For many veterans the horrors of war don't end when they return home.
Many suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, a condition that can cause insomnia, paranoia and flashbacks to the traumatic event.
Today, Veterans Affairs announced new rules that will make it easier for veterans with PTSD to receive compensation.
New regulations no longer make a veteran show proof of a specific event that may have caused PTSD.
Instead, they only have to show they served in the military in a job that could have caused the disorder.
Veteran Frederick Lawrence Campbell was discharged in 2006 and is diagnosed with PTSD. He says he had to wait a year and a half before he received his compensation. Now he’s glad others won’t have to go through what he did.
“For the soldiers that are coming out and are still in the process, this would help them greatly.”
The VA treated over 350,000 veterans with PTSD in 2009.
Lt. Col. Robert Mclean is the director of the Onondaga County Veterans Service Agency. He says veterans deserve getting treatment as soon as they need it. He says,
“It's very important for a lot of reasons, economically, emotionally as well for justifying the fact that these veterans deserve the benefits and get the benefits they’re to.”
PTSD is a condition brought on from exposure to life-threatening situations. VA says the new regulations will go into effect today.
Click here for more information on PTSD.
