Veterans Disability Attorney: The Good The Bad And The Ugly

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

Attorneys who profit from veterans with disabilities to make money frequently use their benefits. This is the reason you need an attorney that is certified to manage VA claims.

A Connecticut veteran who suffered from schizophrenia post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health conditions related to a deadly aircraft carrier collision has won an important victory. However, it comes with cost.

Class Action Settlement

According to a lawsuit filed on Monday in the United States, the Department of Veterans Affairs discriminates against Black veterans when it denies their disability claims in a manner that is significantly 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 the VA denied his disability claim at a greater rate than white veterans in the past three decades.

Monk who is an psychiatric nurse who retired, claims that the discrimination of the VA has caused him and other black veterans to be affected in ways that have impacted their health, homes as well as their education, employment and home. Monk wants the VA to reimburse him for benefits it has not provided him, and to modify their policies on race, discharge status, and denial rates.

Monk and the Veterans Legal Services Clinic received 20 years of VA disability claim data last year through Freedom of Information Act request that they submitted on behalf of National Veterans Council for Legal Redress as well as the Black Veterans Project. These data showed that Black Veterans were statistically less prone to be granted a claim for disability than white veterans from 2001 to 2020. Additionally, the average denial rate was 6.3 percent higher for veterans disability lawyers of color than for white veterans.

Discrimination in PTSD

The Veterans Affairs Department systematically denies disability benefits to Black veterans, as per a lawsuit filed on Monday. The suit is filed by a former Marine Corps vet who was denied housing, education and other benefits despite suffering from undiagnosed PTSD. The suit provides evidence that VA officials have historically disproportionately denied claims submitted by Black veterans.

Conley Monk was a volunteer in the Marines during the Vietnam War, driving a damaged transport vehicle that was prone to bullets and helping to transport troops and equipment to battle zones. Monk was eventually involved in two fights with fellow Marines who he blamed for his PTSD and was awarded a discharge from the military that was not honorable in 1971. This "bad paper" prevented him from receiving home loans, tuition aid and other benefits.

He filed a lawsuit against the military to rescind the discharge, and received a full range of benefits in 2015 and 2020. However, he asserts that the VA still has to pay him for his previous denials of disability compensation. He also suffered a lot of emotional damage from having to relive some of his most traumatic memories in each application and re-application for benefits the suit says.

The lawsuit seeks monetary damages and wants the court require the VA to look into systems-wide PTSD bias. This is the latest initiative by groups such as the ACLU and Service Women's Action Network to force the VA to address discrimination that has been in place for years against sexual assault survivors.

Alimony Discrimination

Anyone who was in uniform, or those who accompanied them, deserve to know the truth about the benefits for veterans with disabilities and their influence on divorce money issues. One of the most popular myths is that veterans can get their VA compensation garnished in order to pay alimony or child support orders in state courts. This is not the case. Congress has carefully designed Title 38 of the U.S. Code to safeguard the veterans' compensation from claims brought by family members and creditors in the case of child support and alimony.

Conley Monk, a devoted volunteer for his country, logged two years in Vietnam driving bulletproof transport vehicles and moving equipment and troops out of combat zones. Monk was awarded several medals in recognition of his service, but was later given a less-than-honorable discharge after he was 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 difficult road.

He was denied access at the rate of significantly more than his white peers. According to the lawsuit filed on his behalf by the National Veterans Council for Legal Redress at Yale Law School and the Veterans Legal Services Clinic, this discrimination against blacks was systematic and widespread. The lawsuit asserts that the VA was aware of and did not combat decades of discrimination against Black Veterans. It seeks justice for Monk and similar veterans.

Appeal

The VA Board of Veterans Appeals examines claims for benefits when the claimant is dissatisfied with to a decision of the agency. It is important to appeal a decision as quickly as you are able. A veteran disability lawyer can ensure that your appeal meets all requirements and gets an appropriate hearing.

A qualified lawyer can review the evidence that was used to support your claim and submit additional evidence should it be required. The lawyer will also understand the challenges of dealing with the VA, and this can increase the level of empathy for your circumstance. This can be an important benefit to your appeals.

One of the most frequent reasons that a veteran's claim for disability is denied is due to the agency hasn't properly characterized their condition. A lawyer who is experienced can ensure that your condition is properly classified and rated correctly, thus granting you to receive the benefits that you deserve. An experienced attorney will be able to work with medical professionals to provide additional proof of your medical condition. For example an expert in medical practice may be able to show that the pain you feel is a result of your service-connected injury and is causing disability. They might assist you get the medical records that are needed to support your claim.