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.
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