Veterans with mental illnesses who were denied benefits can sue the military, judge says

A federal judge will allow veterans with mental illnesses who were denied Veterans Affairs benefits to file a class-action lawsuit against the military, The Associated Press reports.

This case concerns veterans of the Navy and Marine Corps who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and received less-than-honorable discharges, which prevents them from collecting VA benefits. They were unfairly discharged, they say, for minor violations related to their untreated mental illnesses, and now, they can't receive the medical care they need. Though they can apply to have their discharge designation upgraded, the Yale Law School students representing the veterans say the Navy only grants about 16 percent of these requests from veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder, compared to 51 percent for the Army.

Now, a class action suit against Navy Secretary Richard V. Spencer can move forward, having been certified by Senior U.S. District Judge Charles Haight Jr. Lead plaintiff Tyson Manker called this decision a "victory for the tens of thousands of military veterans suffering from service-connected PTSD and TBI (traumatic brain injury)." Read more at The Associated Press.

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