Vets no longer need to cite a specific PTSD event

New rules recognize recent studies about war zone experiences.

New rules give veterans easier path to disability benefits

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By Jim DeBrosse, Staff Writer Updated 11:57 PM Saturday, July 10, 2010

DAYTON — For years, Navy Reserve veteran Susan Getz says she has suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of her duty as an operating nurse on a hospital ship during the first Gulf War in 1991.

But the 63-year-old Dayton resident never bothered to apply for veterans benefits that would have provided her free treatment and possibly a monthly stipend “because the required proof (of trauma) was so severe,” she said.

That will change with new, simplified rules for PTSD benefits to be announced this week by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. No longer will veterans with PTSD have to obtain archived military documents and reports — a costly and time-consuming process — to prove that a specific combat event triggered their condition.

Under the new rules, veterans of all wars must simply show that they were deployed to a war zone and underwent probable stresses there that led to their PTSD. Those stresses not only include actual attacks, such as firefights or roadside explosions, but the constant threat of attack that troops experience during guerrilla wars and insurgencies.

Like thousands of other veterans across the country, Getz said she may now have a shot at qualifying for PTSD benefits. She believes her depression and feelings of helplessness stem from the harassment and verbal abuse she experienced as a female reserve officer during the war. “It’s a constant battle to get anything from the VA, but I think I’ll try,” she said.

In a telephone press briefing from the White House on Friday, July 9, senior VA officials said they decided to relax the rules to reflect the changes in modern military conflict and the full range of stresses on today’s troops, including constant vigilance against attack, the inability to distinguish between friend and foe and the use of suicide bombers and roadside explosive devices.

The VA now treats 400,000 veterans of all wars for PTSD. Symptoms can include nightmares, the inability to sleep, unexplained rages, horrific flashbacks and avoidance of people.

An analysis by the Congressional Budget Office estimates the rule change could result in hundreds of thousands more veterans seeking treatment and compensation for their condition, adding as much as $5 billion to the VA budget over the next several years.

In addition to free treatment, qualifying veterans with PTSD could receive as much as $2,700 a month in compensation, depending on the severity of their disability.

VA officials in Washington said they don’t expect the new rule to create a massive influx of additional cases. Instead, the change will mean quicker processing and fewer hassles for veterans who might have waited months or even years to qualify for treatment, they said.

VA psychiatrists will continue to make the final decision on whether veterans qualify for PTSD benefits — a safeguard against fraudulent claims, VA officials said. However, any treatment or diagnosis from private practitioners would be considered in making the final decision.

VA psychiatrists have shown themselves more willing to diagnose PTSD for troops under a wide variety of combat conditions.

Recent studies show that PTSD doesn’t have to be caused by exposure to a specific traumatic incident such as a mortar attack, bomb explosion or seeing a friend killed, said Dr. Darshan Singh Sehbi, a psychiatrist who works with returning war veterans at the Dayton VA.

“For some, maybe one event was devastating,” he said. “But for others, it may be the whole lifestyle — the kind of constant fear you live under.”

Denver Combs, a Vietnam veteran and private benefits consultant, said the changes have come none too soon for America’s 23 million veterans.

“No one can come from our society and go into a combat zone and say they were not affected by it,” Combs said.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2437 or jdebrosse@DaytonDaily News.com.

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