Decades Too Late With Schizophrenic Vet's Suit
Courthouse News
By MARLENE KENNEDY
March 29, 2013
WASHINGTON (CN) - A schizophrenic veteran is about 25 years too late to sue for wrongful discharge and disability benefits, a judge for the Court of Federal Claims ruled.
An action must be filed within six years of a claim occurring for the court to have jurisdiction, according to the ruling. The military discharge being disputed here by Monroe Quailes Jr., however. dates back to 1979.
"Despite the court's recognition of the difficulties in seeking redress that plaintiff has encountered over the years, it is compelled to grant the government's motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction," Judge Edward Damich wrote.
Quailes served two tours in Vietnam with the Army as a quarry machine operator and a cook before returning stateside in 1972. He soon began experiencing psychiatric problems that led to a suicide attempt in 1973 and subsequent outpatient treatment at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
A routine physical conducted before Quailes was honorably discharged in April 1975 showed "no psychiatric problems." After another suicide attempt in July that year, however, Quailes entered outpatient care at a private psychiatric hospital in Washington, D.C.
Quailes nevertheless succeeded less than a year later in enlisting in the Navy - "somewhat surprisingly, in light of the indications of his troubled history," Damich noted.
Soon thereafter, he went AWOL (absent without leave) twice in August 1976, then returned to service before taking an "unauthorized absence" in October. In November, he was declared a deserter.
In December 1976, Quailes was arrested in Easton, Md., on charges of burglary and grand larceny in connection with a home break-in. A third suicide attempt while incarcerated in the county jail landed him in a Maryland psychiatric hospital.
Quailes ultimately withdrew an initial plea of not guilty by reason of insanity and pleaded guilty to the break-in in December 1977. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison, with five years suspended.
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Saturday, March 30, 2013
Will Vietnam Vet get justice after 3 attempted suicides?
We have Veterans' Courts today because of what happened to Vietnam Veterans and we have "programs" for PTSD because of what they fought for. This veteran is an example of what they came home to. How much do you want to bet this veteran was misdiagnosed?
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