All too often a veteran will be unemployable due to his service connected disabilities but not meet the schedular requirements for a 100% rating. In this situation the Regional Office is required to consider a 100% rating under total disability based on individual unemployability or TDIU. Unfortunately veterans are frequently denied TDIU for improper reasons. In this series we will take a look at the most common mistakes the Regional Office makes when denying a veteran’s claim for TDIU.

Common mistakes include:

• Failing to consider the combined effect of all the veteran’s service connected impairments.
• Denying TDIU because a veteran is working.
• Denying TDIU because a veteran is attending college.