TDRL Lawyer for Servicemembers and Veterans
The Temporary Disability Retired List is a holding status that the military uses when a servicemember’s disabling condition has not yet stabilized enough to assign a permanent rating. Being placed on the TDRL sounds like a resolution, but it is really the beginning of a second fight. The military retains the right to re-examine you periodically, adjust your rating downward, find that you have recovered, and remove you from the list entirely. Without someone who understands how this process actually works, servicemembers routinely lose ground they earned at the Medical Evaluation Board.
Periodic re-examinations under the TDRL are not routine paperwork. Each one is an opportunity for the military to reduce your disability percentage, shift your status, or terminate your retired pay. The Physical Evaluation Board that handles your periodic review applies the same rating criteria as your original board, but the medical picture has often changed, and the government’s evaluators are not working in your interest. What you say, what medical records are submitted, and how your condition is characterized during that process directly affects the outcome.
Citizen Soldier Law represents servicemembers and veterans at every stage of the TDRL process, including initial placement reviews, periodic examinations, and final disposition hearings before the Physical Evaluation Board. Our attorneys have served as JAG lawyers, served in the Army National Guard, and spent years working inside the exact administrative machinery that processes these cases.
What Actually Happens on the TDRL
Placement on the TDRL occurs when a servicemember is found unfit for duty but their condition is not yet stable enough to assign a permanent disability rating. The minimum rating required for TDRL placement is 30 percent under the applicable disability criteria. Once placed, the servicemember receives temporary disability retired pay and becomes subject to mandatory periodic physical examinations, generally scheduled every 18 months, though the interval can vary depending on branch and medical circumstances.
At each periodic examination, the Physical Evaluation Board reviews the current medical evidence and makes one of several determinations. The board may find that the condition has stabilized and assign a permanent rating, resulting in either Permanent Disability Retirement at 30 percent or above, or separation with severance pay if the rating falls below the retirement threshold. Alternatively, the board may find that the servicemember has sufficiently recovered to return to duty. A fourth possibility, continuation on the TDRL, applies when the condition still has not stabilized. There is a maximum time limit a servicemember can remain on the TDRL, typically five years, after which the military must make a final determination.
The consequences of each outcome are dramatically different. Permanent disability retirement at an appropriate rating preserves lifetime retired pay and access to military benefits. Separation with severance is a one-time payment that does not carry those long-term benefits. Removal from the list due to a finding of fitness means the servicemember loses everything. Getting the outcome right at each periodic review is not procedural. It is financial and medical security for the rest of your life.
TDRL Situations Citizen Soldier Law Handles
- Periodic Physical Examination Preparation: TDRL periodic exams are conducted by military or contracted physicians who evaluate whether your condition has stabilized, improved, or worsened. Proper documentation, including private specialist records and a clear statement of how your condition affects your functional capacity, can be decisive in how the board interprets the examination findings.
- Formal Physical Evaluation Board Representation: If you request a formal hearing before the Physical Evaluation Board during the TDRL disposition process, you have the right to appear with counsel. Our attorneys have operated within this system and can present medical evidence, challenge improper ratings, and cross-examine government witnesses on your behalf.
- Rating Disagreements and Downward Adjustments: The most common TDRL dispute arises when the periodic review results in a lower disability rating than the servicemember received at initial placement. A reduced rating can drop you below the retirement threshold entirely. Contesting that finding requires understanding both the VA rating schedule and the military’s separate disability standards.
- Fitness for Duty Findings: A finding that a servicemember has recovered and is fit to return to duty terminates TDRL status and retired pay. These findings are sometimes made on insufficient evidence or based on a single examination that does not capture the full picture of your condition. Our team can help you challenge and appeal fitness determinations through available review mechanisms.
- Reserve Component and National Guard TDRL Cases: Reserve Component servicemembers present unique TDRL complications. Title 10 active duty orders govern the disability process regardless of whether the servicemember is Guard or Reserve, but the downstream impact on state benefits, federal pay continuity, and re-employment rights requires an attorney who understands both the federal disability framework and the Guard and Reserve context.
- Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay (CRSC) Interaction: For those with combat-related disabilities, CRSC eligibility overlaps with TDRL and permanent disability retirement in ways that affect total compensation. Understanding how your TDRL rating interacts with potential CRSC entitlements is part of representing you effectively through disposition.
- Appeals and Corrections After Final TDRL Disposition: If you have already been removed from the TDRL with an outcome you believe was wrong, the Board for Correction of Military Records and the Physical Disability Board of Review provide avenues to challenge that determination. These processes have specific procedural requirements and documentary standards that our attorneys navigate regularly.
Why Citizen Soldier Law Handles TDRL Representation Differently
Citizen Soldier Law was founded specifically to represent servicemembers going through the disability evaluation system. Providing legal advice to injured servicemembers still serving in the military was the catalyst for founding this firm in 2013, and that focus has not drifted. Most law firms that touch military disability do so as a small part of a generalist practice. This firm was built around it.
Attorney Thomas Roughneen and the team at Citizen Soldier Law are not civilians reading military regulations from the outside. The firm’s attorneys include veterans who have served as both active duty and reserve JAG attorneys, giving them firsthand familiarity with how Medical Evaluation Boards and Physical Evaluation Boards actually operate, not just what the regulations say they should do. The firm also has a retired Army National Guard human resources NCO on staff, and Dr. Alice Tzeng, M.D., a board-certified physician in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, as part of the team. Having a physician who specializes in the exact medical specialty most relevant to physical disability evaluations, on staff and available to your legal team, is a capability that very few disability law firms in the country can offer.
The firm represents servicemembers from all branches of service and all components, active duty, National Guard, and Reserve, in TDRL and IDES matters across the country. With over one hundred years of combined military service among its attorneys and staff, including veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Citizen Soldier Law brings an institutional understanding of military culture and military disability law that shapes how each case is prepared and argued.
What to Do If Your TDRL Status Is Being Reviewed
The moment you receive notice of a scheduled periodic physical examination, that is the time to involve a TDRL attorney, not after the examination is complete. The examination itself shapes the evidentiary record that the Physical Evaluation Board will use to make its determination. Going into that examination without understanding how findings will be interpreted and without having your own medical records organized and submitted is a serious disadvantage.
Gather every medical record you have from private treating physicians, specialists, and any VA treatment you have received. TDRL periodic reviews often rely heavily on the military examination, and servicemembers who have been receiving consistent outside treatment have stronger documentation of how their condition has actually progressed. If there is a gap between what your private doctors observe and what a military examiner concludes, that gap needs to be addressed before the board acts on the record, not after.
If you are in a state with a National Guard installation or a Reserve unit, be aware that TDRL and IDES proceedings are processed through Title 10 active duty channels regardless of your component. This matters for jurisdiction, for which Physical Evaluation Board handles your case, and for the applicable standards. The processing centers and boards involved vary by branch and are not always local. Having an attorney who deals with these processes regularly means you will know where your case is, what stage it is in, and what deadlines apply.
Do not assume that a finding you disagree with is final. Servicemembers have formal rights to request a formal board hearing, to submit rebuttal evidence, and to appeal through the Physical Disability Board of Review or the Board for Correction of Military Records if the final disposition is wrong. Each of these mechanisms has its own procedural requirements and time constraints. Missing a response deadline can foreclose options that would otherwise be available. Getting an attorney involved early protects those options.
Questions About TDRL Cases
What is the difference between the TDRL and permanent disability retirement?
The TDRL is a temporary status assigned when a servicemember is found unfit for duty but their disability has not yet stabilized. Permanent disability retirement is assigned once the condition has stabilized and a final rating is determined. TDRL status requires periodic re-examination, while permanent disability retirement is fixed unless challenged through appeals or a formal correction process.
How long can a servicemember stay on the TDRL?
Generally, servicemembers cannot remain on the TDRL for more than five years. By the end of that period, the military must make a final determination, either permanent retirement, separation with severance pay, or return to duty. The specific timeline can vary by branch and individual circumstances.
What happens if my TDRL rating is lowered during a periodic review?
A lower rating at a periodic review can have significant consequences. If your rating falls below 30 percent, you may be separated with severance pay rather than permanently retired, which means losing ongoing retired pay and many associated benefits. You have the right to contest that rating through formal board proceedings and available appeals mechanisms.
Do I have a right to an attorney during a TDRL formal board hearing?
Yes. Servicemembers who request a formal Physical Evaluation Board hearing in connection with a TDRL disposition have the right to be represented by counsel. You may use a military attorney assigned to you, or you may retain a civilian attorney with experience in Physical Evaluation Board proceedings at your own expense.
Can National Guard and Reserve servicemembers be placed on the TDRL?
Yes. Reserve Component servicemembers who become unfit for duty while on active duty orders and whose conditions have not stabilized can be placed on the TDRL. The disability evaluation process runs through Title 10 active duty channels, so the same federal standards apply regardless of whether the servicemember is Guard or Reserve.
If I was found fit for duty during a TDRL periodic review, can I challenge that finding?
Yes. A fitness determination is not automatically final. You can request a formal Physical Evaluation Board hearing to contest the finding, and you may be able to submit additional medical evidence that was not available during the examination. If the formal board process does not resolve the issue, appeals to the Physical Disability Board of Review or the Board for Correction of Military Records may be available depending on your branch and circumstances.
How does the VA disability rating interact with my TDRL rating?
The VA rating and the military disability rating use the same rating schedule but operate under different standards. The VA rates all service-connected conditions regardless of fitness for duty. The military rates only those conditions that render a servicemember unfit. This means the ratings can and often do diverge. Your TDRL rating does not automatically mirror your VA rating, and pursuing VA benefits separately from your TDRL case is both permitted and advisable.
Can my TDRL retired pay be offset against VA disability compensation?
This depends on whether you qualify for Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay or CRSC. Without those offsets, military retired pay, including TDRL pay, can be reduced by the amount of VA compensation received. CRSC applies specifically to combat-related disabilities and allows qualifying retirees to receive both payments without the dollar-for-dollar offset. The interaction between these programs is one of the more financially consequential issues in disability retirement cases.
What medical evidence is most persuasive in a TDRL disposition hearing?
Consistent treatment records from private or VA physicians that document the ongoing functional limitations of your condition carry significant weight, particularly when they align with or exceed what the military examiner found. Functional capacity evaluations, specialist opinions, and written statements from treating providers that describe how your condition affects your ability to perform specific military duties are particularly useful in contesting a reduced rating or a fitness finding.
Is it possible to be recalled to active duty while on the TDRL?
A servicemember on the TDRL who is found fit during a periodic review may be returned to active duty status. The military’s authority to make a fitness determination at each review period is part of what makes TDRL status meaningfully different from permanent retirement. This is one reason why preparing thoroughly for each periodic review matters. A well-documented record of ongoing limitations reduces the risk of a fitness finding that terminates your retired status.
What if I missed a TDRL periodic examination?
Failing to report for a scheduled TDRL examination can have serious consequences, including removal from the list without the benefit of a full disposition hearing. If you missed an examination or received inadequate notice, contact a TDRL attorney as soon as possible. There may be grounds to address the situation, but acting quickly is important because the military will not wait indefinitely for a response.
Serving Servicemembers and Veterans Nationwide in TDRL Matters
Citizen Soldier Law handles TDRL and physical evaluation board matters across the country. Because TDRL proceedings run through federal Title 10 channels, our representation is not limited to New Jersey. We work with servicemembers in the New York metropolitan area, throughout Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and Connecticut, and across the broader Northeast. We also represent clients stationed or residing in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, where significant active duty and Reserve Component populations are concentrated near major installations. Our TDRL representation extends to servicemembers in Texas, Louisiana, Washington, California, Colorado, and the Pacific Northwest, as well as those stationed or living in the Midwest, including Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, and Missouri. Clients in Hawaii and Alaska navigating TDRL periodic reviews have also worked with our team. The nature of military service means our clients are wherever the military sends them, and our ability to appear before Physical Evaluation Boards and handle TDRL administrative proceedings is not limited by geography. Wherever you are located, Citizen Soldier Law can advise you, prepare your case, and represent you through the process.
Speak With a TDRL Attorney at Citizen Soldier Law
The TDRL process moves on the military’s schedule, not yours. Periodic examination notices arrive, deadlines apply, and formal board proceedings follow their own procedures without pausing for servicemembers who are not yet represented. A TDRL attorney at Citizen Soldier Law can review your current status, evaluate the medical record, and help you understand what your options actually are before the next review changes the outcome. Call our office to speak directly with a member of our team about your case.
