Post Traumatic Stress Disorder May Not Be Recognized for VA Benefits
Not many Veterans realize that PTSD may not be recognized for benefits: a strange state of affairs indeed.
“PTSD, otherwise called post traumatic stress disorder, is a member of the family of anxiety disorders. It typically develops after a difficult or terrifying incident: a car accident, child abuse, murder and rape, or war experience in the trenches,” explained Michael G. Smith, an Arkansas injury lawyer and Arkansas veteran’s benefits lawyer, practicing personal injury law in Arkansas. The way it usually manifests itself is by giving the body it bedevils a continuous loop of the event over and over – a flashback – often accompanied by emotional detachment.
One thing to understand about PTSD is that a traumatic incident need not happen directly to a person who suffers from this. It may instead happen to witnesses of horrific events. PTSD is quite common in high risk occupations such as police officers, ambulance attendances, EMS personnel, SWAT personnel and war veterans. “They amount of horror and destruction they have witnessed knows no bounds, and they’ve seen brutal sights they live with daily,” added Smith.
While there is treatment available for PTSD, the VA seems to go out of its way to make it difficult for veterans to receive compensation, except in the most obvious cases. “Let’s consider the example of an infantryman who steps on a landmine and loses at least one limb while in combat. The VA would likely award benefits in a case such as this, and do it fairly quickly,” Smith pointed out.
“Unfortunately, if the PTSD is a result of traumatic experiences in the battlefield and the veteran gets out alive and without major injuries, the VA has been known to deny their claim because PTSD is not as obvious as a physical injury, although there are psychological tests for it. In reality, the vet may desperately need psychological/psychiatric help to handle what they have seen. When the VA says no, this is a wrongfully denied claim that the veteran is entitled to have approved,” stated Michael G. Smith, an Arkansas injury lawyer and Arkansas veteran’s benefits lawyer, practicing personal injury law in Arkansas.
This isn’t the only problem with PTSD and returning war veterans making claims. The system itself is so convoluted and complex that very few attorneys want to practice in this area. Instead of taking months to resolve claims in the VA system, it could end up taking years. This is just one of the major reasons to consult with a skilled veteran’s benefits lawyer.
Learn more by visiting http://www.Arkansaslawhelp.com
Michael G. Smith is an Arkansas injury lawyer and Arkansas accident lawyer, practicing personal injury law and veteran’s benefits law in Arkansas. Learn more by visiting http://www.Arkansaslawhelp.com
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