HAMPTON, Va. (WVEC) -- Federal inspectors have revealed new issues with how the V.A. deals with a common problem veteran face.
Traumatic Brain Injuries, TBIs, are known as the signature injury in the War on Terror, and it has been the focus of a two-year-long 13News Now investigation.
13News Now learned many veterans were seen by the wrong medical staff to diagnose TBI's.
Local veterans said TBI's take over their lives. They are debilitating.
“Every day is really a challenge,” one vet described. “You feel lost.”
Traumatic Brain Injuries are often hard to diagnose. However, a diagnosis is a critical part of what benefits and care a veteran gets.
The V.A. has a rule that requires only certain people can initially diagnose a TBI. For almost 25,000 vets across the country, including hundreds in Hampton Roads, that hadn't been happening. So, veterans were offered new exams.
Since then, the Office of the Inspector General was asked to determine if the V.A, needed to revise its protocols nationwide. Inspectors examined thousands of records.
The new report shows V.A. practice is consistent with V.A. policy. According to the V.A. Inspector General, the majority of initial TBI exams are being done by the proper medical professionals.
However, the new review also reveals the Office of Inspector General found other issues with the process of diagnosing this devastating injury.
"Given the complexity of evaluating TBI, we determined that V.A. training requirements were insufficiently rigorous," officials wrote.
According to reviewers, the documentation of exam findings was also "insufficient." This could be problematic if veterans appeal their disability ratings.
The office wants the V.A. to ensure people performing TBI Compensation and Pension exams have comprehensive training and development requirements for documentation.
V.A. officials responded to the report. They wrote their specialists already have "professional training and expertise" and are required to complete other certification.
Still, the Veterans' Health Administration answered it will gather experts to develop a plan to ensure the personnel performing this crucial initial exam "have comprehensive training on the evaluation of TBI."
If that eventually happens, it could reinforce what Hampton VA officials said after 13News Now started investigating.
“Not only do we want to get the process right, but we want the veterans to get everything that they deserve,” Dr. Priscilla Hankins said.
► Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13News Now App.
Traumatic Brian Injury Protocols by 13News Now on Scribd