Traumatic Injury Benefits Now Payable for Genitourinary Injuries
TSGLI Payments Will Be Made for Qualifying Servicemembers
WASHINGTON – Servicemembers who suffer severe injuries to the genitourinary organs will now be eligible for Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance Traumatic Injury Protection, or TSGLI.
“We recognize that these types of injuries are devastating and can have a long-lasting impact on the Servicemember’s quality of life,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. “It is for this reason that it is appropriate to include genitourinary injuries in the list of payable losses specified in the TSGLI program.”
Military doctors reported seeing an increase in these types of injuries, many of which are the result of the nature of current warfare and the use of improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, by enemy combatants. Members of Congress, specifically Representative C.W. Bill Young (R-Florida) and Senator Barbara Boxer (D-California), first raised this issue with the Department in November 2010 and March 2011, respectively. Their actions prompted the department in making this important change to TSGLI.
TSGLI provides a one-time payment to Servicemembers sustaining certain severe traumatic injuries resulting in a range of losses, including amputations; limb salvage; paralysis; burns; loss of sight, and other traumatic losses. Genitourinary injuries for male and female Servicemembers, are being added to the TSGLI schedule of covered losses.
VA also provides health care for genitourinary problems, along with disability compensation for cases of service-related injuries or illnesses involving genitourinary organs.
The first payments for genitourinary losses will be made to eligible Servicemembers and Veterans on Dec.2, eligibility for these new losses will be retroactive to injuries incurred on or after Oct. 7, 2001, the beginning of the Global War On Terror.
For more information on all of the TSGLI eligibility requirements, or to apply for a TSGLI payment, Servicemembers and Veterans should go to http://www.insurance.va.gov/sgliSite/TSGLI/TSGLI.htm or contact their branch of service TSGLI Office (contact information available at above link).
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