Veterans Adminstration (VA) Secretary Jim Nicholson has been accused by injured Iraq war veterans of denying them benefits. The class action suit was filed on behalf of hundreds of thousands of veterans. Attorneys filing the class action said that the objective is not monetary. What they want is for the VA to provide the mental and physical disability benefits and treatments the veterans are already entitled to receive.
The complaint in part reads: “Unless systemic and drastic measures are instituted immediately, the costs to these [Iraq] veterans, their families, and our nation will be incalculable, including broken families, a new generation of unemployed and homeless veterans, increase in drug abuse and alcoholism, and crushing burdens on the health care delivery system.”
Earlier this month the 9th Circuit Federal Court in San Francisco issued a strong rebuke directed at the VA. The VA was ordered to provide retroactive benefits to Vietnam War veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange and contracted a form of leukemia.
Comments on this entry are closed.
I have been waiting over 3 years for a claim. I have since had three blood clots since I filed my claims. Thanks VA.
As a disabled Vietnam Vet, I have an income of about $1000. I only feel guilty of not utilizing my PTSD and Back pain to lets say open the eyes of the VA and politicians that tell me a claim that has been going on sense 1973, is still on track. That it can take this long; I have lost a family, home, and everything. Now homeless in a sense I dot own a home no more, I dot rant a home, and have to pay to raise 2 kids alone. But I should feel guilty I dot donate money to the Government for the way the politicians failed to do their job. Obama hired 1500 employees to speed up claims, wonder what happen there, or was that a lie. Thirty eight years, and after those riots aboard the ship, I still cant be around blacks. So you can only part imagine what I think of Obama. i.e., fallen, beaten, rejected, left behind, sailor.
I alway get letters, something missing, and its not, they need my medical records and they already have, adding things to the claim, that I did not file, but now becuse its in the records they want to add. A 10 min, PTSD evaluation, because I was too tired, ( I have CHF now) probly caused by agent orenge. Over and over, 6months to years in papers being transfered back and forth. We lost it so we have to do over, or we cant find. In the mean time I have to be homeless, living from one place to another trying to survive. When asking for help, its always on track. their doing things right. 38 years, they think I am stupid, and when filled appell, they find an error, and tell ne they cant until they fix, then tell me I have to start over, becuse they dont fix, just drop.,……I got no where to go now, nothing left. Thanks to the VA, and their papers death roll!