• An increasing number of veterans are filing service-related disability claims.military march image by Paul Blanche from Fotolia.com
  
  The number of veterans with a service-related disability is on the rise. According to a 2008 American Community Survey, 588,000 veterans received a disability rating, a percentage that determines the level of compensation to which the veteran is entitled, of 70 percent or higher. Veterans who receive the classification of Total Disability Based on Individual Unemployability (TDIU) are entitled to the highest level of disability compensation benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and may be eligible for additional grants and assistance.
  
  

TDIU Classification

• The Rating Veterans Service Representative determines a veteran's disability rating after the Veterans Application for Compensation is processed. The rating is based primarily on a review of medical and hospital records. A rating of 100 percent is the TDIU, and requires additional evidence that the disability renders the veteran unemployable, such as employment history, employer records and an opinion letter from a doctor. However, a veteran does not need to be 100 percent disabled to qualify for TDIU or remain completely unemployed while receiving benefits. A veteran who has a service-related disability of 60 percent or higher, two service-related disabilities with a combined rating of 70 percent or higher and is unable to maintain "substantive employment" is entitled to TDIU benefits. Veterans who earn less than the U.S. poverty line or are protected from the requirements that another individual in their position would be expected to fulfill are considered unemployable by the VA.
  
  

Compensation

• Veterans with a total disability qualify for either disability compensation or a disability pension through the VA. In order to qualify for a pension, a veteran must meet low-income requirements. Disability compensation is the most commonly claimed benefit and has no income requirement. TDIU benefits vary depending on the number of dependents a disabled veteran has. Parents, spouses and children all qualify as dependents and increase the monthly benefits to which the veteran is entitled. As of 2008, veterans with no children are entitled to a monthly wage of $2,673 if the veteran is single to $3,063 if the veteran has a spouse and two parents. Veterans with a child but no spouse are entitled to $2,774. Veterans with a child, a spouse and two parents are entitled to $3,172. For each additional child, the veteran is entitled to an extra $75 to $240, depending on the child's age.
  
  

Additional Benefits

• Veterans with a TDIU classification are entitled to complete dental care through the VA. The dependents of a veteran with TDIU status are entitled to the Survivors' and Dependents' Educational Assistance Program, which provides 45 months of educational assistance for degrees, certificate programs or vocational training. The Specially Adapted Housing Grant, designed to allow veterans to modify their homes so that it is accessible, is available to veterans who have lost use of one or more extremities or are blind. Veterans who qualify for a pension and are in need of personal assistance to bath, dress, eat or leave the house are also entitled to the Aid and Attendance benefit, which provides an additional $1,632 to $1,949 a month.