More than 24,000 veterans, including more than 700 from Minnesota, will be eligible to have their traumatic brain injury claims re-examined after a national review found that they were not evaluated by the properly designated medical specialist by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Traumatic Brain Injury, or TBI, is often described as the signature wound of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
To ensure that TBI was properly evaluated for disability compensation, the VA developed a policy in 2007 that required one of four specialists — a psychiatrist, physiatrist, neurosurgeon or neurologist — to complete TBI exams when the VA did not have a prior diagnosis.
But the VA now acknowledges its own guidance on the issue created confusion, resulting in cases where some veterans' claims were denied after the exam was done by another medical provider.
Following a review of the VA TBI medical exams from 2007 to 2015, VA Secretary Bob McDonald decided to grant what is called "equitable relief" to veterans.
"We let these veterans down," McDonald acknowledged last week.
The VA has identified 742 veterans through its St. Paul field office who are eligible for new exams.
The Minneapolis VA Health Care System said it was the first to identify the problem in the fall of 2014 and, in collaboration with the Veterans Benefit Administration Regional Office, began proactively contacting veterans to receive a repeat TBI exam in February 2015.
