New VA Rule for Traumatic Brain Injury Secondary Illnesses

As we posted in a blog last year, the VA disability attorneys at Perkins Studdard have been tracking changes to VA rules making it easier to service-connect certain illnesses in veterans with traumatic brain injuries (“TBIs”).  We are pleased that these rules, found in 38 C.F.R. § 3.310, are now in effect as of January 16, 2014.  If you suffered a TBI in service and now have one of the five covered illness, VA presumes that the secondary illness is related to the TBI.  That means no evidence is required to prove a nexus between the secondary illness and your military service.  This rule change does not mean a veteran suffering from one of these five illnesses will be presumed to have suffered a traumatic brain injury; the in service TBI must still be proven with evidence.

Illnesses covered by the Traumatic Brain Injury rule change

The five illnesses covered by the rule change are:

  •  unprovoked seizures,
  • dementia (which the VA understands to include presenile dementia of the Alzheimer type and post-traumatic dementia),
  • symptoms of Parkinson’s disease,
  • hormone deficiencies caused by changes in the hypothalamus and pituitary glands, and
  • depression.

Why was the rule change made?

The Department of Veterans Affairs enacted this rule in response to a report by the National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine (IOM), “Gulf War and Health, Volume 7: Long-Term Consequences of TBI” that found sufficient medical evidence of links between these five illnesses and TBIs like those suffered by veterans in Iraq and Afghanistan.

What does the Traumatic Brain Injury Secondary Illness Presumption mean?

To qualify for the presumption, a veteran must still prove the TBI and must prove the secondary illness is one of the five on the list above.  Upon doing that, the VA must automatically consider the illness to be related to the TBI without further medical evidence to establish service-connection.  That means less paperwork and review, which should result in faster processing times for these claims.

Whether the presumption is to be applied depends in part upon the severity of the TBI (mild, moderate, or severe as defined by DoD guidelines) and the amount of time between the TBI and the onset of the secondary illness.  The criteria are different for each of the five secondary illnesses.  Even if the criteria for establishing the presumption are not met, it is important to note that veterans can still establish direct service connection as they could in any other claim.

Questions about Traumatic Brain Injury

Many veterans should benefit from this proposed new VA policy.  TBI is called the “signature wound” of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freed (OEF/OIF) because of the widespread use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) among insurgents.  Over 250,000 service members suffered a TBI from 2000 to 2012, although health experts believe this number to be much higher in reality.  If you have questions about veterans benefits or would like a free consultation with one of our attorneys that handles veterans disability claims, simply complete the “Need Help” form or call the phone number on the right side of this page.

Travis Studdard is an attorney who focuses on representing veterans in VA disability compensation claims.  He regularly writes about issues that are important to veterans and their families.

You can subscribe to his Veterans Disability channel on YouTube.

I recommend Travis for an Veteran that has been dealing with constant denial with claims. He also , cover cost for my nexus letter when I ran into financial troubles , that helped me win my case.edwin Cook
I highly recommend Travis Studdard to represent anyone looking to help with VA claims. The VA is very difficult to deal with when attempting to get benefits from service connected injuries, at least that's my experience. Travis and his team knows the VA system and the legal procedures to help you get what you deserve. Travis was kind and passionate with me throughout this process and therefore, I highly recommend this law firm to represent DAV's.Terry Hembree
Such an awesome team. They spoke to me like a person and helped me through every decision with knowledge.Kevin Collett
Highly recommend this firm. Did exactly what they said they were going to and fairly timely. The VA is sometimes extremely difficult to navigate but this took all the leg work away from me and got me the result I thought was fair.Andrew Boone
Amazing staff, very informed along with excellent communication. Within just a few weeks of work, Mr Studdard was able to make things happen that normally take years! Highly recommendJacob Sylvester
Perkins Studdard LLC is the place you need to be if you have a Workers Comp case going on! Mr. Jason Perkins and his staff get the results that you need. They work with you and fight for you.Coming from another lawyer my husband and I were really surprised and appreciated the communication and honesty and understanding throughout the entire process. My husband loves the videos because they held so much information and helped him understand what what was going on. Thank you so much for representing us!!!Deborah Tompkins
I highly recommend Jason Perkins and the Team at Perkins and Studdard. Jason did a wonderful job on my case and actually got me better results than what I was hoping for. He was always so patient with me and made sure I was understanding every process in my case. He never seemed to mind me asking questions and always gave me straightforward answers. My phone calls to him or his staff were promptly answered or returned and everyone was always so helpful, personable, and respectful. He kept me updated on all the details of my case and sent helpful videos for me to review that were very informative.Dru Vaughn
Helped me when I needed after getting hurt at work. Thank you for everything!The Knight Family
I could not have asked for a better lawyer to represent my worker comp. case. Any questions I had during the process was always answered in a timely manner. Mr. Perkins really cared about insuring that I wasn't being taken advantage of during this process and helped us reach a settlement that I feel comfortable with. I would recommend this firm to my parents or children.syndel Laber
I'm so thankful and grateful for all the hard work Jason, Tina and Liz did for me. They went above and beyond to get the best outcome for me. They took the to explain everything that was going on with my case again I'm so thankful grateful and happy with the outcome of my workers comp case.Adrian Adams

Related Posts

Contrast:

Font Size: