Med Board for disc injury, is it required?

D

daveesl77

PEB Forum Regular Member
Registered Member
I'm new to the board and first want to thank you for having this.

I'm writing on behalf of my son in law. He is stationed in Korea, initially enlisted for a period of 6 years with the goal of a minimum of 10 years. During a recent training exercise the command tent he was working in collapsed and evidently some poles and equipment fell on his back. He has 3 ruptured discs, one in his neck and two in his lower back. His MOS is one that is not physical, requiring him to sit most of the time. He loves the Army. The event happened about 4 weeks ago and he has been on limited duty since then. He was told that if his condition does not improve in the next 30 days he will be sent to a MEB and may possibly be medically discharged.

This has him pretty upset. He just made E-4, he has been in for 2 years, he does not want out. Our primary question is since it is a disc injury, why not just wait the required time to see if the discs "fix themselves" and if not then he is willing to have the replacement surgery. His MOS is not physically demanding, so it isn't like the Army can assign him to a less physically demanding job. He is in great physical shape other than the injury.

I'm a vet and I know that if he has a service related injury, then the Army/VA is responsible, so even if he were medically discharged, he could probably have the surgery done at the VA. What can a Soldier do in a situation such as this, can he demand the surgery or is it totally up to the MEB as to whether to discharge or not?

Any help or thoughts on this would be appreciated

dave
 
daveesl77 said:
I'm new to the board and first want to thank you for having this.

I'm writing on behalf of my son in law. He is stationed in Korea, initially enlisted for a period of 6 years with the goal of a minimum of 10 years. During a recent training exercise the command tent he was working in collapsed and evidently some poles and equipment fell on his back. He has 3 ruptured discs, one in his neck and two in his lower back. His MOS is one that is not physical, requiring him to sit most of the time. He loves the Army. The event happened about 4 weeks ago and he has been on limited duty since then. He was told that if his condition does not improve in the next 30 days he will be sent to a MEB and may possibly be medically discharged.

This has him pretty upset. He just made E-4, he has been in for 2 years, he does not want out. Our primary question is since it is a disc injury, why not just wait the required time to see if the discs "fix themselves" and if not then he is willing to have the replacement surgery. His MOS is not physically demanding, so it isn't like the Army can assign him to a less physically demanding job. He is in great physical shape other than the injury.

I'm a vet and I know that if he has a service related injury, then the Army/VA is responsible, so even if he were medically discharged, he could probably have the surgery done at the VA. What can a Soldier do in a situation such as this, can he demand the surgery or is it totally up to the MEB as to whether to discharge or not?

Any help or thoughts on this would be appreciated

dave
Click to expand...
Who is telling him he will be sent through MEB? Generally treatment for spinal injuries lasts a lot longer than 30 days of being on a profile. The Army is pretty predictable as far as treatment. First it is Motrin, the physical therapy, then an xray, and finally a refferal to ortho or nuro. This usually develops over a long time. For them to jump to MEB, his injury would have to be stable, and shown as no reasonable expectation of returning to full duty. It's called a medical determination point. It does not sound like he is there yet.

Your son has had a MRI to confirm he has ruptured disks?
 
He is right, an MEB is not automatic after an injury. If his profile eventually show a 3 in lower extremities, he will be go to the medical board. PULHES. The L stands for lower extremeties. Check out Ar 40-501 and Ar 635-40. The PEB is the only one who can determine whether or not you are unfit for duty.
 
Hello again and thank you for the responses.

I spoke with my daughter at length today, she is also stationed in Korea but at a different post. This conversation helped to clear things up a bit for me and hopefully will assist in the guidance from this board. After his injury he was medivac'd to the hospital. He was there for 3 days, given pain medication and sent on his way. After another week the pain became so great he went back and they did an MRI of his lower back. He has 3 ruptured or herniated discs, but luckily no vertebra problems. He was put on profile that does not allow him to do PT, wear any body armor, no deployment or any physical actions and limited his work schedule. He goes to physical therapy twice weekly.

They have not done an MRI of his neck yet, but he has extreme pain in it and cannot move his head without twisting his body and has asked for either an xray or mri to try to determine what is wrong there.

His medical care specialist ( I guess this is his doctor?) told him that if he is not better after another 30 days, then they want to begin the MEB process. I take it this means the bureaucratic gears start grinding. The powers that be have told him that they cannot do disc replacement surgery in Korea, but would have to send him to either Germany or the US. Both he and my daughter are scheduled to PCS from Korea in early November. She already has her orders to Ft. Campbell, he doesn't. They both have the same MOS, she is an E-5 and is NCOIC of her unit. They are not posted at the same location in Korea, she is Area I, he is Area III. So coming back to the States isn't something that would be an inconvenience for the Army as they are scheduled to come back in 6 months anyway. They have both been in Korea for 18 months. They met and got married there.

Now is where the famous "rumor mill" is getting to him. He has been told that if the MEB is in Korea, he will be kept in Korea until a final determination happens and was told that could keep him there for another year or more. This sounds like hogwash to me, but maybe it is true. Does anyone have any info on this?

His medical care person has told him that he can probably count on being medically discharged at somewhere between 30-70%. This person also told him that the Army may not do the surgery and if he is discharged then it would be up to the VA. He wants his back fixed, but doesn't want to be discharged.

Even though he has several MRIs clearly showing the injuries and they know when it happened and that he is dedicated, ever since he has been put on this profile his command seems to be doing all they can to treat him as a malingerer. I know first hand about serious back injuries as I have had one for 35 years, however I also have 3 crushed vertebra. At first he did not want to get the surgery, as he was concerned the Army would discharge him if he was laid up for several months in rehab. I told him that if he didn't, he could count on a lifetime of pain. Now that he is agreeable to having surgery, it doesn't look like the Army is considering it. At least his medical person seems to be blowing this off.

What are his options? If MEB proceedings begin in Korea is he required to stay there? Can the Army ignore a fairly routine surgical procedure and keep a valuable Soldier, or just say to heck with it and dump him on the VA's problem list. He is in Intel, so the Army has spent a substantial amount of time and money training him and now he has a fair amount of experience in what isn't exactly a stable political environment.

What happens at the MEB board and how long does the process take from the time it is initially requested to when it happens. This kid is a true patriot and dedicated Soldier. Sure, he can take the easy way out, go for a medical retirement, get the VA to fix his back, but that isn't what he wants.

Thanks for the help and any answers are greatly appreciated.

dave
 
He would be moved to the states to do MEB/PEB.

My immediate concern is that he has a confirmed MRI that shows three ruptured disks. That in itself should trigger a referral to a nuerosurgeon. I would suggest he does a couple of things. First, call the hospital patient advocate at the Yongsan 120th hospital. Tell the advocate what is going on. Second, he needs to tell his doctor (or I am betting PA) that he wants a second opinion.

The first priority is to fix the medical injury. There is a reasonable expectation that his back would improve with surgical intervention if the disks are compressing nerves. Again, the aid station PA can't evaluate that and feed him this bullcrap. He needs a nuero consult. I am not sure how evacuation procedures out of Korea work. He would more than likely go to Germany, or Bethesta, MD and then be evaluated. At a minimum, he needs to be evaluated at a higher level of care than a TMC clinic.
 
Medical retirement is never the easy way out. Educating yourself on the process and benefits is the beginning. The effects of an injury can change as we get older. Learning as much as possible about the process will put your and his mind at ease. It can be a long process, but I believe it is worth it. Read the regulation and talk to legal. It is free. Right now I know he believes he can still meet the standards, but what are the long term repercussions. Think ahead, document, and copy everything. It will help him in the future.
 
Margaret, I agree completely. This is an area I'm having to do the "Yeah, I know what you want now, but in 30 years do you want to be like me - constant pain?" He has an MOS that can provide him with amazing opportunities in the civilian or govt world, same as my daughter. He is like we all are in our 20s, invulnerable and think we can heal ourselves.

dave
 
check out this handbook, "The Wounded, ill, and injured compensation and benefits handbook. It will answer a lot of your questions. You can google it or he or she can access it from ako.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top