Why You Should Forget About Making Improvements To Your Veterans Disability Attorney

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 source of cash. This is why you need an attorney that is certified to deal with VA claims.

A Connecticut veteran who was suffering from schizophrenia, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other mental health disorders linked to a fatal aircraft carrier crash has clinched a major victory. But it comes with a price.

Class Action Settlement

According to a lawsuit filed Monday that the Department of Veterans Affairs discriminates against Black veterans when it denies 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 records obtained by Monk as well as 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 last three decades.

Monk, a former psychiatrist, says that discrimination at the hands of VA has caused him, and other black vets, to suffer in a way that has affected their health, their home lives work, veterans disability lawsuits education, and employment. He demands that the agency reimburse him for benefits he has been deprived of, and to modify its policies regarding race discharge status, 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 which they submitted on behalf of the National Veterans Council for Legal Redress and the Black Veterans Project. This data showed that Black veterans were statistically less likely to be granted an appeal for disability than white veterans between 2001 to 2020. Additionally, the average denial rate was 6.3% higher for black veterans than it was for white veterans.

PTSD Discrimination

The Veterans Affairs Department systematically denies disability benefits to Black veterans, as per a lawsuit filed Monday. The lawsuit is led by a former Marine Corps veteran who was denied housing as well as education benefits for decades, despite when he was suffering from an undiagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The suit provides evidence that VA officials have historically denied claims submitted by Black veterans.

Conley Monk was a member of the Marines as an unpaid volunteer during the Vietnam War. He drove an unmarked transport vehicle and assisted in moving equipment and troops into combat zones. Conley Monk was later involved two fights that he blamed on his PTSD. In 1971, he received a discharge that was less than an honorable. This "bad paper" hindered him from receiving aid for tuition, home loans and other benefits.

He filed a lawsuit against the military to overturn 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 also claims that he was emotionally damaged by the repetition of his most traumatic experiences with every application for benefits.

The lawsuit seeks financial damages and wants the court orally order the VA to examine the systemic PTSD bias. This is the latest initiative by groups like the ACLU and Service Women's Action Network to force the VA to address the long-running discrimination against sexual assault survivors.

Alimony Discrimination

People who have served in the military, or those who accompanied them, ought to be aware of the truth about the benefits for veterans with disabilities and their influence on divorce money issues. One of the biggest misconceptions is that state courts can garnish veterans' VA compensation to pay for child support and alimony. This is simply not true. Congress carefully crafted Title 38 of the U.S. Code to protect veterans' payments against claims from creditors and family members in the case of alimony and 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 out of conflict zones. Monk was awarded several medals in recognition of his service, but he was later given a less-than-honorable discharge after he was involved in two fights caused by undiagnosed PTSD. It was a long, long, and winding path for him to get the VA to accept disability compensation.

He was denied benefits at the rate of significantly more than his white peers. The discrimination was racial and pervasive, according the lawsuit brought 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 combat decades of discrimination against Black Veterans. It seeks justice for Monk and other veterans.

Appeals

The VA Board of Veterans Appeals examines claims for benefits when the applicant is not satisfied with an assessment made by the agency. If you're considering appealing an appeal, it's essential to do so in the earliest time possible. A veteran disability lawyer can ensure that your appeal is in compliance with all requirements and gets an equitable hearing.

A competent lawyer will review the evidence to support your claim, and if necessary, submit additional and more convincing evidence. A lawyer who is knowledgeable about the challenges faced by the VA can be more understanding of your circumstance. This could be a great advantage in your appeals.

One of the primary reasons why a claim for disability benefits from a veteran is rejected is because the agency has not correctly classified 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 require. A lawyer who is qualified will 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 due to your service-related injury and that it is disabling. They might also be able to help you get the medical records that are required to prove your claim.