TDIU Veteran Lawyers Chicago

TDIU Veteran Lawyers Chicago

If a service-related disability is sufficiently disabling, you may qualify for TDIU benefits. TDIU stands for “total disability individual unemployability.” When a servicemember’s injuries are so extensive that they prevent them from sustaining gainful employment, the servicemember would be entitled to recover TDIU benefits. 

Am I Totally Disabled and Unemployable?

As often happens, an applicant may feel as though they are totally disabled and cannot work while the VA disagrees. To qualify for TDIU benefits you must prove the following are true:

• You have a disability that is rated 60% or higher or two disabilities that combine for 70% so long as one of those disabilities is rated 40% or higher.
• Your disability is related to your active-duty service to U.S. military
• You cannot hold down steady employment due to your disability

How Does the VA Determine You are Unemployable?

The VA will expect each applicant to use medical evidence to make a legal argument as to why their disability qualifies under the VA disability rules for claims. Evidence of your work history can be used to show that your disability is preventing you from maintaining steady employment. If you take odd jobs, that will not count against you. The VA wants to see if there is any work for which you are qualified that you are currently able to perform. 

Superficially, this sounds quite easy. But the standards of proof are high. Even attorneys who are trained to interact with the VA sometimes have difficulty proving TDIU.

How Does a Lawyer Help Prove a TDIU Claim?

Your TDIU veteran lawyer in Chicago will gather your medical records, your work history, and your service record to determine if there is enough evidence for a TDIU claim. The VA’s default position is to deny an application until it is satisfied that your claim has been proven. Your TDIU lawyer will contact vocational counselors who can discuss what types of work you are qualified to perform. We will argue that your work history shows evidence of your limitations. We will interview your family members, counselors, social workers, or anyone else who interacts with you on a steady basis.

I Am Not 100% Disabled

Sometimes, the VA will award a serviceman disability benefits, but the serviceman’s disability rating does not qualify them for TDIU benefits. In that case, a veteran can contact their lawyer to argue for why they should be rerated and why the VA failed to rate them accurately the first time. In some cases, a veteran can be temporarily rated at TDIU while they build a foundation for their future gaining skills for which they are qualified. Other times, it will be unlikely that a veteran will ever be able to work again.

Call a Chicago TDIU Veteran Lawyer Today

If the VA has underrated your disability, you have the option of petitioning them to reconsider. A Chicago TDIU veteran lawyer at The Comerford Law Office, LLC can help with this and more. Call today!