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"We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."
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Important information for veterans: asbestos-containing products such as insulation or floor & ceiling tiles were often used on military ships and within military housing, and veterans may have been unknowingly exposed. Prior exposure to asbestos is the only determined cause of mesothelioma, a deadly cancer that has no known cure and strikes countless veterans and their families. For more information regarding asbestos exposure in the military and support for veterans, please visit Mesothelioma.com
I once said, "We will bury you," and I got into trouble with it. Of course we will not bury you with a shovel. Your own working class will bury you. Nikita Khrushchev
MWDTSA Military Working Dog
Team Support Association, Inc.
A long time, and close Army buddy came to me for assistance with his VA claim for Individual Unemployability (called “I/U” for short). He had spent years dealing with attacks of Menieres disease.
It was severe enough that the VA granted him 60% for this disease shortly after leaving the Army. He continued to work for several years until the stress of his job and severity of attacks became impossible to work around. He then quit his civilian position with the Army and applied to the VA for I/U. That is when the problems began.
Individual Unemployability, when awarded, pays the veteran at the 100% rate regardless of the actual rating percentage. In other words if a veteran is rated at 60% or 70% for medical conditions that the VA has granted the status of service connection; the vet can be paid at the higher 100% level if the medical evidence shows that he or she is made incapable of work by the service connected issues.
The basic rule for eligibility of this benefit is that the veteran must be rated, awarded service connection, for a single medical issue at 60%; or be rated at 70% for several issues and one of them must be at least 40%. This is called the 60/40 rule. This is the first half of the eligibility requirements. The next is a little more complicated.
The veteran must show that he can not work because of his or her service connected medical issues. Though a veteran may have a rating percentage greater than the 60/40 rule; there must be evidence showing that the service related medical issue(s) really does keep the veteran from working and will most likely prevent a return to gainful employment.
Here is where a lot of vets get turned around. There are several pitfalls. First; you must be unable to work specifically because of a Service Connected medical issue(s) and will most likely not be able to return to
reasonable employment. As an example; I know of veterans who have been diagnosed with medical condition “B” and no way can they work and they also are rated at 70% for medical condition “A”. They worked many years at the 70% level and now they can not work. It is the non-service connected issue that makes them unable to work, not the service connected medical issue. Most likely in cases like this a vet will not be granted I/U nor be paid at the 100%.
Veterans get into trouble here all because of the needed evidence. First, the veteran must not be working. In other words a veteran can not be working, then be awarded I/U and quit at a later date. One of the reasons for this is that a vet awarded this benefit might continue to work. So the VA has the rule; you can not be employed when you apply for this benefit. In reality it amounts to the fact that you can not be working when they verify your employment status.
Second; the medical evidence must show the veteran is
not able to work because of the service connected issue or
issues. Often veterans who have retired from the work force
can apply for this benefit if the medical records show that
their service connected conditions would keep them from working if they wanted to. Age is not considered when determining whether the VA grants this award. Therefore a vet who is 67 years old, whose service connected arthritis is so severe he could not work if he wanted to would qualify.
On the other hand if a veteran’s medical records show that it is heart disease, not arthritis that keeps him from working, regardless of age, it is a No-Go. Another scenario that back fires in a veteran’s face is when he or she is not working, meets the 60/40 rule, yet employment is still possible. An example that I saw often was that of a very well educated veteran with a service connected issue that would keep him or her unemployable if they were in construction, but not as an accountant with a desk job.
The scenario goes like this: a vet has the education and skills that would provide many work opportunities such as in the medical field. The veteran gets an increase in the rating percentage that meets the 60/40 rule. So they quit their job and apply for I/U and get refused. The reasoning behind the VA decision is that the medical evidence does show the veteran not being able to work in a physically and emotionally demanding Trauma Room, but there are many opportunities for the vet to take a desk job which is well within the vets ability. Each claim is supposed to be looked at on a case by case basis.
The VA in determining whether to grant Individual Unemployability must also consider the veteran’s age. A veteran, despite all the laws, does have a harder time finding new employment that is within their level of impairment as they get older. A young vet will generally have less difficulty than a 60 year old, especially with further education.
Education is a factor for the VA when considering the issue for I/U. Veterans with higher levels of education generally have more opportunities to provide themselves with a good income despite their impairment(s). This is a simple fact of life in this country.
The VA is also required to take into consideration the local economy and recognize its impact on veterans. A downturn in the economy does present fewer opportunities for a veteran with medical impairments.
A veteran can still apply for special consideration. This is possible when the medical evidence clearly shows that a service connected medical issue(s) does keep the vet from being employed, even when the 60/40 rule is not met.
Getting back to my friend; what happened to him that made his claim for I/U so hard? The VA wanted verification that the real reason he resigned from his position was a medical problem that was related to his military time. So they sent a form to his former employer, Madigan Army Medical Center, Fort Lewis. The VA’s request for verification of why he left his job was ignored by them, twice.
But the battle for evidence was not over. My buddy got several letters from his former colleagues who provided statements attesting to the reason why he left work. The VA in Seattle is fully aware how corrupt the system is at Madigan. So with the statements and his medical records my friend is sure to get a favorable decision from the VA.
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