Traumatic brain injury soldiers 'not receiving Purple Heart'RSS Feed

Soldiers serving with the US Army who suffer traumatic brain injury may not be receiving the medal and recognition they are due, it has been claimed.

An investigation by NPR and ProPublica has accused the US military of scepticism over the impact and severity of the kind of mild traumatic brain injury that is becoming increasingly common among soldiers serving in Afghanistan and Iraq.

It found that many soldiers are not being awarded the Purple Heart, the medal for servicemen who suffer an injury in combat.

Sergeant Nathan Scheller, a 29-year-old former tank commander has lasting problems as a result of roadside explosions.

He told the investigation: "I don't see how somebody else can tell me that I don't deserve one.

"I may not have wounds on the outside. But I have wounds on the inside."

The news comes after Arrowhead warned that there could be a silent epidemic of returning soldiers with forms of brain injury, suggesting that 83 per cent of US troops returning from the frontline may be affected.

News brought to you by Serious Law specialists in traumatic brain injury

Posted by John Sherrington

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