Washington, DCMore VA benefits lawsuits have reportedly been filed against the Department of Veterans Affairs. The most recent VA disability benefits lawsuits allege that new policies in filing claims forms will hurt veterans making benefits claims and will unnecessarily delay the date claims become effective. The veterans lawsuit was filed by The Disabled American Veterans and Veterans of Foreign Wars groups.
According to The Wall Street Journal (5/7/15), the groups filed the suit in the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, arguing against a new policy implemented by the VA. That policy requires veterans to fill out formal applications or speak to a VA employee before they begin receiving benefits, rather than giving notice of their injuries. The new policy also puts the onus on the veteran to fix claims if the form is filled out incorrectly.
The groups filed the lawsuit arguing that some veterans might be incapable of filling out or accessing the forms due to physical, mental or financial difficulties. In the past, veterans could begin claiming benefits by writing a description of their challenges on a piece of paper submitted to the VA. The VA would then send an official to contact the veteran and help with access to the correct forms. Benefits were paid back to the date of the first paper being submitted, not the date the official forms were submitted.
When it announced the change, the VA said the standardized claims process would help provide faster service to veterans making claims, thereby reducing delays in the system. There are still reportedly more than 150,000 claims that have been pending for at least 125 days in the VA’s benefits system, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Meanwhile, the VA faces other lawsuits concerning its claims process. As reported for LawyersandSettlements by Gordon Gibb, veterans have joined forces with Public Citizen and the National Veterans Legal Services Program to file lawsuits alleging the VA has delayed giving them required documentation that would enable them to determine accurate benefits.
Despite guidelines in the veterans benefits handbook stating responses to queries will be sent within 20 business days, or if not possible, an acknowledgement of the request would be sent within 10 business days, some veterans say they have been waiting more than two years for their requests for documentation. That documentation could enable the plaintiffs to access increased benefits or special compensation for combat duty. But, they cannot access those benefits without seeing their files.
The documentation lawsuit is Ball et al v. US Department of Veterans Affairs, Case No. 1:2015cv00586, in Federal Court.
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