griffinms1

UPDATE: So, after gathering all my info (the x-ray report from my head injury and my exit physical mentioning the head injury, all the evals from the doctors at the VA, and a NEXUS LETTER from the neuropsychologist that did my testing), I filed a NEW claim for Residuals of TBI. The results: 40% for Residuals of TBI 10% for Tinnitus 0% (but service connected) for Headaches. So, I was low-balled, but still any success is SWEET. I'm probably looking at filing an NOD about the percent ratings for residuals and headaches, but now it's all official, and I'm being treated by the VA. Already, my meds have me having about 1 migraine/month instead of 1 migraine/week. Thanks for all the advice!

Here's the follow-up to my original post: When I filed my first claim in 2011, the guy at the DAV told me to put down everything wrong with me. I put down headaches from the head injury I received. So, my claim decision came back to me with the following result: Denial - The evidence does not show an event, disease, or injury in service. We did not find a link between your medical condition and military service. I requested a copy of my STR and went through it page by page. My exit physical shows "head injury with transient amnesia," and I found the copy of the report of the neck x-ray from when I was taken to the hospital (reason stated for the x-ray was head injury). Unfortunately, I didn't get an appeal filed within the 1-year limit. I did follow the advice of a DAV rep (the only good advice I've received there) to contact my primary care doctor with the VA and request a referral to see someone in mental health. After an interview there, I was quickly referred to start testing for TBI. The final result was what I stated above in my first post. So, I submitted a request to reopen my claim due to the finding of the history of the head injury in my STR and the TBI evalutaion. I just received the letter stating: The evidence from the VAMC is not new and material evidence because it does not establish a fact necessary to sustatiate the claim and does not raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim. Basically, what I have is a single page showing the x-ray results from the head injury, my exit physical showing head injury with transient amnesia, my own statement about my headaches, attention and memory, and the TBI eval. So far, that is apparently not enough. Should I be looking at an attorney for advice, or should I just give up?

Thanks for the reply. Actually, The accident happened in Charleston. Unfortunately, I was stationed at the Naval Weapons Station in North Charleston, and I was sent to the Charleston Naval Hospital (off base). The only thing in my medical record of the head trauma is an x-ray report noting the head injury, and my exit physical noting head injury with transient amnesia. I tried getting medical records from the Naval Hospital, it closed after the base closure down there, so no luck. I hate to sound negative, but I just feel like there needs to be more in there for the VA to believe it.

I'm looking for some guidance on how I should be handling my claim. I was in the Navy from 91-94, and was struck in the head with a deck hatch. I was stunned, with possible brief loss on conciousness, brief period of amnesia, headache, and disorientation. I was taken to the local Naval hospital to be checked out, and eventually sent home after nothing showed on the X-ray. Afterward, I suffered from tinnitus, constant headaches, problems with memory and attention, and just over-all thought clarity. Being the typical military guy, I didn't seek help for the headaches or other problems, but definitely showed signs of a problem later. I didn't seek help from the VA until just a couple of years ago, and I've undergone some testing. The guys at the DAV suggested that I request an appointment with a mental health, so I saw a doctor there who questioned me and then referred me to Speeh Pathology. Speech testing showed (via testing) that I was having problems with Delayed Memory, and Trails (whatever that is), and impaired according to the Ruff Figural Fluency Test. Speech referred me for a neuropsychological testing. Here is part of the summary from the clinical neuropsychologist: "His neuropsychological profile was suggestive of moderate declines on timed measures of sustained attention, information processing speed, and grip strength. Milder declines were suggested by scores on measures of verbal memory, object naming, executive functioning, and bilateral motor speed. The most likely reason for patient's cognitive difficulties appears to be a history of head trauma with alteration of conciousness. This accident was followed by onset of headaches. The distraction of chronic headache and low levels of depression may further exacerbatehis cognitive difficulties." So, here's where I'm lost. I went back to the DAV, and they just told me to send in a claim for TBI and include copies of my evals from Speech and Neuropsychology. I'm not sure what I should really be doing, and I'm not confident that I'm doing all I should. Can anyone give me some advice?