stem from the same accident or affect the same body part or the same type of injury like Orthopedic. Now, it is a little bit harder to establish TDIU on an extra-schedular basis. But basically, what this is, is it is available if you do not meet the requirements of either having a single service-connected condition with a rating of at least sixty percent or multiple service-connected conditions one being at least forty percent and combining to a total of seventy percent. TDIU is available for a veteran who is unable to work or engage in substantially gainful employment.
Christine: It is employment that is not marginal that earns an annual salary that is above the Federal Poverty Level. Some veterans may be working in what is called a protected work environment and still qualify for TDIU. Visit our blog on the protected work environment to learn more. What is the difference between a hundred percent with one disability that is rated at a hundred percent? Multiple disabilities combine to a hundred percent or a hundred percent based on TDIU. Because TDIU is based on the veteran’s inability to work, to continue to maintain that one-hundred percent rating, a veteran cannot work in a gain-full capacity. A veteran whose disabilities combined to a hundred percent or who has a disability that is at the one-hundred percent rate has no restrictions on their ability to work. That is really the major difference. Thanks for joining us today. We hope this information was helpful. For more information, please visit our website: cck-law.com.
