The Powder River County examiner and the Broadus independent. [volume] (Broadus, Mont.) 1919-1935, 1919-12-19
or nm aggravation Of a pre-existing in
jury.
Appears After Discharge. .

Appears After Discharge.
A large number Of cases are on rec
ord in which the man was discharged
rs in good condition, and within few
days was found to be suffering from
serious trouble which was Of such
nature as to make 1t absolutely GER
tain that it existed prior to his sepa-
ration from the service For this rea-
son 1t is not practical for the medical
division to accept ut their face value
the reports Of discharge boards. This
is especially true when there is an
absence of data.
Then. too, there is the question Of
those disabilities which appear some
time after the mars separation from
the service. Here it is necessary to
call upon the adjutant general and the
surgeon general for the mans medical
record while in the service. This
sometimes throws considerable light
upon the question of determining
whether military service had aggra-
waited what would otherwise have
been a very obscure condition. In ev-
cry case the burden Of proof is on the
government. and the man is always
given the benefit Of the doubt.
Handle 5000 Cases a Day.
Nearly the entire eighth floor Of the
Arlington building in Washington is
occupied by the medical division of
the bureau of war risk insurance. The
function of this division is to pass
upon the medical aspects of claims
made against the government under
the war insurance act: to supervise
the medical and surgical treatment of
those discharged sick and disabled SOL
dierS. sailors and marines who are in
need of such services: to arrange
their disqualification to secure for
them the artificial limbs and other
prosthetic appliances which they
may require: I" secure physical ex-
aminations of these claimants and to
prepare the certificates Of disability
which will he a protection In years
to come. even though they may not be
In need Of compensation or medical
and surgical attention mt the present
time.
More. than 5000 eases pass through
the medical division every workin.
day. action being had on one case every
four seconds. When the case reaches
the section to which it is routed. 1t IS
carefully reviewed by medical officers
Of the United States public health
service specially trained in such work.
Variety in Demands.
In one instance it Is necessary to
rate the degree of disability: in an
other, to order an artificial arm; IN
another. to pay IA bill for tn. repair Of
teeth: this patient Is to he admitted
to Il sanatortm; thar unfortunate hoy
whose reason has been rocked by the
laundering engines uf war must he
committed 10 an institution. Here the
mother Of an epileptic requires con-
selling letter: there some officer in the
field mus. he Informed regarding the
special needs in some particular ease.
The eases pass To the various sec-
tons for action. and from them back
tn the mail room and to the other Ill
visions in the bureau for such further
action as may he necessary. 1t will
he readily understood that one ham
ding does not suffice for given ease
Each must be gone over many, many
times, and will he gone over many.
many more times in the succeeding
years.
1000 Taken Care OF.
This explains why, although more
than 5000 cases are being adminis-
tered each day. only some lO7 .OOl diff
ferent individually have been the re-
cipients Of the ILLUSTRATIONS of the
Is per cent were suffering from wounds