{"id":17307,"date":"2018-08-30T18:48:25","date_gmt":"2018-08-30T18:48:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/08\/30\/what-happens-now-that-veterans-can-file-class-action-suits-against-va\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T20:26:40","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T20:26:40","slug":"what-happens-now-that-veterans-can-file-class-action-suits-against-va","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/veterans\/2018\/08\/30\/what-happens-now-that-veterans-can-file-class-action-suits-against-va\/","title":{"rendered":"What happens now that veterans can file class-action suits against VA?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2014 A recent federal court ruling allowing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/2018\/08\/24\/court-ruling-allows-class-action-lawsuits-against-va\/\" target=\"_blank\">class-action suits<\/a> against the Department of Veterans Affairs could lead to a host of new legal options for veterans who share similar illnesses, service records or bureaucratic headaches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt is a watershed moment,\u201d said Greg Rinckey, a founding partner of the the law firm Tully Rinckey PLLC, which specializes in military law. \u201cFor veterans dealing with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/pay-benefits\/military-benefits\/health-care\/2016\/06\/17\/research-provides-clues-to-effective-treatments-for-gulf-war-illness\/\" target=_blank>Gulf War illness<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/veterans\/2018\/05\/04\/new-blue-water-veterans-deal-could-mean-benefits-for-90000-vietnam-war-troops\/\" target=_blank>Agent Orange claims<\/a> \u2026 this makes it easier for them to fight against big government.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/efiling.uscourts.cavc.gov\/cmecf\/servlet\/TransportRoom?servlet=ShowDoc&#038;dls_id=01205205396&#038;caseId=85114&#038;dktType=dktPublic\" target=_blank>On Aug. 23<\/a>, an eight-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims ruled that in \u201cappropriate cases,\u201d class-action lawsuits against VA will be allowed. In the ruling, Chief Judge Robert Davis wrote that he hopes the decision will \u201cshape our jurisprudence for years to come and \u2026 bring about positive change for our nation\u2019s veterans.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Previous court rulings had questioned long-standing precedent prohibiting such group lawsuits, even as other class-action filings have been brought against other federal entities. Rinckey said the move makes it possible for a group of veterans with similar grievances to use their numbers to put pressure on VA, and win legal relief.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/2018\/08\/24\/court-ruling-allows-class-action-lawsuits-against-va\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"157\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GWMV5BMFUREMJJ5HDWXMVKB7CM.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Veterans can now file class-action lawsuits against VA<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The move could allow groups of veterans to sue the department and force additional action on a host of benefits and programming issues.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cFor an individual vet, this doesn\u2019t change anything,\u201d he said. \u201cBut it opens a whole new type of cases that can be brought against VA, and how those veterans complaints can be answered.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The irony of the appeals court ruling is that the case which allowed class-action lawsuits to move forward \u2014 Monk v. Wilkie \u2014 denied the plaintiff\u2019s claim that his case should proceed as one. The panel ruled his desire to group together all veterans facing a wait of more than a year for appeals claims did not meet previously established standards for forming a class.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Catherine McCarthy, a student at the Veterans Legal Services Clinic at Yale Law School who handled the Monk lawsuit, said officials there are still considering whether to refile the case with new parameters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But she said the ruling provides a roadmap for a host of other legal complaints. In several other clinic cases, plaintiffs have already eyed class-action suits for veterans who were <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/veterans\/2018\/06\/07\/as-burn-pit-problems-linger-advocates-worry-va-and-dod-are-moving-too-slow\/\" target=\"_blank\">exposed to toxic chemicals<\/a> while serving, and for veterans whose benefits cases are stuck in bureaucratic processing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s still trial and error at this point to see what will work,\u201d she said. \u201cBut it\u2019s a great opportunity, because so much of what we hear wrong about VA are systemic problems, not just one veteran dealing with a single issue.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/veterans\/2018\/08\/29\/lawmaker-presses-for-quicker-action-to-help-clean-up-crews-of-a-deadly-military-nuclear-accident\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"226\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP_06100806552.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Lawmaker presses for quicker action to help military clean-up crews of 1966 nuclear accident<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">A new bill would grant presumptive status to hundreds of veterans who helped clean up nuclear contamination more than 50 years ago.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">John Rowan, national president of Vietnam Veterans of America, said when he first heard of the court ruling, his first thoughts turned to the ongoing Agent Orange fights between his membership and VA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The department has a long-list of rare cancers and other illnesses connected to exposure with the chemical defoliant during the Vietnam War, allowing veterans to receive expedited consideration for benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But Rowan said some veterans who served in the region are excluded from that presumptive status \u2014 including so-called \u201cblue water\u201d veterans who served in ships off the coast of Vietnam \u2014 and others have rare medical problems like brain cancer not covered in existing department policies. A class-action suit by either of those groups might force VA policy changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe good thing is once there is a court ruling, it\u2019s a done deal,\u201d he said. \u201cIf the court orders them to make a change, there\u2019s no budget aspect to it like there is with legislative fixes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rinckey said veterans dealing with burn pit exposure illnesses and other toxic chemical exposure from the recent wars could also use the new legal avenues to force VA changes. But one thing the new legal precedent won\u2019t alter is the timeline for these type of lawsuits to be resolved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cVA moves very slow on these issues, but so do the courts,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd now you\u2019ll have to establish a class, support that and then argue for a fix. It\u2019s a lot of time and expense, so you won\u2019t see every small law firm jumping on this.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Legal experts say the new legal precedent could mean new avenues for veterans facing similar medical issues or similar problems getting VA benefits.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":35478,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":21,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"2":{"categories":["veterans","news","pentagon-congress","left-column","home","middle-column"],"primary_category":"veterans"},"5":{"categories":["veterans","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters","pentagon-congress","middle-column","home"],"primary_category":"veterans"},"6":{"categories":["veterans","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters","pentagon-congress","middle-column","home"],"primary_category":"veterans"},"7":{"categories":["veterans","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters","pentagon-congress","middle-column","home"],"primary_category":"veterans"},"8":{"categories":["doj-fbi","federal-oversight","home"],"primary_category":"doj-fbi"}}},"categories":[101,24,89,16,26,65,21],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3328],"class_list":["post-17307","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-home","category-middle-column","category-news","category-newsletters","category-pentagon-congress","category-veterans"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"OVBJICJJDBCHTCCUCICPWVWCFI","arc_canonical_url":"\/veterans\/2018\/08\/30\/what-happens-now-that-veterans-can-file-class-action-suits-against-va\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>What happens now that veterans can file class-action suits against VA? - Air Force TImes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Legal experts say the new legal precedent could mean new avenues for veterans facing similar medical issues or similar problems getting VA benefits.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What happens now that veterans can file class-action suits against VA?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Legal experts say the new legal precedent could mean new avenues for veterans facing similar medical issues or similar problems getting VA 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