No Service Medical Records due to Medic Passing in Combat

[WifeOfUSMCVet]

My husband was in service from 1999-2003. He did two tours to Iraq. He received 3 TBI's while in Combat, but no records were made of the incidents due to the Medic with them being killed. Is there any way to prove that his TBI's were service connected even though there are no actual records? I've found a friend of his that was in combat with him that is willing to write a buddy statement. I've also seen where the Veteran can write a statement themselves which makes it Service Connected. What can I do. He has 70 IU, but they never gave him his back pay for this because they didn't raise his rating. Also, I know they do reviews and I've read that you need to file for every Service Connected disability just in case they lower another rating at the review. I've read through his VA medical records and there's a few places where it shows he has a TBI....Some say Combat related with his story and one doesn't, but has no story with it. HELP! 

Edited September 28, 2017 by WifeOfUSMCVet
date was wrong

[Carl the Engineer]

Wife,

Not sure why your post from Friday didn't show yesterday, strange.

Anyway, is he IU or do you have a current claim in for IU?

Also, make sure you check your State benifits for your kids college.  Being I have a VA disability, my State paid for my daughters tuition.  We had to pay for books, but I think we got that from pell grants, etc.  Her college was pretty much free, local tech school.  She became a RN at age 22, and she thanks me every day.  Can't beat that.

Keep plugging along, and see if you can get your Vet into counsiling so he doesn't miss out on your kids college experience and grandchildren.

FWIW,

Hamslice

 

[WifeOfUSMCVet]

Currently he is 70% IU. I'm trying to get 100% T&P. We cannot get college for the kids with what he has now. They denied the TBI because they said it wasn't combat related, so that's why I'm trying to figure out how to combat relate his TBI. It's in his records about how he described what happened. I have a buddy that was there with him when it happened that would write a buddy statement, but not sure if I need anything else.Thank you all for your help!

 

 

[Berta]

The migraines might have stemmed from the TBI. What nexus did VA have for that SC disability?

Did his stressor for the PTSD involve the same TBI event?

A good buddy statement will sure help here.

Must have been in same unit, same time and place ,to give a detailed eye witness account and the buddy must give VA their contact info as well.

 

[WifeOfUSMCVet]

The only thing they had that would service connect his TBI is his statement in his medical records. I didn't know about Nexus and buddy statements when we filed for his TBI. The stressor did involve the same TBI event. His humvee was hit which killed their medic and injured others. He also saw and held some of his brothers while they died. I've only heard and read some of what happened to him over there. As most do, he has a very hard time with survivors guilt.

[Berta]

"The stressor did involve the same TBI event. His humvee was hit which killed their medic and injured others. He also saw and held some of his brothers while they died."

That is good evidence to help prove the TBI. He or you could also try to find obituarys for the buddys who died, easy to do if he knew their Hometown, via google ,or even for the Medic who died and if he has  the actual date this all happened

".I've only heard and read some of what happened to him over there. As most do, he has a very hard time with survivors guilt." Yes, that is so understandable.  My husband dealt with a lot of that.

He was so close to being shot many times, but his only Vietnam 'physical disability' in his lifetime he knew of  was when a tank backed up onto his Deuce and 1/2, right over the engine, and into the windshield,giving him a scar on his face.,where the tank track hit him before it stopped...

Then again he also had PTSD and 2 AO disabilities....and saw many buddies die.