DoD Physical Disability Board of Review - news release

[wolf223]

IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 549-08
June 30, 2008
DoD Establishes New Physical Disability Board http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=12029

The Defense Department announced today the establishment of a new Physical Disability Board of Review (PDBR) to review disability ratings of wounded warriors and provide another avenue of administrative recourse for our wounded veterans. The Air Force has been designated as lead DoD component for operation and management of the PDBR.

"The PDBR has no greater obligation to our wounded, ill, and injured service members and former service members than to offer fair and equitable recommendations pertaining to the assignment of disability ratings," said Under Secretary for Personnel and Readiness David S.C. Chu.

The PDBR will reassess the accuracy and fairness of the combined disability ratings assigned to service members who were discharged as unfit for continued military service by the military departments with a combined disability rating of 20 percent or less, and were not found to be eligible for retirement. The PDBR will not review the military departments' determinations of fitness for continued military service. Instead, the PDBR will review the combined disability ratings assigned to the specific conditions that resulted in a member being declared unfit for continued military service, acted upon by the military department Physical Evaluation Boards.

Any service member may have his or her case reviewed by the PDBR if he or she meets certain conditions. The member must have been separated from the Armed Forces between Sept. 11, 2001, and Dec. 31, 2009, due to unfitness for continued military service resulting from a physical disability under chapter 61 of title 10, U.S. Code. Additionally, the member must have received a combined disability rating of 20 percent or less, and have been found not eligible for retirement. By law, once adopted by the service secretary, a PDBR recommendation is final, and removes the service member's option to pursue subsequent review through the respective military department's Board for the Correction of Military Records.

Service members may request the PDBR review their case if these conditions are met. Alternatively, the PDBR may itself decide to review an individual's case, pending consent of the service member. Generally, individuals will apply for PDBR review through their respective military department, however more specific guidance will be provided by the Air Force.
________________________________
U.S. Department of Defense
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs) On the Web: http://www.defenselink.mil/Releases/
Media Contact: +1 (703) 697-5131/697-5132 Public Contact: http://www.defenselink.mil/faq/comment.html or +1 (703) 428-0711 +1
Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE

I rec'd this e-mail at work today - so I am passing / posting it here. If anyone knows any wounded warriors who were separated from the military on or after 9/11/2001, please pass this on as they MAY be elig. Generally speaking, they must have went through an "MEB and PEB" and separated from service with 20% or less (severance pay)...

EDIT: The military generally gives a service member a "severance pay" when they are found unfit to perform thier military duties IF their total rating is less than 30%. The severance pay is computed by multiplying the number of years by 2.5 times their base pay; however, there is a 12 year max (i.e. 2000 base pay = 4500 x 10 years). -this severance pay may or may NOT be taxable, depending on the circumstances of the injury / illness. the service member will loose all affiliation with the military (medical, access to the base, MWR ect.) and the money is also subject to recoupment by the Department of Veterans Affairs before they pay out any additional disability. Long story short, the service member gets screwed!!!

A 30% or higher disability is an automatic "medical retirement" - generally speaking - so the service memeber keeps medical and dental benefits, ID Card, post priveleges ect for life. the 30% of their base pay is for life and the service member can still go the Dept. of Veterans Affairs and apply for disability - offset $1 for $1 by the VA. The VA's disability ratings are usually higher & tax free, so the soldier usually ends up with a higher pension (tax free) from the VA...

This is very very important for those who have been separated with or without severance pay to have thier cases reviewed. Althouth it wont be overnight, the long term benefits are much greater.

 

[Bugs100]

That's nothing new. I got screwed by that process 40 years ago. It can work in your favor if you get a honest rating. If you don't then you face a long tedious battle with the V.A...

But the real problem is the Armed Forces and the V.A. use such a complicated formula when you have multipile problems to get a rating that it's hard to understand.

Here's a really good site to use for any one who has a claim in.

http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/tex...5;view=text;node=38:1.0.1.1.5;idno=38;cc=ecfr

 

[wolf223]

it's been a lot better since 9/11/2001 - especially for the mobilized reservists...

The VA and DoD are now sharing information and have implemented new programs to ease the transition into the VA Benefits and Health Care Systems. There are more systems in place - but still plenty room for improvement.

The spike in Medical Evaluation and Physical Evaluation Boards (MEB's & PEB's) due to GWOT have greatly increased the efficiency of the system... obvious flaws have been and will continue to be improved upon.

WASHINGTON, July 1, 2008 - Former servicemembers who disagree with the disability ratings they received when they were discharged as unfit for military duty can now apply to have those ratings reviewed by a new Physical Disability Board of Review.

The Defense Department announced formation of the new board yesterday to reassess the accuracy and fairness of disability ratings assigned to discharged troops, Sam Retherford, the Pentagon's deputy director of officer personnel management, told American Forces Press Service.

Several task forces and studies cited inconsistencies in the way the military departments assigned disability ratings for similar conditions, he said. The Army tended to assign the lowest ratings, according to the studies.

"The findings were enough to warrant the creation of a Physical Disability Board of Review," Retherford said.

The new board could potentially affect almost half the 20,000 servicemembers processed through the Disability Evaluation System each year. Of these, about 10 percent have combat- or training-related injuries, Retherford said.

The board would, on request, review the cases involving a combined disability rating of 20 percent or less.

Disability ratings have a significant financial impact, determining if the servicemember qualifies for retired pay and military benefits such as health care and base privileges for life, or a one-time severance pay with no additional benefits.

Those who receive 30 percent or higher disability ratings -- 1,296 during fiscal 2007 -- are medically retired. In addition, more than 4,200 servicemembers were put on a temporary disability retired list last year, a status they can retain for up to five years.

If the combined rating is 20 percent or lower, troops typically discharged with severance as unfit for duty, Retherford explained. During fiscal 2007, almost 4,000 servicemembers processed through the Disability Evaluation System were returned to duty.

Of those separated as no longer fit for duty, more than 9,200 received a severance, Retherford said. Another 1,150 did not receive a severance, typically because their disabilities were due to misconduct or pre-service conditions.

Not all were happy with their disability rating findings. About 10 percent appealed their cases, Retherford said.

Now, under the Physical Disability Board of Review, troops will have one additional method of recourse. Retherford said he anticipates the board will review about 900 cases per year, all by request.

Former servicemembers separated from the military after Sept. 11, 2001, must apply to have their case reviewed, Retherford said. The Defense Department plans to launch an awareness campaign to ensure people who qualify for a records review know about the new board and how to apply.

The Defense Department designated the Air Force to operate and manage the new board, but it will include representatives from each military department, Retherford said. Board members will include line officers as well as medical experts, who will review documentary evidence. No former servicemember will appear in person before the board.

The board can recommend that the appropriate service secretary increase a disability rating, uphold the previous finding, or issue a disability rating when the previous board did not assign one, Retherford said. However, the board cannot recommend a lower rating.

Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness David S. C. Chu called the board an important step in ensuring affected servicemembers are treated fairly. "The PDBR has no greater obligation to our wounded, ill and injured servicemembers and former servicemembers than to offer fair and equitable recommendations pertaining to the assignment of disability ratings," he said.

Related Sites:
Release: DoD Establishes New Physical Disability Board <http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=12029>