{"id":25171,"date":"2018-04-05T19:11:17","date_gmt":"2018-04-05T19:11:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/04\/05\/court-ruling-could-extend-disability-benefits-to-thousands-of-injured-veterans\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T02:14:34","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T02:14:34","slug":"court-ruling-could-extend-disability-benefits-to-thousands-of-injured-veterans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/veterans\/2018\/04\/05\/court-ruling-could-extend-disability-benefits-to-thousands-of-injured-veterans\/","title":{"rendered":"Court ruling could extend disability benefits to thousands of injured veterans"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 Thousands of veterans previously denied disability benefits<\/a> for pain issues related to their military service may now be eligible for that assistance, thanks to a federal court ruling this week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Wednesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit overturned a 19-year-old precedent used in more than 11,000 VA claims denials<\/a> that stated veterans had to have a clear medical diagnosis connected to their pain in order to be eligible for those disability payout<\/a>s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Advocates said the ruling could be life-changing for individuals who are unable to work because of service-connected injuries but excluded from veterans assistance because of medical technicalities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis was an all-or-nothing issue,\u201d said Bart Stichman, executive director and co-founder of the National Veterans Legal Services Program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t about arguing over the degree of disability where is the difference of $2,000 or $3,000 a month in help. These are people who are getting zero benefits, despite their pain.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t