A Connecticut veteran who suffered from schizophrenia, post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health disorders linked to a deadly aircraft carrier collision has won an important victory. However, it comes with a significant cost.
Class Action Settlement
The Department of Veterans Affairs has systematically discriminated against Black veterans by refusing disability compensation claims at a higher rate than white veterans, according to a lawsuit filed on Monday. Conley Monk is a 74 year old Marine Corps veteran from the Vietnam War who filed the lawsuit. According to the records obtained by Monk, the Yale Law School Veterans Legal Services Clinic and Monk, he claims that the VA denied his disability claim at a much higher rate than white veterans over the last three decades.
Monk, Veterans Disability Lawsuits an ex-psychiatric nurse and retired, claims that the discrimination of the VA has caused him and other black veterans to suffer in ways that have impacted their health, home as well as their education, employment and home. He wants the agency to reimburse him for benefits it has deprived him of and to change its policies on 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 information through Freedom of Information Act requests, which they filed on behalf of the National Veterans Council for Legal Redress and the Black Veterans Project. The data revealed that Black Veterans were statistically less prone to be granted the claim for disability than white veterans from 2001 until 2020. In addition, the average denial rate was 6.3 percent higher for black veterans than it was for white veterans.
Discrimination against PTSD
The Veterans Affairs Department systematically denies disability benefits to Black veterans, according to a lawsuit filed on Monday. The lawsuit is led by a former Marine Corps veteran who was denied housing as well as education benefits for a long time, even having been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The suit provides evidence that VA officials have historically rejected claims filed by Black veterans.
Conley Monk signed up to serve in the Marines during the Vietnam War, driving a truck that was shot and assisting in the transportation of troops and equipment to combat zones. Monk was later involved in two battles that he blamed on his PTSD. In 1971, he received an unjust discharge that was less than honorable. This “bad paper” kept him from obtaining home loans, tuition assistance and other benefits.
He sued the military to overturn the discharge, and received a full range of benefits in 2015 and 2020. He claims that the VA has a debt for the past denials of disability benefits. He also suffered a lot of emotional harm as he relived some of his most painful memories in each application and re-application to receive benefits, the suit states.
The lawsuit is seeking monetary damages and asks the court to order the VA to examine its systems-wide PTSD bias. It is the latest move by groups like the ACLU and Service Women’s Action Network to make it mandatory for the VA to address discrimination that has been in place for years against sexual assault survivors.
Alimony Discrimination
The veterans who have served our country in uniform or those who are their companions deserve honest answers about the benefits for veterans and their impact on financial issues in divorce. One of the biggest myths is that state courts are able to take away veterans’ VA compensation to pay for alimony and child support. This isn’t the case. Congress has carefully designed Title 38 of the U.S. Code to protect veterans’ payments against claims from creditors and family members including child support and alimony.
Conley Monk decided to serve his country and spent two years in Vietnam driving bullet-ridden transport vehicles, moving equipment and troops from the combat zones. Monk was awarded several medals in recognition of his service, but was later issued a less-than-honorable discharge after getting into two fights that were caused by undiagnosed PTSD. His battle for the VA to grant his claim for disability compensation was a long and winding route.
He was denied at the rate of significantly more than white people. According to the lawsuit filed on his behalf by the National Veterans Council for Legal Redress at Yale Law School and the veterans disability attorney Legal Services Clinic, this racial bias was systemic and widespread. The lawsuit asserts that the VA was aware of but did not deal with decades-long discrimination against Black Veterans. It seeks justice for Monk and other veterans who are like him.
Appeal
The VA Board of Veterans Appeals examines claims for benefits if the applicant is not satisfied with to a decision of the agency. If you’re considering appealing a decision, it is crucial to file an appeal as soon as you can. A veteran disability lawyer can ensure that your appeal meets all requirements and receives an equitable hearing.
A competent lawyer will review the evidence to support your claim and, should it be necessary, present additional evidence. The lawyer will also understand the challenges of dealing with the VA and could increase the level of empathy for your situation. This can be a significant benefit to your appeals.