Forward Observer — Heads Up … VA Seeks to Expand TBI Benefits

VA SEEKING TO PROMULGATE A REGULATORY CHANGE IN HOW IT HANDLES SECONDARY ILLNESSES

LVMAC Poster Art 2005On 7 December 2012 (Pearl Harbor Day), the Department of Veterans Affairs is proposing to change its disability compensation rating rules to  add five diagnosable illnesses which are secondary to service-connected Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). It would improve the timeliness of decisions.  To accomplish this, the VA proposes to add a new subsection to its adjudication regulation by revising 38 CFR 3.310 to state that if a Veteran who has a service-connected TBI also has one of the five illnesses, then the illness will be considered service connected as secondary to the TBI. (more…)