Entitlement to Service Connection and Compensation for Traumatic Brain Injuries

What is a Traumatic Brain Injury?

Traumatic Brain Injury, more commonly referred to as a TBI, can be caused by a forceful bump, blow, or jolt to the head or body, or from an object that pierces the skull and enters the brain. Not all blows or jolts to the head result in a TBI.  Examples of incidents that can cause a TBI include a personal assault with a blow to the head, a motor vehicle accident, or an improvised explosive device (IED) blast.  TBIs have become more common among service members in the past two decades or so, especially for those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

Diagnosing a TBI

After a veteran experiences an event causing head trauma, symptoms can manifest in numerous ways, and can be different in every case.  However, the most common symptoms include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Headaches

• Fatigue and lethargy

• Dizziness and lightheadedness

• Depression or other mental health symptoms

• Difficulty concentrating

• Weak muscles

• Tinnitus or hearing loss

• Seizures

• Poor judgment

• Coordination, balance, and gait disorders

• Difficulty with written and verbal communication

• Impaired memory

TBIs are diagnosed as mild, moderate, or severe based upon medical testing and the severity of the veteran’s symptoms.  A TBI can resolve or “heal” itself with time if it is a mild TBI, much like how one can experience a concussion, and all the side-effects of it, until the brain has fully healed.  However, in more significant TBIs, effects can be long lasting, or take years to manifest or develop.

In order to receive compensation for a TBI, a Veteran must file a claim and show that their TBI is a result of their service.  There are three main elements that must be met to support a grant of service connection:

1.)   Evidence of onset or occurrence in service;

2.)   A nexus, or link, between the in-service occurrence and present day;

3.)   A currently diagnosed disability.

Supportive information to gather and submit to VA include service treatment records reflecting an accident, attack or occurrence to establish that a TBI occurred in service; treatment records since discharge supporting the Veteran has continued to seek treatment for the same symptoms since their time in the military and showing a current diagnosis of a TBI and/or residuals.  

During the VA claims process, VA has a duty to assist the Veteran in gathering and obtaining information that can help establish that their TBI, or any claimed disability, is a result of their service.  This often includes a VA examination, which may confirm a current diagnosis of a TBI and evaluate the severity of symptoms/residuals.

Rating a Traumatic Brain Injury

Once VA concedes that the Veteran’s TBI is due to service, the Veteran may be entitled to compensation from VA, depending on the rating assigned.   The rating criteria for TBI is found under 38 C.F.R §4.124(a) Schedule of ratings—neurological conditions and convulsive disorders.  Specifically Diagnostic code 8045, which goes into detail on how a TBI is properly rated based on severity of the residuals and symptoms.

VA divides the rating criteria of TBI residuals into 10 subcategories in order to evaluate the condition.  Veterans are then rated based on the level of severity and impairment in each of these areas of functioning:

• Diminishing memory, attention, concentration, and executive functions

• Judgement

• Social Interaction

• Orientation

• Motor activity

• Visual-spatial orientation

• Subjective symptoms

• Neurobehavioral effects. 

• Communication.

• Consciousness - in a coma, or in a vegetative state?

VA rates these residuals on a scale of 0, 1, 2, 3, or total, and the highest-rated residual is what VA uses to determine the overall rating for a veteran’s TBI.  These are:

Further, a Veteran may be entitled to separate ratings for disabilities which could be the result of the same incident as the TBI, if the ratings are more favorable to the Veteran, for example rather than a 40-percent for TBI residuals, the Veteran may be entitled to a 30-percent for mental health and a 30-percent for migraines.  VA is required by law to maximize the Veteran’s benefits.

If you believe your TBI is as a result of your service, or are seeking assistance in pursuing an increased rating, please contact our office at 844-483-8737!