The Most Prevalent Issues In Veterans Disability Attorney

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

Attorneys who exploit disabled veterans to make money often rely on their benefits. You need an attorney that is certified to handle VA claims.

A Connecticut veteran who was suffering from schizophrenia, post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health conditions related to a fatal air carrier collision has won an important victory. But it comes at cost.

Class Action Settlement

According to a lawsuit filed Monday, the Department of Veterans Affairs discriminates against Black veterans by refusing their disability claims, at a rate that is significantly higher than white veterans. Conley Monk, a 74-year-old Marine Corps veteran who served in the Vietnam War, is the plaintiff in the lawsuit. According to the documents obtained by Monk and the Yale Law School Veterans Legal Services Clinic and Monk, he claims that VA denied his disability claim at a much higher rate than white veterans in the past three decades.

Monk who is an ex-psychiatric nurse and retired, claims that the discrimination of the VA has caused him and other black veterans to be affected in ways that have affected their health, homes work, education and employment. Monk wants the VA to reimburse him for benefits that it has denied him and to change their policies regarding race and discharge status as well as denial rates.

Monk and the Veterans Legal Services Clinic received 20 years of VA disability claim information last year through Freedom of Information Act request that they made on behalf of National Veterans Council for Legal Redress and the Black Veterans Project. These figures showed that Black Veterans were statistically less prone to be granted an application for disability than white veterans from 2001 until 2020. The average denial rate for black Veterans Disability Lawsuit was 6.3 percent higher than white veterans.

Discrimination in PTSD

According to a lawsuit filed on Monday the Veterans Affairs Department denies disability benefits to Black veterans. The suit is filed by an ex- Marine Corps vet who was denied housing and education as well as other benefits despite suffering from undiagnosed PTSD. The suit cites evidence indicating that VA officials have denied claims made by Black veterans in adisproportionate manner.

Conley Monk served in the Marines as a volunteer during the Vietnam War. He drove a vehicle that was prone to bullets, and helped move equipment and troops into combat zones. Monk was eventually involved in two fights with fellow Marines that he blamed on his PTSD, and received an unhonorable military discharge in 1971. This "bad paper" prevented him from receiving home loans, tuition aid and other benefits.

He sued the military to stop the discharge and was awarded a wide range of benefits in 2015 and 2020. He claims that the VA owes money for past denials of disability benefits. He also suffered severe emotional trauma from reliving some of his most traumatic memories with each application and re-application to receive benefits, the suit says.

The lawsuit seeks financial damages and also asks the court to require the VA to examine its systemic PTSD discrimination. It is the latest move by groups like the ACLU and Service Women's Action Network to force the VA to address long-running discrimination against survivors of sexual assault.

Alimony Discrimination

People who have served in the military or who accompanied those who served in the military, need to know the truth about the benefits for veterans with disabilities and their influence on divorce money issues. One of the most commonly held misconceptions is that state courts can take away veterans' VA compensation to pay for alimony and child support. This is not true. Congress carefully crafted Title 38 of the U.S. Code to protect the veterans' compensation from claims made by family members and creditors in the case of alimony and child support.

Conley Monk, who was a volunteer for his country, served two years in Vietnam driving bulletproof transport vehicles, as well as moving equipment and troops out of combat zones. He was awarded numerous medals, but then his discharge was not honorable as he had two fights caused by undiagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder. His battle for the VA to grant his claim for disability compensation was a long and difficult journey.

He was denied benefits at a greater rate than his white peers. This racial discrimination was systemic and pervasive, according the lawsuit filed on behalf of him by the National Veterans Council for Legal Redress and the Veterans Legal Services Clinic at Yale Law School. The lawsuit claims that the VA was aware of and failed to confront decades-old discrimination against Black Veterans. It seeks justice for Monk and other veterans.

Appeal

The VA Board of Veterans Appeals examines claims for benefits if a claimant disagrees an opinion of the agency. If you are considering appealing an agency decision, it's important that you do so in the earliest time possible. A lawyer who is experienced in appeals for veterans disability can help you ensure that your appeal meets all requirements and ensure that it is heard in a fair manner.

A lawyer with experience can look over the evidence used to prove your claim and, if necessary, submit additional and more convincing evidence. A lawyer who understands the challenges faced by the VA can be more sympathetic to your circumstances. This could be a great asset in your appeals process.

One of the primary reasons that a veteran's claim for disability is denied is because the agency has not correctly characterized their condition. A qualified attorney can make sure that your condition is correctly classified and rated, which will allow you to obtain the benefits you need. A professional attorney will also be able to work with medical experts to provide additional proof of your situation. A medical expert, for example, may be able to prove that your pain is caused by your service-related injury, and is disabling. They may also be able help you obtain the medical records that are needed to support your claim.