Traumatic Brain Injury and VA disability Compensation

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a condition where the brain is damaged because of a traumatic event. A “traumatic event” is any event, like a car accident, IED blast, gunshot wound, falling and hitting your head, etc., that causes damage to the brain. If the brain condition is caused by an illness or is genetic, then it is not considered TBI and cannot be rated. A symptom can only be rated under TBI if it is directly caused by TBI. This means you need solid medical evidence establishing the existence of TBI and the cause for the TBI.

The symptoms/conditions caused by TBI can last a few days or weeks to a few years or permanently. It is hard to predict just how long the symptoms may last. The majority of symptoms in the majority of cases of mild TBI resolve within the first three months following the trauma. There are three kinds of conditions and symptoms that can be caused by TBI: cognitive, physical, and emotional/behavioral. Cognitive conditions interfere with the ability of the brain itself to function properly. They can affect the brain’s ability to process information, reason, problem-solve, make decisions, organize, prioritize, etc. Physical conditions deal with the ability of the body to function. Emotional and behavioral conditions address psychological health, like depression, hallucinations, etc. TBI is rated on the symptoms/conditions that it causes. “Residuals” refers to all the symptoms and bodily functions that are affected because of TBI. TBI is not given a single rating, but is rated on the severity of all the conditions and symptoms that it causes. A single symptom cannot be rated twice.

If you need some direction or assistance with your TBI contact us at info@VetDefender.com or call us at 855-312-5575.