VA Updates Disability Ratings for Brain Injuries
Author: Department of Veterans Affairs
Published: 2008/09/23 - Updated: 2025/12/27
Publication Type: Informative
Category Topic: Disabled Veterans - Related Publications
Page Content: Synopsis - Introduction - Main - Insights, Updates
Synopsis: This information addresses VA policy updates for evaluating service-connected disabilities, specifically new assessment criteria for traumatic brain injuries and burn injuries. The changes draw on current medical and scientific research to provide clearer guidelines for VA employees determining disability compensation levels. The update is particularly relevant because blast-related brain injuries became increasingly common among veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, with over 22,000 veterans receiving TBI compensation as of 2008. The revised criteria help ensure that veterans with varied presentations of these injuries - from mild concussions to more severe neurological effects - receive assessments that reflect their actual functional limitations rather than outdated medical understanding. Veterans, their families, and disability advocates rely on accurate rating schedules to understand what compensation levels they should expect and to challenge undervalued assessments - Disabled World (DW).
Introduction
Increased Compensation Possible for Some Veterans
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has announced changes in the way VA will evaluate traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and burn scars for purposes of determining the appropriate level of compensation veterans receive for these injuries.
"These important regulatory changes will allow VA decision makers to better assess the consequences of these injuries and ensure veterans are properly compensated for their residual effects," stated Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B. Peake.
Main Content
VA has revised the Disability Rating Schedule in light of current scientific and medical knowledge in order to provide VA employees with more detailed and up-to-date criteria for evaluating and compensating veterans with these injuries.
Two groups of veterans may be affected by these changes. The first group includes veterans who will be awarded disability compensation for TBI and burn injuries in the future. The second group includes veterans already receiving compensation for these injuries whose disabilities are reevaluated under the new criteria.
The effects of blast injuries resulting from roadside explosions of improvised explosive devices have been common sources of injury in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan and appear to be somewhat different from the effects of trauma seen from other sources of injury.
As of September 2008, there are more than 22,000 veterans being compensated for TBI, of whom more than 5,800 are veterans of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Traumatic brain injuries result in immediate effects such as loss or alteration of consciousness, amnesia and sometimes neurological impairments. These abnormalities may all be transient, but more prolonged or even permanent problems with a wide range of impairment in such areas as physical, mental, and emotional/behavioral functioning may occur.
More than 90 percent of combat-related TBIs are closed head injuries, with most service members sustaining a mild TBI or concussion. Difficulties after TBI may include headache, sleep difficulties, decreased memory and attention, slower thinking, irritability, and depression.
Insights, Analysis, and Developments
Editorial Note: While this 2008 announcement represented an important step toward more rigorous evaluation standards, the evolving nature of TBI research and ongoing refinements to diagnostic methods suggest that disability rating schedules require periodic review to keep pace with advances in neuroscience and long-term outcome studies. Veterans experiencing delayed symptoms or compounded effects from repeated deployments may find that criteria established over a decade ago don't fully capture their current functional status, making continued advocacy for schedule updates a legitimate ongoing concern for the veteran community - Disabled World (DW).Attribution/Source(s): This quality-reviewed publication was selected for publishing by the editors of Disabled World (DW) due to its relevance to the disability community. Originally authored by Department of Veterans Affairs and published on 2008/09/23, this content may have been edited for style, clarity, or brevity.