Hip surgery and rating

Question:

Hey Jim,  I had total hip replacement on my left hip.  It was not service-connected at the time,  but I had evidence in my C file stating of an injury to that hip in service.  2 years later,  they finally service- connected me.  Can I be awarded temp IU and should they be paying me at least 30 % going forward!  Thx.

Jim's Reply:

Probably not. If you hadn't filed a claim for a hip problem before the hip replacement (not service connected) then there's no starting point...you have to file a claim to get a benefit.

If you had the surgery and then later decided to file a claim, your claim would only be effective to the date of filing. I'm not sure how you think TDIU plays into any of this since TDIU requires at least a 60% or a 70% rating?