Lynch: VA can’t leave injured vets hanging

U.S. Rep. Stephen F. Lynch said the Veterans Affairs is needlessly leaving vets hanging with low disability payments for brain injuries while figuring out what’s wrong with them.

Following a meeting with top Boston VA brass in Jamaica Plain yesterday, Lynch said he called for more coordination between VA staff that diagnoses and treats vets, and those who determine and administer their benefits.

Lynch cited a hypothetical scenario in which a vet who suffered three traumatic brain injuries (TBI) — a signature diagnosis among those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan — is deemed only 10 percent disabled while specialists parse the many problems stemming from the damage.

“There’s got to be a way of, if you’re waiting for further research, at least give them a fair benefit rating, and if you find out that you’re incorrect, then correct it later on,” Lynch said.

“But you can’t leave a veteran hanging out there that’s got serious traumatic brain injury without the necessary benefits that they need to get themselves better, to recover and to transition into civilian life,” he said. “You just can’t leave them hanging out there like that.”

Lynch’s visit was prompted by a Herald special report on internal inspections of the Boston VA that found an “unacceptable” error rate in assessing the degree of disability for those who filed TBI claims — 1 in 6 of the cases reviewed that year. This was despite a warning four years earlier to add more oversight and safeguards. In one case, a vet was underpaid by $31,797 over two years for a 70 percent TBI disability rating that should have been 100 percent.

The Boston VA says it has resolved all those issues. Another review by the VA’s inspector general is due next year.

The Herald also reported on a Dracut Marine who received a 10 percent disability rating for his brain injury despite suffering debilitating seizures and a mass on his brain the VA failed to detect.

Lynch joins U.S. Sen. Edward J. Markey and U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton as members of the Massachusetts delegation to exert public pressure on the agency in the wake of the Herald reports. Markey has called for VA Secretary David Shulkin to get involved.

Lynch sat yesterday with Vincent Ng, director of the VA Boston Healthcare System, and Brad Mayes, director of the VA’s regional benefits office. He was joined by state veterans services secretary Francisco Urena, Boston veterans service commissioner Giselle Sterling, Brockton Mayor Bill Carpenter, state Sens. Michael F. Rush and Michael D. Brady and state Rep. John Velis.

While offering some critiques, Lynch was eager to heap praise on the Boston VA for its research into TBI issues.

“Look, I’ve spent a fair amount of time at our VA hospitals, and we’re blessed in this region,” he said. “Ironically, we are the center for TBI research and developing these protocols nationally and globally.”

Despite the poor inspection results, Ng called the Boston VA “the leader in treating TBI, concussions, PTSD, and we are the facilities that develop the tools with advanced research that export to other VAs throughout the country.”

Mayes said there has been incremental improvement across the country in adhering to rapidly-evolving TBI procedures, and that the VA is “continuing to evolve.” Lynch said he’s worried criticism of the VA will keep vets with TBI away from VA hospitals.

“The VA is the best place for them,” Lynch said. “This is where they’re going to get their help.”