Veterans have filed a class action lawsuit has alleging the VA has been downplaying PTSD diagnoses and reducting VA impairment ratings:
A class action lawsuit has been filed against the federal government by five veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The soldiers allege that they were illegally denied disability benefits despite being diagnosed with severe cases of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The soldiers were discharged by the Army after it determined that their damaged mental health left them unfit to serve. They were then assigned disability ratings well below the 50 percent figure needed to qualify for lifetime health care benefits. The complaint claims that the Army “systematically” ignored rules requiring that all servicemen diagnosed with PTSD receive an automatic 50 percent rating. In October, the Defense Department ordered the Army to stop deflating PTSD victims’ disability ratings.
The lawsuit asks the Army to award the soldiers the disability benefits they would have received, as well as unspecified damages.
I have personally heard stories from veterans, trying to get their Social Security disability benefits, of nurse practitioners downplaying PTSD diagnoses to reduce the benefits veterans are entitled to. Shameful, shameful behavior.
I am glad to see veterans standing up and demanding the government stop short changing them. When we send our sons and daughters into harms way, giving them the highest quality medical care is the least we can do.
via Veterans Sue Federal Government Over Lack of PTSD Disability Benefits | InjuryBoard Charlottesville .
