Judge authorizes class action for veterans with mental illness

HARTFORD, Connecticut (AP) – Thousands of Navy and Marine Corps veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan who have developed post-traumatic stress disorder but have been denied Veterans Affairs health benefits were given the green light to prosecute the military, under a federal government decision in Connecticut.

US District Judge Charles Haight Jr., in New Haven, on Thursday certified the class action lawsuit against Marine Secretary Richard Spencer, veterans who claim to have been unfairly dismissed for minor drug offenses. untreated mental health issues.

The exit designation prevents them from receiving VA benefits, including mental health treatment.

"This decision is a victory for the tens of thousands of veterans with PTSD and service-related head trauma," Navy Senior Applicant and Navy veteran Tyson Manker of Jacksonville said in a statement Friday. Illinois). "The fact that the Court has now recognized this group of ex-combatants is further evidence of the Department of Defense's outrageous violation of the legal rights of the men and women who served their country."

According to the lawsuit, Manker developed PTSD after serving during the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and received a non-honorable discharge for a single incident of self-medication with an illegal drug. The Naval Land Revision Commission rejected its request to improve the landfill, as it did with similar requests from thousands of veterans.

Navy officials did not immediately return messages requesting comment on Friday. The US Attorney's Office in Connecticut, which is defending the Navy against the lawsuit, declined to comment.

In one lawsuit, a federal prosecutor listed several reasons why a class action should be dismissed, including the fact that the plaintiffs could make a new request for improvement of their release, in accordance with the new rules put in place last year, that require more leniency for veterans with mental health issues.

Students from Yale Law School represent veterans and have instituted a similar lawsuit against the army. According to them, nearly one-third of the more than 2 million Americans who served in Iraq or Afghanistan suffer from post-traumatic stress and related mental health issues, and the military issues less than reputable discharges at historically high rates, often for minor offenses attributable to undiagnosed mental disorders. disease.

Last year, the Air Force and Air Force landfill overhaul commissions approved about 51% of requests for improvements to the discharge system involving PTSD, against 16% for the Navy. Haight called the contradiction "Stark".

Another plaintiff in the Navy's lawsuit, which was filed in March, is the National Veterans Council for Forensic Remedies, based in Connecticut, a group of veterans whose releases are unworthy.

"We have taken this action to ensure that veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan suffering from service-related PTSD do not suffer the same injustices as the Vietnamese generation," said Garry Monk, director executive of the veterans group. "We are delighted with the court's decision and look forward to creating a world in which it will not take years of searching illegal procedures to get these veterans to get a cure."