Veterans Waiting Years Just for Their Records, VA Lawsuit Asserts

Washington, DCVeterans Affairs (The VA) continues to claim it is making strides in clearing the backlog of applications for VA disability benefits. However, according to one VA benefits lawsuit that’s less than a week old, there is still a long way to go.

A handful of vets from various states are suing The VA with help from consumer advocacy group Public Citizen and the National Veterans Legal Services Program. At issue is the delay in receiving requested documentation from the VA that is needed to determine accurate benefits.

In this case, the various veterans represented by the VA lawsuit - they are located in Florida, Kentucky, Wyoming, Virginia and Colorado - already receive benefits. However, the plaintiffs require documents from The VA in order to determine if levels of benefits currently received are accurate. The undertaking of applications to additional programs that could result in more compensation can’t begin without certain documents from their claims files containing medical records and other forms of documentation.

The veteran benefits handbook, in a document dated August 19, 2013, states that response to any query will occur within 20 business days, as required under the Privacy Act. If a response cannot be undertaken within that time, an acknowledgement of the request will be provided within 10 business days.

However, plaintiffs seeking to review and potentially increase their disabled veteran’s benefits have been waiting hundreds of days, or so it has been alleged. The VA lawsuit notes that requests were made on various dates in 2013 and 2014. According to the lawsuit, the earliest requests were over two years ago - on the books for 26 months - and yet The VA has neither produced the requested documentation, nor denied the requests.

The veterans have been in limbo ever since.

An Act of the US Congress in 2008 created the Physical Disability Board of Review as a means to ensure fairness and accuracy in the disability ratings system for veterans discharged from service between September 11, 2001 and December 31, 2009 with combined military disability ratings of 20 percent or less.

Two of the plaintiffs need their files to apply to the Board for an updated review of their disability ratings, which could result in more benefits. Meanwhile, five plaintiffs need to apply for special compensation related to combat duty. The latter is a fund administered by the US Defense Department that provides tax-free monthly payments to veterans with combat-related disabilities.

However, the vets seeking an update to their VA disability benefits can’t initiate the review process without access to their files, which are being delayed.

Advocates for the plaintiffs say that veterans injured and disabled from combat should not be made to wait for months and even years before receiving their own records - documents that would then be used to apply for special veteran benefits.

“Disability benefits are critical for veterans suffering from injuries sustained in service to their country,” said Rachel Clattenburg, the Public Citizen attorney handling the case, in comments issued in a press release. “Forcing a combat-wounded veteran to wait hundreds of days for records to apply for disability compensation is unacceptable. This lawsuit is not just about records; it is about ensuring that our country keeps its promise to its service men and women, and their families.”

The VA lawsuit was filed in Federal Court April 20. The action is Ball et al v. US Department of Veterans Affairs, Case No. 1:2015cv00586, in the US District Court for the District of Columbia.