Broken Wrist

[huntermike23]

Hawaii

In December 2005 I fell off a military vehicle and injured my right wrist while conducting training. I went to the hospital as soon as possible and had X-rays done. No injury was found and I was told to return in one week. Again X-rays were taken and no injury was found. The pain and swelling subsided in about two weeks and I resumed my regular duties.
July 2006 I injured my right wrist again while swimming in the ocean. Again I consulted medical help and was told it was probably a sprain. No X-rays were taken at this time. This time, the pain and swelling continued and cause problems with my abilities to do any daily tasks.
Before I could pursue the problem further my unit deployed to combat. Still having much difficulty using my right hand I again asked for help while in theater. X-rays revealed that my right scaphiod was broken and must be surgically repaired. I was sent home and received orthopedic surgery and am now in a cast four months ago.
I have been told that my wrist probably will develop arthritis and might never work correctly again. The surgeons that performed my surgery have stated that the bone is not healing properly and continue to keep me in a cast.
I am 25 years old now and in five to ten years, I've been told, can develop major problems with my wrist so that I won't be able to use it. I am also right hand dominate.

My question is:
What can I do when I leave the military and do I have a creditable case?

-Mike

[CCMominVA]

Keep records of all of this, and continue to seek medical treatment with the military as required.

When you get out, you can file with the VA for a service related disability and they will determine the percentage of disability they think you are and compensate.

[huntermike23]

My issue is that on the second look at my wrist no X-rays were taken and no real evaluation was completed as happened after the first incident.

-Mike

[CCMominVA]

Originally Posted by huntermike23

My issue is that on the second look at my wrist no X-rays were taken and no real evaluation was completed as happened after the first incident.

-Mike

It wouldn't matter really, as long as the entire time you've been treated for the injury you've been in the military.

It's not like you can "sue" the military....your work with them comes with an amount of assumed risk. However, in the event that you do get out of the military, you will be compensated for any service related injuries.

[ecmst12]

The military has governmental immunity and it's also known that being a service member is an inherently risky job and injuries are an expected outcome. So no, you can't sue them, you knew you'd probably get hurt when you signed up. But that's also why the VA Disability Compensation and Pension program exists. When you are discharged, they will examine your wrist and give you a rating based on the current level of disability. If the injury gets worse 5-10 years down the line, that is still the result of your original series of injuries, so you can have it re-evaluated and the rating can be increased. It is accepted medical fact that repeated trauma to the same joint will cause arthritis to develop over time. Just make sure that either before you are discharged or within 1 year after, you file your disability claim and get examined. Waiting longer then that won't necessarily prevent you from getting compensated because there were several documented injuries while you were in service, but it's still definitely best to get it done in that time frame.

[BelizeBreeze]

And especially if you want to pursue your college education or further employment with the Government.

[url]http://veterans.uconn.edu/cnt-geninfo/benefits.php[/url]

Just one example of the available benefits. Look under chapter 31 about 2/3rds down the page.

[ecmst12]

Oh there is this site too:

[url]http://www.vba.va.gov/benefit_facts/index.htm[/url]

[You Are Guilty]

Originally Posted by ecmst12

The military has governmental immunity and it's also known that being a service member is an inherently risky job and injuries are an expected outcome. So no, you can't sue them, you knew you'd probably get hurt when you signed up.

Just to clear this point up a little bit:
[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Tort_Claims_Act[/url]