AP IMPACT: Almost half of new vets seek disability

AAA??May. 28, 2012?12:01 AM ET
AP IMPACT: Almost half of new vets seek disability
MARILYNN MARCHIONEMARILYNN MARCHIONE, AP Chief Medical Writer??

RETRANSMITS graphic that moved in advance on May 24; graphic shows U.S. veterans receiving disability

RETRANSMITS graphic that moved in advance on May 24; graphic shows U.S. veterans receiving disability

EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE ON MONDAY, MAY 28, 2012, AT 12:01 A.M. EDT - In this Tuesday, May 22, 2012 photo, Marine Cpl. Larry Bailey II, of Zion, Ill shows the tattoos on his arm at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. After tripping a rooftop bomb in Afghanistan in June 2011, the 26-year-old Marine remembers flying into the air, then fellow troops attending to him. Bailey, who ended up a triple amputee, expects to get a hand transplant this summer. A staggering 45 percent of the 1.6 million veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now seeking compensation for disabilities they say are service-related - more than double the 21 percent who filed such claims after some previous wars, according to top government officials. The new veterans have different types of injuries than previous veterans did, in part because improvised bombs have been the main weapon and because body armor and improved battlefield care allowed many of them to survive wounds that in past wars proved fatal. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE ON MONDAY, MAY 28, 2012, AT 12:01 A.M. EDT - In this Tuesday, May 22, 2012 photo, Larry Bailey, left, stands with his son, Marine Cpl. Larry Bailey II of Zion, Ill. at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. After tripping a rooftop bomb in Afghanistan in June 2011, the 26-year-old Marine remembers flying into the air, then fellow troops attending to him. Bailey, who ended up a triple amputee, expects to get a hand transplant this summer. A staggering 45 percent of the 1.6 million veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now seeking compensation for disabilities they say are service-related - more than double the 21 percent who filed such claims after some previous wars, according to top government officials. The new veterans have different types of injuries than previous veterans did, in part because improvised bombs have been the main weapon and because body armor and improved battlefield care allowed many of them to survive wounds that in past wars proved fatal. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE ON MONDAY, MAY 28, 2012, AT 12:01 A.M. EDT - This Tuesday, May 22, 2012 photo shows Marine Cpl. Larry Bailey II, of Zion, Ill. at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. After tripping a rooftop bomb in Afghanistan in June 2011, the 26-year-old Marine remembers flying into the air, then fellow troops attending to him. Bailey, who ended up a triple amputee, expects to get a hand transplant this summer. A staggering 45 percent of the 1.6 million veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now seeking compensation for disabilities they say are service-related - more than double the 21 percent who filed such claims after some previous wars, according to top government officials. The new veterans have different types of injuries than previous veterans did, in part because improvised bombs have been the main weapon and because body armor and improved battlefield care allowed many of them to survive wounds that in past wars proved fatal. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE ON MONDAY, MAY 28, 2012, AT 12:01 A.M. EDT - This Tuesday, May 22, 2012 photo shows Marine Cpl. Larry Bailey II, of Zion, Ill. at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. After tripping a rooftop bomb in Afghanistan in June 2011, the 26-year-old Marine remembers flying into the air, then fellow troops attending to him. Bailey, who ended up a triple amputee, expects to get a hand transplant this summer. A staggering 45 percent of the 1.6 million veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now seeking compensation for disabilities they say are service-related - more than double the 21 percent who filed such claims after some previous wars, according to top government officials. The new veterans have different types of injuries than previous veterans did, in part because improvised bombs have been the main weapon and because body armor and improved battlefield care allowed many of them to survive wounds that in past wars proved fatal. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

America's newest veterans are filing for disability benefits at a historic rate. Government officials say that 45 percent of the 1.6 million veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now seeking compensation for injuries they say are service-related. Officials tell The Associated Press that's more than double the estimated 21 percent who filed such claims after the earlier Gulf War in the 1990s.

These new veterans are claiming an average of eight to nine ailments such as bad backs, hearing loss or post-traumatic stress. By comparison, Vietnam veterans are receiving compensation for less than four ailments and veterans from World War II and Korea, about two.

Experts say the weak economy in part may be leading to more claims. Also, many veterans have multiple injuries from bomb blasts.

Associated Press

brandon weeden