The Facts About Veterans With Disabilities

With all the advances in medicine and technology the kinds of injuries we are seeing today can be diagnosed. Look how many years it took for all the service members from Vietnam to be recognized for things like TBI and PTSD, I mean these men and women lived for years without any kind of help.

I'm one of the veterans with a brain injury, which is the ultimate disability!

Quite a lot, I am 100% P&T I/U.

Speaking as a service connected disabled veteran, I think that we have an increase in reported disabilities because of not only better combat medical treatment but also the fact that we have more access to reporting it to the VA, as well as other veterans finally being able to receive benefits that were denied years ago. Anybody who has dealt with the VA in the past would tell you that it served much purpose as trying to ice skate uphill because if you weren't missing a body part or about to die there was nothing wrong with you. Now, with more advanced medical knowledge, studies and technology that disability goes beyond what you could see with on the outside with the naked eye, which leads to more veterans actually receiving the treatment that they needed for so long but didn't have access.

Even though, the access is a lot better than it was years ago, there are still a lot of veterans going undiagnosed and treated for service connected disabilities that could not only just prove fatal to the veteran but others as well and the main reason for that is that you could become frustrated with dealing with the VA after you have tried numerous times to plead your case to them accompanied with supporting evidence that in fact there is something wrong with you and it is a result of your military service to this country.

I have dealt with the VA and I am still dealing with the VA about my service connection. I'm currently 80% service connected but am supposed to be at 100% permanent and total because I rate that and with medical evidence to support it. Many other veterans have gone through the same issue and are currently going through the same issue.

Also, you have to factor in that we have more people serving in the Armed Forces now than we have had in the past. This also contributes along with those who have served in the past bringing the claims to a staggering number because not only does the VA have to deal with those past claims but they also have to deal with the new claims that continue to come in on a daily basis.

Now, to fully answer your question, there's more access to information also there are the newer veterans along with the older veterans with disabilities, who were denied access to treatment for their service connected conditions, that are now given access to treatment that they needed to receive.

Plus, I would like to add that we have more veteran oriented organizations getting involved to at least attempt to try to make sure that our veterans and service members with disabilities are treated with the care they need.

I believe that it has to do a lot with today's perception of our military. And the many sacrifices and injures the troops had to suffer. There was more of a positive twist on the reporting then past conflicts/wars such as Vietnam. The public feels they must be supportive of our troops or they won't be perceived as good individuals and be frowned upon. Vietnam veterans where so dispirited by the reception they received when they came home that they climbed into a shell. So I think that is why there is so many more claims because there is more support.

The VA could do a lot better job and be more in tune with the DOD. Medical records should be at their finger tips. Why there is no cohesive system in place is idiotic. I had a heck of a time finding a place to convert my microfiche into hard copy for my claim. I also would say use a VSO to help you so you understand the system better and have an easier time filing your claim.

One thing is that there are a lot more deployments and opportunities for injury.  Another is that there has been a great deal of medical advancement and surviving severe injury is more likely.  Finally, the process for filing claims and their adjudication is designed in such a way that it is rather easy to be "disabled."

In the past we also had a lot of our military individuals in places where we didn't have any military people. Many of those individuals are still out here and kicking with no records of their military injuries and/or surgeries. They still cant get disability because there wasn't any record kept of the actions/locations they were involved in. Even with declassification after 50 years, if the records weren't created in the first place...

I would aruge the number is even higher due to conditions that do not get desginated as service-connected (when they are!) and for individuals who get underrated for their disability. Many servicemembers do not appeal to get their disability percentage correct.

I would argue that a contributing factor is a better understanding of the symptoms and advancement in medicine. Things like hearing loss and PTSD weren't widely or properly diagnosed previously. Also, and I find this when I talk to some Vietnam vets, they weren't aware of the benefits or processes available to them.

For me, getting out in the mid 2000s, I didn't know that I could file a claim until I was having a discussion about my ears ringing after one of my veteran friends asked (jokingly) if I was deaf after having him repeat himself over and over again because I couldn't hear him. Nobody really made it clear in my transition that there were such opportunities available. Today, just a few years later, there is a push and a LOT of info available to transitioning military about how to get what they need; as opposed to previous years.

Among other factors, more survivors, better field medicine, better public support...all of these play a role.

I believe it is because of multiple deployments to war zones. Also, medical care is saving the lives of more combat veterans than at any other time in our history.