ptsd Significant Rule For Ptsd Veteran

[USACID]

Today I traveled to the Court of Federal Claims in Washington DC to review a file regarding a PTSD Claimant. The Case is as follows:

In the United States Court of Federal Claims

No. 04-1727 C

Filed: June 30, 2006

_____________________________________

))

HAROLD E. SIX, SR., ))

Plaintiff, )

)

v. )

)

THE UNITED STATES, )

)

Defendant. )

)

_____________________________________ )

William J. Kenney, Washington, DC, for plaintiff.

James D. Colt, with whom were Peter D. Keisler, Assistant Attorney General, David M.

Cohen, Director, and Deborah A. Bynum, Assistant Director, Commercial Litigation

Branch, Civil Division, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC, for defendant.

OPINION

HEWITT, Judge

Plaintiff, who states that he is the sole Processing and Reporting Room survivor of

a torpedo attack on the U.S.S. Liberty while it was stationed off the coast of Gaza during

the June 1967 Six-Day War between Israel and Arab forces, Administrative Record (AR)

at 124, seeks correction of his naval records to reflect disability retirement on the basis of

post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and the back pay, allowances, and benefits that

would flow therefrom, Compl. at 1-2, 36-37. Plaintiff contends that, at the time of his

discharge on February 6, 1973, he was suffering from PTSD and entitled to a 70%

disability rating on the basis of symptoms caused by or aggravated by PTSD, Compl. at

34-35; AR at 82, 99, that the Navy should have transferred plaintiff to the Temporary

Disability Retired List on February 6, 1973 in lieu of discharge and thereafter conferred

on him permanent disability retirement status, Compl. at 37; AR at 82

You can review the entire case on the Court of Federal Claims Website. To highlight a few of the points, Six was involved in an attack on his ship in 1967 and was the sole survivor of a torpedo attack on his area of the ship. Afterwards he had a break down and his career suffered. After ten years in the navy he was discharged because the SP's were being called to his home; financial difficulties; alcohol problems; assaults on his family and his TS was revoked.

In 1999, the VA awarded him a 70 percent rating for PTSD. He then applied to the NBCMR for retirement to his date of discharge. The NBCMR denied his request. He then filed suit as is his right in the Court of Federal Claims. The United STates moved to dismiss claiming that the statute of limitations under the Tucker Act expires six years after discharge. However, in Ruling in Six's favor, the Court said that he was seeking remedy under Title 10 USC 1201, which does not have a statute of limitations. Because of this, he was allowed to seek damages from the United States.

The COurt held in a number of rulings that the US had an obligation to treat Six for PTSD while he was on active duty even though he did not seek help for the disorder and had informed the phsycians in the ETS physical that he had no signs of headaches, depression, problems sleeping, alcohol use, and other symptoms of Depression or PTSD but they failed to do so. They simply eliminated him from the Navy. In the alternative, the court said that the government if it could not treat him, must retire him. The court ruled that Six is entitled to retirement to the date of his discharge. The United States Attorney did not appeal.

Of significance here, is the courts edict that Section 1201 confers no statute of limitations for an attack on the elgibility of retirement or a reinstatement to a particular duty status.

Further, and this is the really significant part before you can get into COFC, you MUST have been discharged. Simply ending your tour of duty through an expiration of your contract is insifficient. The discharge must have involuntary

Berta, perhaps you can read this and chime in. I think this might be an opportunity for PTSD vets at least those who were involuntarily discharged, to seek military retirement through the ABCMR, NBCMR, etc. mentioning this case which I am appending here as a link. I would really like to hear some thoughts. WHile the opinion here posted is one directing remand, the court file shows that the BCNR did place him on the retired rolls as of the date of his discharge and the money was to be calculated by Navy Finance. The file at the COurt does not contain an exact dollar amount, but I imagine it is sizeable.

Below is the link to the opinion of 2006.

http://www.uscfc.uscourts.gov/Opinions/Hew....Six.063006.pdf

[john999]

USACID

Don't vets have to choose between pension and VA compensation if they have less than 20 years? My question is it worth the trip to try and get a discharge changed if you are already 100% SC from the VA. If I got a pension from the Army after 37 years would it be retroactive to 1971 and how would that affect my VA compensation going forward to the present. I was already turned down for a pension so it is probably moot. If might be worth the trip if you got retro to 1971. I know you have no chance without a lawyer.