VA Target of Class Action Lawsuit Over Disability Benefits
VA Target of Class Action Lawsuit Over Disability Benefits
A lawsuit filed in the US Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims against The Department of Veterans Affairs and Robert A. McDonald, Secretary of Veteran Affairs could potentially affect the outcomes of thousands of cases stuck in administrative limbo.
The suit, filed by Marine vet Conley Monk, Jr. a Vietnam veteran long denied disability benefits asks the VA to promptly decide disability compensation appeals that have been pending for more than a year.
Monk is appealing the denial of disability benefits, as he believes he was unfairly given a “Less than honorable discharge” which in turn is the VA’s basis for denial of benefits. The suit alleges the VA is denying Monk of a prompt review of his appeal by inordinate delay.
Yale Law School’s Veterans Legal Service Clinic brought the suit against the VA on behalf of Monk and an estimated 300,000 others whose appeals on disability benefits are pending. The backlog of claims began rising in 2009 with the growing claims of Veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, and expanded to an estimated 600,000+ when Vietnam Veterans became eligible for Benefits to treat PTSD and diabetes.
The VA has not yet responded to the lawsuit.
