Introduction
The health status of military personnel is a priority of various branches. It is measured through a variety of tests, which determine suitability for service. The regularity of such assessments ensures employees’ proper conditions, and it is widely examined by scholars (Sargent, Gebruers, & O’Mahony, 2017). However, the situation changes when it comes to evaluating the conditions of medically retired veterans. The cases are assessed after their preliminary treatment and are not followed up adequately (United States Department of Defense, 2019). Therefore, it is necessary to reassess the eligibility of these people individually for disability compensation in order to regulate its amount according to current health conditions that have resulted from previous injuries.
Reassessment of Current Condition
In the case under consideration, a former U.S. Navy veteran requested an increase in disability benefits due to the emergence of health complications connected to a neck and back injury from a car accident. However, he was refused because of a lack of medical information and the seeming absence of connection between old traumas and new diseases. Even though such a decision appears to be logical in terms of the credibility of the past assessment of his conditions, this should be reconsidered before a final judgment. This is a necessity, which is defined by changes that have occurred since the original diagnosis and the connection between current medical conditions and previous ones.
Obesity and Diabetes
The first declared condition that resulted from a neck and back injury in the past is obesity, which led to diabetes. This probably outcome is proven by research conducted by Jimenez-Garcia et al. (2018). It explicitly states that a change in lifestyle leads to these co-morbidities (Jimenez-Garcia et al., 2018). The authors of the article also claimed that suffering from back and neck pain and diabetes are interrelated (Jimenez-Garcia et al., 2018). In this case, a precondition to obesity was the veteran’s inability to continue exercising and an overall lack of mobility.
Heart Disease
The next complication of the patient is heart disease, and it is conditional upon several risk factors. They include diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity, which worsens the impact of the specified health states (Sargent et al., 2017). In this case, diabetes and high blood pressure exist, and their influence defines the emergence of this problem. Moreover, heart disease is admitted to be the diagnosis covered by the government’s compensation for U.S. veterans (United States Department of Defense, 2019). As the connection between this state and the factors mentioned above is medically proved, it is vital to consider the complications resulted from the initial condition as the consequences of past traumas.
High Blood Pressure
High blood pressure is another factor present in the patient’s case, and it is crucial for reassessing the disability benefits received by the patient. This condition has been well studied on the example of naval service personnel (Sargent et al., 2017). Blood pressure checks for the employees are conducted on a regular basis to prevent complications primarily related to heart diseases and obesity (Sargent et al., 2017). In the case of medically retired veterans, the results of such tests are ascribed to their civilian life rather than the employment period, which is not entirely correct. Hence, this factor should be considered together with other circumstances that stemmed from the specificity of past service and led to the overall current health condition.
High Cholesterol
The last consideration is the level of cholesterol, and the problem with it derives from the combination of health issues given above. It is also addressed by the researchers striving for ensuring proper health checks for naval service personnel (Sargent et al., 2017). They claim that such an indicator as high cholesterol is one of the most crucial considerations when assessing military servicemen’s coronary risks (Sargent et al., 2017). Thus, the inclusion of this factor in the veteran’s case should be necessary for deciding on his compensation.
Legal Side of the Matter
The intention to alter the amounts of disability benefits because of the emergence of complications from the previous service and injuries is not an isolated incident. An excellent example of such occurrences is the case of Kisor v. Wilkie (Supreme Court of the United States, 2019). In this situation, the former successfully proved the ambiguity of regulations and the subsequent variations in their interpretation. In the court, the veteran claimed the correct establishment of periods and amounts for compensation (Supreme Court of the United States, 2019). In the patient’s case, the claim is also the correct amounts of benefits with consideration of past injury, and it should be considered in a similar manner.
Conclusion
To sum up, the inclusion of specific factors in the list of possible U.S. Navy servicemen’ possible complications should be applied for defining the veteran’s benefits in an individual order. The inability to resolve this issue might indicate the ambiguity of the compensation system. Since the patient’s conditions are interrelated and resulted from the previous neck and back injury during the service, it would be reasonable to include them in the matter and reassess the amounts of provided benefits.
References
Jimenez-Garcia, R., Del Barrio, J. L., Hernandez-Barrera, V., de Miguel-Díez, J., Jimenez-Trujillo, I., Martinez-Huedo, M. A., & Lopez-de-Andres, A. (2018). Is there an association between diabetes and neck pain and lower back pain? Results of a population-based study. Journal of Pain Research, 11, 1005-1015.
Sargent, C., Gebruers, C., & O’Mahony, J. (2017). A review of the physiological and psychological health and wellbeing of naval service personnel and the modalities used for monitoring. Military Medical Research, 4(1), 1-28.
Supreme Court of the United States. Kisor v. Wilkie (2019). The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
United States Department of Defense (2019). Wounded, ill, and/or injured compensation and benefits handbook. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Publishing Office.