Medical Discharge

Military Medical Discharge Attorney

Under Title 10 of the United States Code, chapter 61, the Secretaries of the Military Departments may retire or discharge a service member who is found to be unfit for duty based on a disabling physical or mental condition. Medical discharge is given to military service members who acquire a medical condition that deems them no longer fit for duty. To qualify as Unfit for Duty, the injured or ill service member in question must go through a multi-step process called the Integrated Disability Evaluation System, also known as IDES. This often lengthy process requires multiple different sources to consider a variety of factors relating to the service member’s medical condition and how it affects their duties. In the end, the decision that is reached determines whether or not a service member may be medically discharged from the military.

How Does Medical Discharge Work?

In the case that a military member becomes sick or injured, the obvious priority is to ensure that they receive the proper medical attention. However, what also must be considered is whether or not they can return to service in that state of being. Thus, physical or mental problems that are incompatible with military standards and interfere with duty for more than a year warrant the Medical Evaluation Board (MEB) to step in. The MEB, composed of a team of active duty physicians, will review the clinical case file of the injured or ill service member. Using the formal medical standards that have been established for continued military service, the board will determine whether the service member should return to duty or be separated from the military. If the MEB decides that the medical condition does, in fact, make the service member unfit for duty, this initial decision will need to pass through a number of hands before reaching a final conclusion, including the Physical Evaluation Board (PEB). After reviewing the case, the PEB may recommend that the service member either returns to duty, separates (discharges) from the military, or gets placed on the Temporary Disabled Retired List (TDRL).

When is a Service Member Unfit to Continue Military Service?

According to the Department of Defense, any medical condition that significantly interferes with the performance of duties for a service member of any rank may be considered by the Medical Evaluation Board. This may be either a physical or mental condition, or both. However, most conditions generally don’t automatically qualify for discharge. Instead, factors such as the conditions’ severity, how much it affects the performance of duties, and how manageable it is to treat will be thoroughly evaluated.