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VA Expanding Benefits for Traumatic Brain Injury

Nearly 300,000 Veterans have been found to have brain injuries since 2000, according to the Department of Defense.  If you are a Veteran living with traumatic brain injury (TBI) who also has Parkinson’s, dementia, depression, unprovoked seizures, or certain diseases of the hypothalamus and pituitary glands, you now have an easier path to receive additional disability pay under new regulations developed by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

The new regulations, printed in the Federal Register, say that if certain Veterans with service-connected TBI also have one of the five illnesses described above, then the second illness will also be considered as service-connected for the calculation of VA disability compensation.

Eligibility for expanded benefits will depend upon the severity of the TBI and the time between the injury causing the TBI and the onset of the second illness.  However, Veterans can still file a claim to establish direct service-connection for these ailments even if they do not meet the time and severity standards in the new regulation.

 “Any veteran who believes they may be affected by this new regulation should contact their local National Service Office as soon as possible,” said National Service Director Jim Marszalek. Veterans who have questions or who wish to file new disability claims may also use the eBenefits website, available at www.eBenefits.va.gov/ebenefits. Information about VA and DoD programs for brain injury and related research is available at www.dvbic.org.

Please also read our recent blog post for additional changes that are being made to VA benefits that affect Veterans who are in need of medically-related assistance with activities of daily living.

Evan H. Farr is an Accredited Attorney with the U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs who understands the Veterans Aid and Attendance Pension Benefit and the Medicaid program and the interaction between both benefit programs (please note that Mr. Farr does not work with clients seeking service-connected compensation).  Mr. Farr works with clients to obtain the financial assistance to which they are entitled and enables veterans and their spouses afford the type of long-term care that they need, whether home care, adult day care, assisted living care, or nursing home care.

If you are a Veteran or spouse of a Veteran who served 90 days active duty, and at least one day during a period of wartime, and you need physical assistance with your activities of daily living, be sure to make an appointment ASAP for a consultation at the Fairfax and Fredericksburg Elder Law Firm of Evan H. Farr, P.C.  We can work with you to evaluate if you qualify for the Veterans Aid and Attendance Pension Benefit and/or Medicaid (or if we can get you qualified) and we will handle the filing of all the tedious and technical paperwork. Call us at our Fairfax Virginia Elder Law office at 703-691-1888 or at our Fredericksburg Virginia Elder Law office at 540-479-1435 to make an appointment today.

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About Evan H Farr, CELA, CAP

Evan H. Farr is a 4-time Best-Selling author in the field of Elder Law and Estate Planning. In addition to being one of approximately 500 Certified Elder Law Attorneys in the Country, Evan is one of approximately 100 members of the Council of Advanced Practitioners of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and is a Charter Member of the Academy of Special Needs Planners.

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