Veterans With Traumatic Brain Injury to Receive Increased Compensation

Marlene Busko

Medscape Medical News 2008. © 2008 Medscape

September 24, 2008 — Changes in the way the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) evaluates traumatic brain injury (TBI) could quadruple payments to some veterans with this type of brain trauma.

"These important regulatory changes will allow VA decision makers to better assess the consequences of these injuries and ensure veterans are properly compensated for their residual effects," James B. Peake, MD, secretary of Veterans Affairs, said in a statement.

The Associated Press reports that the new compensation is based on the expectation that some troops with the even mildest form of TBI could end up with chronic symptoms that could reduce their lifetime earnings by up to 40%. It also reports that the new regulation judges such individuals to be 40% disabled, rather than 10%. The lower rating was established in a 1961 regulation.

Soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan typically sustain TBIs from homemade roadside bombs, which are commonly known as improvised explosive devices. Such blasts can result in immediate and transient loss of consciousness but can also lead to permanent neurologic impairment.

Sustained symptoms of mild TBI can include headache, sleep difficulties, poor memory, slower thinking, irritability, and depression.

The new disability rating schedule takes effect in 30 days, and veterans receiving compensation under the old evaluation system can opt to have their cases reviewed.

As of September 2008, more than 22,000 veterans are being compensated for TBI. Of these individuals, more than 5800 are veterans of conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

According to the Associated Press story, approximately 1.7 million American troops have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, and a recent RAND Corporation study estimated that up to 320,000 could have suffered a TBI.