Military Physical Requirements and Personal Injury Claims
At the Law Office of William Bruzzo, we’ve seen how injuries preventing service members from meeting physical requirements destroy military careers worth millions. Our Orange County personal injury attorney practice has helped Marines stationed in the Orange County region prove how accident injuries eliminated their ability to pass mandatory fitness tests. As a former Major in the United States Marine Corps Reserve, we understand what physical standards cost careers.
The Physical Standards That Determine Military Careers
Every military branch requires members to meet strict physical fitness and medical readiness criteria.
- Army: Army Regulation 40-501 evaluates medical fitness, physical capacity, and combat readiness.
- Marine Corps: Marine Corps Order 6100.13A requires Marines to pass the annual Physical Fitness Test (PFT) and Combat Fitness Test (CFT). Consecutive failures can trigger administrative separation.
These standards directly impact promotions, reenlistment eligibility, and long-term career progression.
How Accident Injuries Prevent Meeting Physical Standards
Civilian attorneys often underestimate how even “minor” injuries can end a military career. For service members, injuries affect every test component:
- Knee injuries → Prevent completing three-mile run times.
- Shoulder injuries → Eliminate pull-ups, ammo lifts, and combat movements.
- Back injuries → Affect nearly every PFT and CFT requirement.
- Leg fractures → May heal enough for civilian work but fail combat fitness standards.
However, the impact varies. Not every injury leads to separation. The Medical Evaluation Board (MEB) and Physical Evaluation Board (PEB) ultimately determine fitness.
Understanding the Medical Separation Process for Injured Service Members
When injuries prevent meeting physical requirements, your command refers you to the MEB and PEB through the Disability Evaluation System per Army Regulation 635-40.
Timeline Expectations
MEB/PEB takes 6-12 months. Your personal injury claim takes 2-3 years. These parallel timelines complicate proving damages before knowing final military status. The MEB documents your conditions and limitations. The PEB determines fitness based on whether conditions prevent performing duties.
Three Possible Outcomes
- Fit for full duty: This weakens personal injury claims by suggesting minimal career impact.
- Fit with limitations: Permits continued service in adapted positions, reducing but not eliminating damage calculations.
- Unfit for duty: Leads to medical separation or retirement if under 20 years, maximizing potential recoveries.
Insurance companies argue you might have been found fit, making early damage calculations speculative.
Proving Accident Injuries Caused Your Fitness Failures
We must prove causation between defendant’s negligence and career-ending fitness failures. We gather documentation showing you consistently passed fitness tests before the accident, then failed post-accident.
Medical records explain how injuries prevent each test component through orthopedic evaluations, physical therapy notes, and physician statements connecting injuries to failures. Command documentation includes adverse fitness reports, counseling statements about promotion restrictions, and MEB/PEB findings.
Understanding military fitness standards in injury cases provides the foundation for proving how specific injuries eliminated your ability to meet mandatory requirements.
Calculating Military Career Losses in a Personal Injury Case
Accident injuries that prevent a service member from meeting physical requirements can have devastating financial consequences. For example, a Marine E-5 at Camp Pendleton with 8 years of service who becomes medically unfit may face significant losses, including:
- 12 years of service before reaching 20-year retirement
- Annual benefits (BAH, BAS, TRICARE, etc.) valued at $50,000–$75,000
- Lifetime retirement value of $1.5M+ for an E-7 at 20 years
To accurately calculate these losses, we must also prove that you would have completed your full military career. This requires detailed evidence of your career trajectory, including:
- Promotion history
- Reenlistment approvals
- Performance evaluations
- Peer comparison statistics
- Career progression patterns in your MOS
Without this proof, defense attorneys may argue that you could have separated from the military voluntarily, which can significantly reduce the calculated damages. A strong personal injury claim must clearly document your projected career path and potential earnings to maximize recovery. The long-term career impact of injuries for military personnel demonstrates how civilian negligence devastates lifetime earning potential.
VA Disability vs. Personal Injury Compensation for Service Members
VA disability compensation doesn’t reduce your personal injury recovery. VA compensates for service-connected conditions regardless of cause. Your personal injury claim recovers lost career damages from the defendant’s negligence.
Under California’s collateral source rule, defendants don’t get credit for government benefits. If VA pays 30% disability compensation, that’s yours separate from what the at-fault driver owes.
These are different legal remedies addressing different losses. VA disability partially compensates for medical conditions. Personal injury damages compensate for career destruction and lifetime earnings losses the defendant caused.
Common Defense Arguments in Military Career Loss Claims
Insurance companies frequently rely on several defenses, including:
- Arguing you might have failed future fitness tests even without the accident
- Claiming you would have left the military voluntarily despite a strong promotion trajectory
- Suggesting medical retirement provides adequate compensation without accounting for lifetime financial losses
- Asserting civilian employment should offset military career losses without comparing total compensation packages
- Minimizing the long-term impact of your injuries on mandatory fitness requirements
We counter these arguments using promotion statistics for your MOS, peer group career patterns, expert testimony on military career structure, and detailed present value calculations. Defense attorneys often assume judges and juries do not understand military compensation, which makes clear, thorough education essential.
Why Military Service Members Choose Our Orange County Personal Injury Lawyer
As a former Marine Corps Major, we’ve passed the PFT and CFT ourselves. We understand what injuries prevent fitness test passage and how those failures cascade into career destruction. We calculate military career damages that civilian attorneys consistently miss by millions.
We provide honest assessments of both liability and damages rather than inflating expectations. We know when physical requirement cases are strong and when additional evidence is needed.
We never charge a fee unless we recover money for you. Consultations are always free, and we meet clients anywhere in Orange County.
Contact an Orange County Personal Injury Attorney for Military Injury Claims
If accident injuries are preventing you from meeting military physical requirements anywhere in Orange County, you deserve full compensation for your lost career. The Law Office of William Bruzzo offers free consultations seven days a week to service members and military families.
Call your Orange County personal injury lawyer right now at 760-307-4233 or contact us online. There is never a fee unless we recover money for you.
