§ 1151. Benefits for persons disabled by treatment or vocational rehabilitation
(a)
Compensation under this chapter and dependency and indemnity compensation under chapter
13 of this title shall be awarded for a qualifying additional disability or a qualifying death of a veteran in the same manner as if such additional disability or death were service-connected. For purposes of this section, a disability or death is a qualifying additional disability or qualifying death if the disability or death was not the result of the veteran’s willful misconduct and—
(1)
the disability or death was caused by hospital care, medical or surgical treatment, or examination furnished the veteran under any law administered by the Secretary, either by a Department employee or in a Department facility as defined in section
1701
(3)(A) of this title, and the proximate cause of the disability or death was—
(2)
the disability or death was proximately caused
(A)
by the provision of training and rehabilitation services by the Secretary (including by a service-provider used by the Secretary for such purpose under section
3115 of this title) as part of an approved rehabilitation program under chapter
31 of this title, or
(B)
by participation in a program (known as a “compensated work therapy program”) under section
1718 of this title.
(b)
(1)
Where an individual is, on or after December 1, 1962, awarded a judgment against the United States in a civil action brought pursuant to section
1346
(b) of title
28 or, on or after December 1, 1962, enters into a settlement or compromise under section
2672 or
2677 of title
28 by reason of a disability or death treated pursuant to this section as if it were service-connected, then (except as otherwise provided in paragraph (2)) no benefits shall be paid to such individual for any month beginning after the date such judgment, settlement, or compromise on account of such disability or death becomes final until the aggregate amount of benefits which would be paid but for this subsection equals the total amount included in such judgment, settlement, or compromise.
(2)
In the case of a judgment, settlement, or compromise covered by paragraph (1) that becomes final on or after the date of the enactment of this paragraph and that includes an amount that is specifically designated for a purpose for which benefits are provided under chapter 21 or 39 of this title (hereinafter in this paragraph referred to as the “offset amount”), if such judgment, settlement, or compromise becomes final before the date of the award of benefits under chapter 21 or 39 for the purpose for which the offset amount was specifically designated—
(c)
A qualifying additional disability under this section shall be treated in the same manner as if it were a service-connected disability for purposes of the following provisions of this title: