Brain Injury Lawyer Blog

Veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, whose claims for benefits based on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were rejected, will have another chance to get relief. For the full story, see http://www.military.com/news/article/vets-with-ptsd-may-get-benefits-upgrade.html

The military has agreed to do an expedited review of the claims due to a judge’s order, which stemmed from a class-action lawsuit filed by seven combat veterans who were discharged for PTSD. Those vets claim they were illegally denied health care and other benefits that they were entitled to with their disability.

One of the original plaintiffs was ex-Army Sgt. Juan Perez, who suffers from PTSD and has problems with migraines and his eye resulting from a head injury he sustained during two tours in Iraq.

The Pentagon mandates that soldiers who leave the military due at least in part to PTSD must receive a disability rating of at least 50 percent to get full benefits, according to the National Veteran Legal Services Group.

But roughly 4,300 former soldiers earned ratings of less than 50 percent, so they were denied benefits. Those veterans will soon receive legal notice that they will be able to have an expedited review of their cases by the military, and that they can “opt in” to a class action lawsuit involving the matter.

The seven ex-soldiers who started the class action suit had disability ratings of 10 percent or less.

After the new review, former soldiers who get ratings of 30 percent or more will become eligible for benefits, according to The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/26/us/26brfs-BENEFITSELIG_BRF.html
Those applications can be found at ptsdlawsuit.com.

Lawyers for the veterans expect that the reviews will result in ex-soldiers getting millions of dollars.
http://www.wsmv.com/news/22338751/detail.html

The higher disability rating will translate to lifelong monthly disability payments, and free health care for the veteran, his or her spouse and their minor children.