Nvlsp Wins Class Action "combat Related" Lawsuit

[Berta]

NVLSP wins MEB Class Action lawsuit

“Government Admits Mistake, Agrees to Correct Errors

In July of 2012, NVLSP and Crowell & Moring LLP filed a class-action lawsuit, Bargsley v. United States, in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims on behalf of three Marine Corps veterans and a putative class of hundreds of other veterans who were medically separated from the Navy or Marine Corps without the appropriate amount of disability benefits.

A 2008 law requires the military to determine if any disabilities leading to separation from service are "combat-related". If the disability is found to be "combat-related" then the veteran is entitled to both a lump-sum disability severance payment from the military and monthly disability compensation from the VA.

The Army and Air Force promptly implemented the law, but the Navy failed to do so. After realizing the mistake, the Navy started making combat-related determinations on an ongoing basis, but never took action to correct the failure to make these determinations in the past. This left hundreds of veterans who were medically separated from service without the proper amount of disability compensation.

As a result of the lawsuit brought by NVLSP and Crowell & Moring, the Government has since announced that it would unilaterally take action to correct these errors without a court order.

Since then, the Government has reviewed the records of thousands of Sailors and Marines and determined that the disability that led to discharge for over 600 of these veterans should have been classified as "combat-related". Their records have been corrected and the VA has been notified of the change so that they can determine the amount of money, if any, these veterans are owed. The three plaintiffs have already been awarded an aggregate of $50,108 in tax-free disability benefits.”

Source: National Veterans Legal Services Program Newsletter