Complete loss of right arm results in a TEN PERCENT disability?

[SoCalDem]

The sergeant, John Shannon (with the eye patch) told of this.. The reason? "When he gets his artificial arm, he "should" have 80-90% use of the limb "..

That's just plain COLD..

[PDJane]

1. Cold, yes.......

But quite in keeping with this administration's promise to cut entitlement programmes.

[librechik]

2. that 4% ok for disability number in the army is sickening

for god's sake THIS TIME can we make these bastards pay???? Is this bad enough???

[Rex]

3. No matter what amount the put out, the BFEE hate our troops cost

to the bottomline. It is a proven truth.

[On the Road]

4. As Leon Russell Poignantly Sang:

I`ll get a dollar for my fingers
Two dollars for my eyes
I paid the price of freedom, now I realize
I can see the world`s a better place if I could see at all
I hear my German shepherd coming down the hall

[ThomCat]

5. It seems like no matter how badly mauled you are

everyone get's a judgement of 10% disability.

They're making judgements based on the bottom line and administrative convenience, not the actual damage these patients have to live with. x(

[Burma Jones]

6. Maybe he's left handed.......

:sarcasm:

[Emit]

7. And the longterm implications of such ratings are significant

I used to work as a Voc Rehab Counselor, long ago, and for a period of time, I completed eligibility studies for our local VA Voc Rehab program. The disability rating affects the Vets' Voc Rehab eligibility, including what types of services they might receive (school - length of programs, types of training, costs, job supports/reasonable accommodations, continued medical/psych/prosthetics, etc), what benefits/disability pay they receive, etc.

Although 10% allows for them to be "eligible" to apply for Voc Rehab, it often doesn't necessarily mean they will get any Voc Rehab services -- services that many of these Vets will require in order to return to appropriate work and earn an adequate living.

This just sucks.

For info on VA/VR services and eligibility: http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/vre/vrs.htm

edit-typo

[northzax]

8. well, what percentage would you expect?

given the prosthetic arm is paid for as well? you have to calculate these things somehow, right?

[angstlessk]

9. northzax, you think he can write, type, and do all he did with

his original right arm...the ONLY thing he will be able to do is pick shit up!

[TX-RAT]

12. Not true.

One of my deputies lost his arm in a accident, he was off work for 4 months. Not only did he work for me for another 6 years, he ran for Sheriff in a town 2 counties over and won.

[northzax]

14. well, in all honesty

I spent six months without the use of my dominant arm, (the left) due to a fracture and a series of surgeries. I know that's not a lifetime, but it didn't stop me from working in an office, it was just a bit more difficult.

look, there is no doubt that this is terrible, but there are reasons for the gradiations. they are neccesary.

[SoCalDem]

10. It's actually incalculable.

let's say the "dis-armed" soldier is a 22 yr old guy with a wife & baby..

His whole life may have taken a U-turn.

There's really no way to even measure what his life "might have been",because that young man will always be "the young guy with no arm". he may get some 'pity-jobs" because no employer would dare to deny him a job due to his disability, but what if he had "planned' to be a policeman, so his family would have good benefits, and he would have a union job with benefits?..Well that's OUT..

Some war-wounds ruin lives forever. Not every person is "able' to bounce-back. My guess is that probably MOST do NOT bounce back..

And how do you calculate the damage when a 50-something yr old mother has to quit her job so she can care for her wounded son/daughter for life.. that son/daughter might have been helping HER in later years, and now she's very likely to have her own future relegated to the trash heap as well..

War wounds kill families...

[w8liftinglady]

11. (swallowing hard)..that was an excellent post-well written and true.

[northzax]

13. and what if he wanted to be a lawyer

or an accountant, or a teacher, or a business consultant, or an historian, or a web site operator? why are you automatically assuming blue collar, physical labour jobs for him? while it would be inconvenient for my career if I was missing my dominant hand (left) it certainly wouldn't restrict my earning power, since I get paid to think and talk and write, not manipulate things with my hands.

and there has to be some shading, right? I mean losing an arm is terrible, but spending your life in a wheelchair would be worse, right? how about losing both arms? your sight? your mind? and it is certainly worse than losing a finger, or a couple of toes. they aren't all equal (which is why my work's life insurance policy has a payout scheme based on loss, a finger is worth more than a toe, for instance)

[angstlessk]

15. The point is NOT that he can never work again..it is the % of disibility

offered and the result of the compensation he received based on that %. In other words, if he is only 10% disabled he will not receive intensive rehab required to get him BACK at 100% effectivness for his life.

As the earlier poster wrote who worked with disabled vets the % to which you are assigned results in the amount of rehab you are given.

When first injured it should be 50% or greater disablity..to be revisited after rehab and job training.