More invisible wounds of war

The Veterans Affairs Department plans to add a new list of illnesses related to traumatic brain injury that will qualify veterans for disability benefits.

The VA said that if a veteran has service connected TBI and also has these illnesses, then they will be considered service connected:   Parkinsonism; dementias (which VA understands to include dementia of the Alzheimer type and post-traumatic dementia); depression (which also was associated with mild TBI); and diseases of hormone deficiency that may result from changes in the pituitary gland.

The VA will publish a new rule to cover this change in the Federal Register next Monday. This will not help the claims backlog.