Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
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 from Prestige Veteran Medical Consulting. I am a US army veteran, physician assistant, and former compensation and pension examiner. So today, I wanna come on and discuss a really serious topic that affects many veterans, you know, of all eras, combat veterans, noncombat veterans, just a variety of veterans, and and that is amputations and loss of limb. So in today's video, we're gonna talk about how how veterans can receive benefits for amputations and also some of those special monthly compensation considerations.
Leah Bucholz:So amputations and loss of limb is one of the most life changing injuries a veteran can face. Did you know that VA provides specific disability ratings, special monthly compensation, like I mentioned, and resources designed to support veterans living with amputations. In this video, we're going to break down how VA handles disability ratings for amputations, what the research says about long term challenges that veterans may face, and what resources are available to help. Stick around until the end where I'll share tips that can help you maximize your benefits and get educated on, this topic. So amputations.
Leah Bucholz:How can veterans receive VA disability for amputations? So they can happen for a variety of reasons. It can be related to a combat injury, accidents during service, like training accidents, medical complications like severe infections or vascular disease, diabetes complications. For VA disability purposes, loss of limb is considered a severe impairment. The VA uses the schedule for rating disabilities to assign percentages, which may vary depending on which limb is lost and at what point.
Leah Bucholz:For example, losing a losing a leg above the knee, or at or at the foot may have, you know, a different disability rating. So in addition, veterans with amputations may qualify for SMC or special monthly compensation, which we're gonna go over here shortly. This can provide extra financial support for severe disabilities like the loss of use of the hands, feet, or eyes. And, again, that's an extra scheduler rating. So I wanna talk about some of the research and what research says about veterans with, amputations.
Leah Bucholz:So research shows that amputations don't just affect mobility. They impact nearly every part of the veteran's life. Studies have found that veterans with amputations are at higher risk for chronic pain, conditions like phantom limb pain. There's also an increased risk of mental health challenges, including depression, PTSD, especially if the amputation was combat related, can be causative, or it can worsen preexisting conditions. Veterans with amputations often experience secondary health problems such as joint stress on the remaining limb, back pain, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, or different kind of issues related to reduced activity or pain.
Leah Bucholz:This is why VA recognizes amputations not just as a physical injury, but as a condition that can create a ripple effect across a veteran's overall health and lifespan. So let me I'm gonna pull up this va.gov SMC sheet here in a second, but hang on one second, and we're gonna toggle right over to that. K. Okay. So on va.gov, you can see these different special monthly compensation levels.
Leah Bucholz:K? And and this can get kinda complicated because there's so many different special monthly compensations related to different issues, like special monthly compensation k. We've talked about a bunch that is related to loss of use of a creative organ. That's not really related to what we're talking about today, but this is just something you can check out. Now the rates are gonna be on this page, like, what is VA paying in 2025 for those rates for veterans, with veteran alone, spouse, with dependents, etcetera.
Leah Bucholz:So we're not gonna go over every single one of these, but let's look at s SMC. Let's see. Oh, these are still rates. Let me let me scroll down to the actual SMC. So it says that they assign SMC levels based on very specific situations and combinations of situations, including amputations, loss of use of limbs.
Leah Bucholz:So there's a difference between amputation and loss of use of limb in some circumstances. Right? So for example, I have seen veterans with Parkinson's disease get, SMC for loss of use of limbs because they're not able to do things like button their buttons or, you know, hold a utensil and things like that. So SMCL, it says you may receive SMCL designation. If any of the of these situations are true for you, you've had both feet amputated or you've had one foot and the loss of use of the other foot, You've had one hand in one foot.
Leah Bucholz:You've had one foot and the loss of use of one hand. You've had one hand amputated and loss of use of one foot. Or there's there's a bunch of and and ors in each one of these. That's why I don't wanna get bogged down in the weeds going through each and every SMC because as you can see, it can get really complicated. But just, like, real quick, let's peek at this SMCL, what the current rate is if you are if you are entitled to it.
Leah Bucholz:Right? So SMCL here, you can see veteran alone, no dependent. That's $4,767. And then it goes up, of course, with the different, you know, levels. So the the whole point of this is for you guys to just get familiar with the fact that there are these special monthly compensations, and and you might wanna check it out and see, you know, what those ratings are and and what you may qualify for.
Leah Bucholz:Now it's my understanding. I'm not a legal professional. Let me jump off this screen share. Hang on. You know, I always throw this out there.
Leah Bucholz:I'm not a legal professional. I'm a I'm a medical professional, and I see a lot of these things quite frequently, but it's my understanding that if you meet the criteria VA is gonna grant this, there's some checks on the DBQs that when the examiners go through, it asks specific questions related to loss of use and things like that that are tailored that help the adjudicators determine this. Right? So, again, the best thing for you guys to do is to follow-up with an accredited legal professional, like a VSO or an attorney if you have questions about SMC. So I I guess from there, there's there's not a whole lot else to say.
Leah Bucholz:Mobility issues can lead to weight gain. Like I've said before, that's another thing. You it can be an intermediate step to things. So, I once wrote a letter for a surviving spouse because he had double amputate he had bilateral amputations of his legs. He was immobilized.
Leah Bucholz:He wound up not being able to have great exercise. He became obese, developed some cardiopulmonary issues, and and passed away because of that. And so that link VA recognized related to the amputation, and the spouse was granted some disability. So, again, gait changes after an amputation often cause joint damage or chronic back pain. Other secondary issues, like we mentioned before, psychological effects, including anxiety and depression can make it harder to reintegrate in society or maintain employment.
Leah Bucholz:These secondary conditions may also be considered for VA disability compensation. They can be linked to service connected if they can be linked to that service connected amputation. So, I guess from here, what does VA actually provide? So disability ratings, like we mentioned, amputations often receive high disability ratings up to a hundred percent in some cases depending on the severity and how many limbs are affected. We already talked about that SMC, that additional payment for veterans who have lost limbs.
Leah Bucholz:Prosthetics and adaptive equipment, VA covers prosthetic devices, home modifications, and even vehicle adaptations to help with daily life in some cases. It's important to note that amputations are not considered willful misconduct injuries. They are recognized as severe service connected disabilities that demand strong compensation and support. I I guess that's it for today. Please drop some comments.
Leah Bucholz:Let me know if you, you know, have any questions. Please like and subscribe. And as always, thank you for watching. See you.