Widow of Marine who committed suicide to receive life insurance claim

Thanks to Paul Sullivan of Veterans For Common Sense, I found this link on his Facebook page.

Widow of Marine who committed suicide to receive life insurance claim
Published Yesterday

Greg Jaffe
for The Washington Post


The Department of Veterans Affairs has reversed its decision to deny a life insurance claim to a Marine who committed suicide in 2010 following a long and largely hidden struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Marine Maj. Jeff Hackett was the subject of a front-page story last month in The Washington Post that chronicled his troubles and the VA’s decision to deny the $400,000 claim to his widow and four sons.

During his 26 years of active-duty service, Hackett had paid premiums on his life insurance policy through Prudential Financial. But after he left the military in 2008, he stopped making the payments, allowing the policy to lapse.

His widow and other advocates, including John Dowd, a prominent Washington lawyer enlisted to help in the family’s cause, contended that Hackett was struggling with mental illness and therefore a casualty of war deserving of federal assistance.

The case hinged on the extent of Hackett’s disability at the time of his discharge from the Marines. A provision in the federal law allows troops who are “totally disabled” to receive exemptions from paying their life insurance premium for as long as three years after leaving the military. The VA had ruled that Hackett had been gainfully employed at an oil refinery, meaning he was not totally disabled.
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