Veterans Disability Lawsuits – Why You Need a Lawyer Who is Accredited to Handle Veterans Disability Lawsuits
Attorneys who exploit veterans with disabilities to make money often rely on their benefits. You should hire an attorney who is certified to handle VA claims.
A Connecticut veteran who suffered from schizophrenia, post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health issues related to a deadly aircraft carrier crash has won an important victory. However, it comes with a significant price tag.
Class Action Settlement
According to a lawsuit filed Monday in the United States, the Department of Veterans Affairs discriminates against Black veterans in denying their disability claims in a manner that is much higher than white veterans. Conley Monk is a 74-year old Marine Corps veteran from the Vietnam War who filed the lawsuit. According to records obtained by Monk, the Yale Law School Veterans Legal Services Clinic and Monk claims that VA denied his disability claim at a much higher rate than white veterans in the past three decades.
Monk, a former psychiatrist, has claimed that discrimination at the hands of VA has caused him, and other black veterans, to suffer in a way that has affected their health, home life and employment as well as education. He demands that the agency reimburse him for benefits he has been deprived of and to alter its policies on race as well as discharge status and denial rates.
In the past year, Monk and the Veterans Legal Services Clinic obtained 20 years of VA disability compensation claim data via Freedom of Information Act requests that they made on behalf of the National Veterans Council for Legal Redress and the Black Veterans Project. The data revealed that Black veterans were statistically less likely to receive the right to claim disability benefits than white veterans between 2001 and 2020. In addition the average denial rate was 6.3 percent higher for black veterans than it was for white veterans.
Discrimination against PTSD
The Veterans Affairs Department systematically denies disability benefits to Black veterans, as per the lawsuit filed on Monday. The suit is led by a former Marine Corps veteran who was denied access to housing as well as education benefits for years, even having been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The suit cites evidence indicating that VA officials have repeatedly denied claims made by Black veterans in adisproportionate manner.
Conley Monk served in the Marines as an active volunteer during the Vietnam War. He drove a vehicle that was prone to bullets, and was a part of the team that moved troops and equipment into combat zones. Conley Monk was later involved two battles, which he attributed to his PTSD. In 1971, he was awarded an unjust discharge that was not honourable. This “bad paper” kept him from receiving home loans or tuition aid as well as other benefits.
He filed a lawsuit against the military to reverse the discharge and was awarded a full range of benefits in 2015 and 2020. However, he asserts that the VA still has to pay him for the denials he received in the past of disability compensation. The suit also claims that he suffered emotional trauma by reliving his most traumatic experiences with every application for benefits.
The lawsuit seeks financial compensation and seeks the court’s order for the VA to examine its systemic PTSD discrimination. The lawsuit is the latest effort by groups such as the ACLU and Service Women’s Action Network, to force the VA into addressing long-standing discrimination against victims of sexual assault.
Alimony Discrimination
The veterans who have served our country in uniform or Veterans Disability Lawsuits who accompany them need honest answers about the benefits for veterans and their impact on money issues in divorce. One of the most common myths is that veterans disability attorneys can have their VA compensation seized in order to pay alimony or child support orders in state courts. This is simply not true. Congress has carefully crafted the law in Title 38, U.S. Code, to protect veterans’ compensation from claims of family members and creditors in the case of alimony or child support.
Conley Monk was a volunteer to serve his country and spent two years in Vietnam driving bullet-ridden transport vehicles, moving equipment and troops from combat zones. He was awarded numerous medals, but later his discharge was not honorable as he had two fights due to undiagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder. The battle to get the VA to grant his claim for disability compensation was a long and difficult journey.
He was denied access at a rate significantly higher than his white peers. This discrimination against Blacks was systematic and pervasive, according to the lawsuit filed on his behalf by the National veterans disability attorneys Council for Legal Redress and the Veterans Legal Services Clinic at Yale Law School. It claims that the VA was aware of and did not confront decades-old discrimination against Black Veterans. It seeks justice for Monk and similar veterans.
Appeal
The VA’s Board of Veterans Appeals reviews claims for benefits when a person disagrees with a decision the agency has made. If you’re considering appealing an appeal, it’s important that you do so immediately. A lawyer who is experienced in appeals to veterans’ disability cases can assist you in ensuring that your appeal is in line with all the requirements and that it gets a fair hearing.
A competent lawyer will review the evidence to support your claim and, when necessary, submit new and additional evidence. A lawyer also knows the difficulties of dealing with the VA and can create a higher level of understanding for your situation. This could be a valuable advantage during your appeals procedure.
One of the most common reasons that a veteran’s claim for disability can be denied is because the agency hasn’t properly characterized their condition. A lawyer who is experienced can ensure that your condition is classified and rated correctly, allowing you to get the benefits you’re entitled to. A professional attorney will also be able work with medical experts to provide additional proof of your situation. For instance an expert in medical practice may be able to show that the pain you feel is related to your service-connected injury and is causing disability. They might be able assist you in getting the medical records required to support your claim.