Evidence Needed to Support Your TBI Disability Claim

After developing cognitive, emotional/behavioral, or physical impairments due to a traumatic brain injury you sustained during your military service, you may qualify for VA disability benefits. However, securing benefits will require you to present sufficient evidence with your application to prove your eligibility. When you’ve developed a medical condition due to a traumatic brain injury that occurred during your military service, an experienced VA disability benefits attorney can help you develop an application with compelling evidence to secure the benefits you need and deserve. 

Medical Evidence

First, a veteran will need medical evidence to prove they suffered a traumatic brain injury. Medical evidence of a TBI may include initial medical treatment records, such as hospital records, imaging (MRI/CT) results, or physician notes diagnosing a TBI. A TBI diagnosis may also come from subsequent neurological evaluations by neurologists or neuropsychologists, which demonstrate cognitive, physical, or emotional/behavioral impairment. Veterans can also produce records of their treatment of impairments caused by their TBI, such as mental health/behavioral, speech, physical/occupational therapy, or home health services. Veterans may also obtain expert medical opinions opining that a veteran’s impairments resulted from a traumatic brain injury. 

Medical evidence in a TBI disability claim must also establish a service connection – namely, that the veteran sustained their traumatic brain injury because of their military service. A veteran may present service records, military hospital documentation, or “buddy” statements from fellow servicemembers or commanding officers to prove that the veteran’s TBI occurred during an in-service event, such as training, an on-duty motor vehicle accident, or combat.

Functional Limitation Documentation

Establishing the severity of a condition caused by a traumatic brain injury will also require evidence of limitations caused by the injury to describe how the injury affects a veteran’s day-to-day life. Veterans may provide personal statements about the effects of their injury on activities of daily living, including difficulties with memory, concentration, judgment, or mood. Medical records can also corroborate a veteran’s subjective description of their symptoms. Furthermore, veterans may submit “buddy” statements from caregivers, family members, and friends to provide a third-party perspective of the functional limitations experienced by veterans due to their traumatic brain injury. 

Vocational Evidence

Evidence of vocational limitations caused by a service-connected traumatic brain injury can also affect the disability rating the VA assigns to the veteran’s injury. Vocational evidence should include the veteran’s job history and descriptions of their duties in every civilian job they’ve held. A veteran’s employer(s) may also submit written statements describing changes in their work performance, attempts to accommodate the veteran’s limitations, or the veteran’s inability to perform the essential functions of their job with or without accommodations. Vocational evidence should also include expert reports and testimony describing the results of vocational assessments and explaining how those results demonstrate a veteran’s inability to do past work they’ve held or to seek new work within their education, experience, and training. 

Administrative Documentation

Finally, veterans should keep copies of all administrative documents associated with their VA disability benefits claim, such as their benefits application, correspondence from the VA, denial notices, and appeal documents. Keeping administrative records can help you continue to pursue your TBI disability claim through the initial application process and administrative or court appeals if you need to challenge the denial of your claim or the disability rating assigned to your condition. 

Contact a VA Disability Benefits Lawyer Today

After getting diagnosed with a medical condition related to a TBI that occurred while on duty for the military, you deserve to seek VA disability benefits. Contact Veteran Benefits Law Group today for a free initial consultation with a VA disability attorney to learn more about how we can help you build an effective benefits claim.