posted on April 24, 2001 02:02:20 PM new
My youngest daughter is five weeks into boot camp at Ft. Leonard Wood,MO. I received a call from her a couple hours ago advising me that a rope she was climbing broke and she fell 20' to the ground breaking her hip. She did not have any answers on what the Army will do with her. Her rehab period is estimated to eight weeks, so she will not be allowed into the two week Rehabilitation Unit.
Are there any Army folks out there than can provide me with any info on what course the Army could potentially take with her? Thanks in advance for any info provided.
posted on April 24, 2001 02:16:39 PM new
When I was in they sent all the injured girls to dorms where they waited for several weeks before being sent home. This was in Fort Jackson, SC so things may be different where your daughter is. I would imagine there is no way she could stay in since a lot of the girls I went to bt were going home for bad blisters, the weenies.
posted on April 24, 2001 03:22:26 PM new
We're not the suing type, and besides, I don't think breaking her hip is as horrible as dying in a war. I mean, she will recover. I'm just curious if they will kick her out now that she's broken.
hcross: They got to go home because of some blisters? Weenies is not an accurate description for what those girls were.
posted on April 24, 2001 03:24:27 PM new
Lawsuit? You are kidding, right?
Yep, very sad indeed, I had stress fractures in my feet and shins, but I managed to stick it out. I would say that in my platoon, less than half made it all the way through. Your daughter should be commended for going through with it, it will teach her a lot. At least the Army will pay for all of her medical bills, there is at least a small silver lining in this dark cloud, don't you think? I hope she is able to finish.
[ edited by hcross on Apr 24, 2001 03:27 PM ]
posted on April 24, 2001 03:33:04 PM new
Well, I am an idiot, my brother was in basic training in Ft. Leonard Wood when my youngest brother was killed, he came home for a week and then went back, I will ask him, it hasn't been that long since we were 18 and in, not much should have changed. Will call him and ask and get back with you. He dealt mostly with the Red Cross, but he should know something, there was a kid who tried to hang himself with a buffer cord in his platoon, but I don't remember what happened with that.
posted on April 24, 2001 04:17:29 PM new
So far as I recall from my own active duty days, the military member can't sue. The only time a suit is brought is when a spouse or surviving child does so. In 1950, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the government is immune from suit for injuries to service personnel that occur because of activities which are "incident to service. This is a judicially created exception to the federal government's waiver of sovereign immunity under the Federal Tort Claims Act, and is commonly known as the Feres Doctrine.
It doesn't matter how egregious the circumstances, in reality, the military owns its members pretty much like it owns the tanks.
posted on April 24, 2001 09:31:50 PM new
I'm not thinking about lawsuits. I was only worried that she'd get booted out and sent home. She's now called me back and told me she went before a medical review board who said the fracture will take a good six months to heal adequately. They are sending her home with a medical discharge. She is very disappointed in her failure, but determined to go back in after her recovery period. Thanks for the input. (Mom really is happy to see her coming home. I've missed her.)
posted on April 25, 2001 05:13:52 PM new
I am more happy that she is.. striving to complete. It's not failure, its a bump in the road. Or in this case, a break ......
I am her older sister who admires the fact she has courage, strength, and preserverance.(sp)
[ edited by turningpink on Apr 25, 2001 05:18 PM ]
posted on April 25, 2001 06:43:36 PM new
I spent 11 years active duty army. She will be held over as a "recycle" until she has healed enough to enter another class. If her hip doesn't recover well she will be put out of the military eventually. She will spend her recycle period on detail (whatever she can actually do). She will also probably received free convalescent leave (period to be determined by the military physician).
posted on April 25, 2001 07:32:38 PM new
If she gets out on disability do they still pay any future medical/physical therapy bills? What about compensation for any permanent damage? For example if she can not sit for long periods, this may hinder potential future employment. Or what about when she is older and may need more surgery? Will she get military disability pay or unemployment pay?
Being a mother myself, I would think of these too...
posted on April 25, 2001 08:41:16 PM new
Malady: Those are the very questions running through my mind. I have no answers yet. I would hope, with being medically discharged, she'll be able to receive medical treatment at our local Ft. Lewis. I have not had another phone call from her, so I don't know when they are planning on sending her home. Mom's are the last to know, I suppose.
Anthro1966: You mean that the Army should have extended her the option of staying in this "recycle" unit until she had healed enough to complete her last couple weeks of basic training? Now I am confused. She only had 30 seconds to make her call to me, with the Drill Sgt. standing by so I am really unclear. But thanking you for the input.
TurningPink: You're only happy she's coming home so you have a babysitter when you jet off to Hawaii next month.
posted on April 26, 2001 08:43:08 AM new
"If she gets out on disability do they still pay any future medical/physical therapy bills? What about compensation for any permanent damage? For example if she can not sit for long periods, this may hinder potential future employment. Or what about when she is olde and may need more surgery? Will she get military disability pay or unemployment pay?"
If she is a vetern, then she is *and will be* eligible for medical services at any VA hospital. Without anything being service connnected, there is a $50/co-pay per visit, however I believe medications are 2-5.. *not sure about that last price range*. So yes, she should be covered for medical care.
However, if she is "disabled" due to service connected injury, then that's a whole other ballgame. Her disability would be based upon a percentage and any compensation would also be based on that percentage... such as 10, 20, 30, 50, 70, 100%. Some percentages do not exist.. such as 80 & 90%.
If disabled due to service connected injury and awarded compensation, and it is in the lower percentages, then the compensation is ... well it's not much.. maybe 200-250/month and that would increase with dependents.
If the percentage were at 100% then monthly compensation would be 2300-2400/month and if there were any special monthly compensations, then that would kick in.
As a disabled, service connected vet, there are multitudes of benifits for each and every state.. some states, have it set so those vets are not required to pay personal property taxes.. and the list goes on.
Service connected vets, at least with the higher percentage rate, get medical care at
VA hospitals for no charge. I belive if the percentage rate is lower, then there's like a sliding fee scale type of thing.
HOwever, there's one thing left to consider, if she is given a medical discharge now, and serves no more time in the military, then it's possible that these benifits would not reach her, as she has not spent X amount of time. I'm not too sure about this... but as an example, in order to use your VA homeloan, you need to spend, at least, 2 years in.
These are all things you can find over on the VA website. Your daughter might consider getting an advocate as well.. There's many.. maybe the disabled vets can help get her on the road so she knows the answers.. before the Army tells her only what they want her to know.
posted on April 26, 2001 02:24:58 PM new
Naw..has nothing to do with babysitting....hehehe...heck we might as well throw boo in the suitcase..and just stay over there.
I think she will do fine. I think she has an awesome head on her shoulders, and this was a huge step in the first place (going in). Maturity is a glorious thing...and she shows great stride. I do miss her to though.
posted on May 9, 2001 12:38:02 PM new
Hurt in basic? My son graduated basic and then went on to AIT. He graduated AIT in December 2000. While we were at basic graduation, there were several guys on crutches. They could not attend graduation ceremonies, yet they were told they had to stay through graduation and then could go home. We saw them later in town and they had no crutches! Makes you wonder doesn't it?
All of them received medical discharges. All were eligible to be treated at the VA hospital for their specific injuries forever, since basic is considered active duty time. However, none can return to the US Army. There was no period of recycling for them. I'm not sure if this is the "new Army" way or not, but I'm interested in knowing if Anthro1966 spent the last 11 years active duty, but if he/she had gotten hurt in BCT, it would be a whole different story than getting hurt in the regular Army.
I don't know if they can enlist in another branch of service, but your daughter probably won't be able to go back into the Army. You also can't sue the government for her broken hip. However, if the rope was defective, you may be able to raise a stink with the higher ups. Try the Chaplain first. He's usually a shoe-in and most of the ranking officers listen to him.
posted on May 10, 2001 10:11:36 AM new
Oops, I stand corrected by my son who read this story.
He said that if she did not receive a medical discharge, she can go back into the army as soon as she's healed.
However, he said some of the men could get back in, it depends on what the discharge papers say. One woman broke her ankle and they put "calcium deficient" on her papers which means she can't go back. Another guy had "accidental injury due to BCT" and he could go back. It all depends on who fills out the papers and what they say.
He did say most of the woman that got hurt didn't go back.
hcross, he was in Jackson too! He liked it there, loved BCT, hated AIT.
posted on May 10, 2001 11:12:16 AM new
ktsklutter
Very sorry to hear about your daughter.
As a military brat I can attest to the fact that they will take decent care of her. But she needs to be vigilent about what she needs. At this young age she could have great possibilities with healing. If not done right she could be in for arthritis trouble.
Rosiebud is right.
They take care of vets.
I don't know why she does consider it a failure.
Why not look at it as someone telling her to go to school and get a degree?
Besides, she sounds like she's got her eye on the future.
Best wishes!
posted on May 10, 2001 01:01:43 PM new
They may try to release her on an honorable discharge so they will be "free" of responsibility. Don't let them do that. If so, make sure it is with full benefits, so that any and all medical bills are paid by uncle from now until ever.
As far as being a veteran, she is not eligible. Just going into the service doesn't make you a veteran. One reason, no regional conflict is going on at this time. She won't be eligible for VA benefits either.
Unfortunately training accidents as they call them happen all the time. The Army considers it part of life. I work for the Army so I'm a little closer to what happens than some.
I hope she recovers fast and is able to get on with her life. BTW since the Army is responsible, I'd push them to continue paying her at least until she is better to get another job. Don't let the Army intimidate you. Stand up to them. Write your congressman if you need to, ask for a congressional inquiry, call your senator.
Good luck
