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Veterans Disability Lawsuits - Why You Need a Lawyer Who is Accredited to Handle Veterans Disability Lawsuits

Veterans with disabilities are often targeted by lawyers who make use of their benefits as a way to earn money. This is the reason you need an attorney who is licensed to deal with VA claims.

A Connecticut veteran who suffered from schizophrenia, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other mental health conditions linked to a deadly aircraft carrier crash has won a major victory. But it comes at an expense.

Class Action Settlement

According to a lawsuit filed on Monday in the United States, the Department of Veterans Affairs discriminates against Black veterans by denying their disability claims, at a rate that is much higher than white veterans. Conley Monk is 74 years old and a Marine Corps veteran who served during the Vietnam War, is the plaintiff in the lawsuit. According to records obtained by Monk, the Yale Law School veterans disability lawyer Legal Services Clinic and Monk claims that VA denied his disability claim at a greater rate than white veterans in the past three decades.

Monk, a former psychiatric nursing, claims that discrimination by VA has caused him, as well as other black veterans, to suffer in a manner that has affected their health, their home lives as well as their employment and education. He wants the VA to pay him back the benefits it has not provided him, and to alter their policies on race, discharge status, and denial rates.

Last 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 results showed that Black veterans were statistically less likely to receive an application for disability than white veterans between 2001 and 2020. In addition, the average denial rate was 6.3% higher for black veterans than it was for white veterans.

Discrimination due to PTSD

The Veterans Affairs Department systematically denies disability benefits to Black veterans, as per the lawsuit filed on Monday. The suit is filed by an ex- Marine Corps vet who was denied housing and education as well as other benefits despite having been diagnosed with PTSD. The suit cites evidence indicating that VA officials have previously denied claims made by Black Veterans in a disproportionate manner.

Conley Monk served in the Marines as a volunteer during the Vietnam War. He drove a bullet-ridden transport vehicle, and assisted in moving equipment and troops into combat zones. He ended up in two fights with fellow Marines that he blamed on his PTSD and was given an unhonorable military discharge in 1971. This "bad paper" prevented him from getting home loans, tuition assistance and other benefits.

He filed a lawsuit against the military to stop the discharge, and was awarded a full range of benefits in 2015 and 2020. He claims that the VA owes money for past denials of disability benefits. The suit asserts that he suffered emotional harm by reliving his most traumatic experiences with each and every application for benefits.

The lawsuit seeks financial compensation and asks the court's order for the VA to review its systemic PTSD discrimination. It is the latest move by groups such as the ACLU and Service Women's Action Network to make it mandatory for the VA to end the long-running discrimination against sexual assault survivors.

Alimony Discrimination

The veterans who have served our nation in uniform, or who accompany them require truthful information about the disability benefits of veterans and its effect on money issues in divorce. One of the most commonly held misconceptions is that courts in the state can garnish veterans' VA compensation to pay for alimony and child support. This is not the case. Congress carefully designed the law in Title 38, U.S. Code to shield veterans' payments from the claims of family members and creditors in the case of alimony or child support.

Conley Monk, who was a volunteer for his country, served two years in Vietnam driving bulletproof transport vehicles and moving troops and equipment out of combat zones. He received several medals for his service, but was later issued a less-than-honorable discharge after he got involved in two fights that were not diagnosed as being caused by PTSD. The battle to get the VA to grant his claim for disability compensation was a long and arduous road.

He was denied benefits at a much more frequent rate than his white peers. The discrimination was racial and widespread, as per the lawsuit brought on his behalf by the National Veterans Council for Legal Redress and the Veterans Legal Services Clinic at Yale Law School. It alleges that the VA knew about and did not take action to confront decades of discrimination affecting Black veterans. It seeks justice for Monk and other veterans.

Appeal

The VA Board of Veterans Appeals reviews claims for benefits if an applicant disagrees with an opinion of the agency. If you're considering appealing a decision, it is important that you do so in the earliest time possible. A veteran disability lawyer can help ensure that your appeal meets all requirements and gets an equitable hearing.

A qualified lawyer can examine the evidence used to justify your claim and present additional evidence when needed. A lawyer also knows the challenges involved in dealing with the VA and can result in a greater degree of empathy for your circumstance. This can be a huge benefit in your appeals process.

A claim for disability from a veteran is usually denied due to the agency was not able to accurately describe their condition. A lawyer with experience can ensure that your condition is correctly classified and rated, which will allow you to claim the benefits you need. An experienced attorney will be able to work with medical experts to provide additional evidence of your condition. A medical expert, for example, may be able to prove that your pain is due to your service-related injury, and is disabled. They might also be able to assist you obtain the medical records needed to support your claim.