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Judge Extends Deadline to Join PTSD Class Action Lawsuit |
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Judge Extends Deadline to Join PTSD Class Action Lawsuit |
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newsletter articlesOCTOBER 2010 Judge Extends Deadline to Join PTSD Class Action Lawsuit
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have proven to be two signature injuries of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Thousands of service members have been discharged from military service as unfit due to the impact of PTSD. Unfortunately, a significant percentage of these veterans did not receive the military disability benefits they were due under the law because the military ignored a controlling regulation. Now these former service members have additional time to join a class action lawsuit to correct the problem, thanks to a critical deadline extension. The U.S. Court of Federal Claims signed an order giving eligible veterans – almost all of whom served in Iraq or Afghanistan and were discharged due to PTSD-- until November 10, 2010 to join (or “opt-in to”) Sabo v. United States, a class action lawsuit brought in December 2008 by the National Veterans Legal Services Program (NVLSP) and pro-bono co-counsel Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP. As a result of an agreement reached with the military services, veterans who join the lawsuit are guaranteed to receive, at minimum, a 6-month disability rating upgrade and expedited records review, which can potentially lead to a permanent disability rating upgrade, additional financial benefits and improved healthcare for veterans and their families. Approximately 42 percent, or 1,835 veterans, signed and sent in “Opt-in Forms” before the original July 24, 2010 deadline, making them class members in the lawsuit. At least 2,623 other veterans are eligible to join the lawsuit and become class members. In order to increase opt-in rates, NVLSP mailed class notices to 4,400 Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom veterans in January 2010. However, many notices were returned as undeliverable by the post office. Next, using government sources and public records research to track down eligible veterans, NVLSP staff attorneys called more than 600 eligible veterans as the original July 24 deadline approached. They found that many veterans did not understand the legal notice they received in the mail or never received it at all. “More than a third of the eligible veterans are severely disabled, with VA disability ratings for PTSD of 70 to 100 percent,” said Bart Stichman, co-executive director of NVLSP. “It’s not easy for them to understand the legal notice and what are the advantages of joining the lawsuit, even though they stand to potentially gain significant lifetime financial and healthcare benefits for themselves and their families.” Stichman says NVLSP plans to continue contacting eligible veterans during the coming months, but is also asking families and friends of eligible veterans to get involved and talk with the veterans.
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