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Welcome to The Veterans Disability Nexus, where we provide unique insights and expertise on medical evidence related to VA-rated disabilities. Leah Bucholz, a US Army Veteran, Physician Assistant, & former Compensation & Pension Examiner shares her knowledge related to Independent Medical Opinions often referred to as “Nexus Letters” in support of your pursuit of VA Disability every Tuesday & Wednesday at 7AM Central.
Take control of your medical evidence related to your benefits and visit https://podcast.prestigeveteranmctx.info/veteran/ for more information and to connect directly with us!
Hey guys, it's Leah B here from Prestige Veteran Medical Consulting. I am a US Army veteran, physician assistant, and former compensation and pension examiner. So today's topic is going to be beating the heat, hot weather injuries, and VA disability. So we talk about a lot of different disabilities, one thing that we haven't touched on is weather related issues. So both cold weather and hot weather related injuries I wanna talk about over the next several weeks.
Leah Bucholz:And we're gonna start off with the hot weather side today. So for those of you who have not been to our YouTube channel or to our podcast before, we like to break down veterans health related benefits and your rights in plain no nonsense language. And again, I am your host, Leah B. And today we're diving into the topic that doesn't get enough spotlight. And so hot weather injuries and how they can connect to VA disability benefits.
Leah Bucholz:So if you have served in a hot climate, dealt with heat exhaustion or have ongoing health issues from your time in uniform, this episode is for you. So let's get into it. So understanding heat injuries in general. When we talk about military injuries, most people think about combat wounds, bad knees or bad back. But let me tell you heat injuries are serious and far more common than you might think.
Leah Bucholz:So we're talking about things like heat exhaustion, heat stroke, heat cramps, that's pretty common, right? That's probably the most common. Hyponatremia, that's from drinking too much water and diluting your sodium. Rhabdomyolysis, a breakdown of your muscle that can damage your kidneys. I saw that a ton on active duty.
Leah Bucholz:And heat intolerance where your body just can't regulate temperature to the way it used to. So these aren't just temporary problems. They can lead to chronic health issues. And in many cases they're eligible for VA disability compensation. So service connection, can you get VA disability for heat injuries?
Leah Bucholz:So how do you actually get the VA to recognize a heat injury? There's a three part sort of test for service connection. We talk about it all the time. You need a current medical diagnosis. So what does that mean?
Leah Bucholz:So you're not gonna have heat cramps for your entire life or a heat stroke for your entire life. You may have residuals of that whether you've got chronic kidney damage, you have a pancreas injury, you've got a brain injury, something that resulted from that exposure, okay? So you need a current medical diagnosis, whatever that is. You need proof of an in service events like collapsing during a field exercise or being treated for a heat stroke. You need a nexus which is an opinion linking your current condition to that in service event.
Leah Bucholz:So we've got a three kind of pronged way for things to get service connected. So it's having a current medical diagnosis for whatever the condition is, an in service event and a nexus or a link between those two things. And so we talk about nexus a lot and when we talk about nexus, what does that mean? So again, it's a link between number one and number two. So that in service event and that current diagnosis.
Leah Bucholz:Now how can that nexus be developed? So you can have a nexus from the C and P examiner, right? When you go, when you file a VA disability claim, you're gonna go to a C and P exam. That C and P examiner at no cost to you is gonna provide an opinion on the relationship between your service and that injury or illness. It may not be a favorable one, but they're going to provide some type of opinion, okay?
Leah Bucholz:You can also ask your treating doctor. You can ask any healthcare provider that you go and see. You can hire a medical expert like myself or another person that's used to dealing with VA claims or legal related matters to review the records and provide an opinion based on a thorough review of your records. Okay, so those are kind of like the ins and outs of any VA related disability. So let's say you passed out during a training at Fort Hood, you got treated for a heat stroke and now you can't be out in the sun for more than ten minutes without getting dizzy.
Leah Bucholz:That might be something worth filing, right? Depending on if it's related and it's been consistent. So what are some challenges? So challenges with VA claims and heat injuries. Heat injuries are often underreported.
Leah Bucholz:Maybe you didn't go to sick call, maybe your unit pushed you through it. Now years later you're struggling but there's nothing in your records. That doesn't mean you're out of luck. This is where buddy statements can come in hand. Personal accounts and even family observations can help you support your claim.
Leah Bucholz:Lay evidence matters often and if symptoms didn't start until after you got out, that's okay. What matters is showing the connection. It's not always black and white. And yes, you can reopen a denied claim with new evidence or a strong medical opinion. Often working with a legal professional like an accredited claims agent, a veteran, a VSO or an attorney, they can look at those things with you and help guide you and help you with a strategy to getting your issues service connected if you've been denied in the past.
Leah Bucholz:So what does the VA look for? So when the VA evaluates your claim, they're looking for a few things. They're looking at things like how often your symptoms happen, the frequency, right? How they impact your daily life and work. Whether there's organ damage like to your kidneys, your heart, your pancreas like I said, you had a brain injury.
Leah Bucholz:Whether you can safely work in hot environments. If you've got chronic fatigue linked to that heat injury you might be rated anywhere from ten to sixty percent. If you can't tolerate heat at all and you can't work because of it you might qualify for TDIU or total disability based on individual unemployability. So what is the research there? I always like to talk about research and give you guys some literature that you can look up or maybe talk to your doctor about and show them and see if they can help support your claim.
Leah Bucholz:So some literature on heat injuries in veterans. Let's talk about the science and research because yes, there is solid data backing that up. So I'm gonna pull some of this up here. So the army public health data. So the army's annual report showed thousands of heat injuries every year.
Leah Bucholz:Most happened between May and September during training or deployment. In 2022 alone, over fifteen hundred cases of heat illness were reported and that's just what was documented. So military medicine journal in 2018, one study found that service members who suffered heat stroke were more likely to deal with kidney problems, chronic fatigue and even cognitive issues long term. So VA and DoD guidelines. There are now clinical practice guidelines for treating exertional heat illness and they openly state that heat stroke can cause lasting disability especially when it impacts your body's ability to regulate temperature.
Leah Bucholz:Rhabdomyolysis in military populations. Another study in 2020 looked at rhabdo cases in military training and found a high correlation between heat exertion and long term kidney damage which is by the way a serious condition that can absolutely be rated by the VA. So yes, this is real, it's documented and it's time we talk about it more in the veteran community. So what can you do? So if you think your heat injury or your symptoms today are linked to your service, you can talk to your doctor, get a diagnosis who takes care of you and who takes your concerns seriously.
Leah Bucholz:Talk to them about the illness to see if they think it's related. You can request your military records especially anything showing duty in hot environments. You can write a personal statement about what happened, how it affects you now. You can get anybody statements like we discussed previously. You can work with a BSO from the DAB, BFW, American Legion or a good accredited attorney or agent can make all the difference.
Leah Bucholz:And remember that you don't have to do this alone. You serve and these benefits are available for you. So hot weather injuries aren't just temporary inconvenience. They're a real risk and they can have a long term impact on your health and livelihood. So if you've been living with fatigue, kidney issues, heat intolerance, whatever it may be and you think it's tied back to your service, it's time for you to take the next step.
Leah Bucholz:Get evaluated, ask for help. So I hope this was helpful to you guys. I don't know if I would love to see how many of you guys chime in and say that you had a heat injury because like I said, I remember being a medic and a PA having to treat them, having to put ice sheets on people, all kinds of stuff, especially at my time in the 100 And First. I know Fort Campbell isn't super hot area but with all that aerosol school and all that rough marching, we had hot weather injuries all the time. Right?
Leah Bucholz:So I hope this was helpful to you guys. Please drop some comments, please like and subscribe and look forward to that cold weather injury video we've got coming up. Alright. See you guys later.