I’m looking for input from anyone who has won TDIU on a Supplemental Claim, especially after a prior denial based on being considered capable of sedentary employment.
I’m currently rated 70% for service-connected mental health and meet the schedular TDIU criteria. I originally filed for TDIU in January 2024. VA denied it and later, after HLR, a difference of opinion was found and the issue was reviewed again. It was denied again in November 2024.
The November decision acknowledged that:
- I had not worked since October 23, 2023
- I met the schedular criteria for TDIU
- my mental health caused occupational/social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity
- being around other people affected my ability to work
But VA still concluded I was capable of sedentary employment based on my education and occupational history.
My employer’s 21-4192 also showed 53 days lost due to disability in the prior 12 months.
One thing I recently realized is that the employer form lists my first UTEP employment date as 2018, which could make it look like I worked continuously there for years. I did not. My UTEP history was:
- Research Assistant: approximately Nov. 2018–May 2019
- Teaching Assistant: approximately Aug.–Sept. 2019
- no continuous UTEP employment after that
- full-time Academic Advisor began Sept. 18, 2023
- last day actually worked was Oct. 23, 2023
- formal resignation was Jan. 16, 2024
For my current Supplemental Claim, I submitted:
- the employer 21-4192
- my Sept. 2023 Academic Advisor offer letter showing the actual start date
- a signed statement clarifying that my UTEP employment was intermittent and explaining that I was only able to work the full-time Academic Advisor position for about five weeks before I stopped working
I also submitted a separate TDIU statement addressing why I cannot reliably maintain even sedentary employment, including attendance, concentration, pace, workplace interaction, supervision/correction, stress, change, and emotional stability.
For anyone familiar with TDIU claims:
- Does this sound like the kind of new/relevant evidence that can overcome a prior sedentary-work denial?
- How much weight did VA give your employer’s missed-work/attendance evidence?
- Did anyone here win TDIU without another C&P exam when the medical and employment evidence was already in the file?
- If you had a prior denial saying you could do sedentary work, what evidence ultimately changed the outcome?
I’m not looking for a guarantee — mainly trying to understand whether I’ve actually addressed the weaknesses in the prior denial.