Yale Law School Wins Case For Vietnam Veterans Honor

Vets Clinic Wins Case over Bad Discharges for Vietnam Veterans with PTSD
Yale Law School
June 22, 2015

“I can hold my head up now,” said Kevin Marret, another veteran whose discharge status was recently upgraded. “Before, I felt ashamed. This is long overdue for myself and for the other veterans who need it.”

Vietnam combat veterans who brought a class action lawsuit in federal court have won: the Pentagon has agreed to upgrade each man’s “other-than-honorable” discharge status. These men are among the estimated 80,000 Vietnam veterans who developed Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) during their military service and subsequently received an “other-than-honorable” discharge.

“This is a tremendous victory,” said Virginia McCalmont ’15, an intern in the Veterans Legal Services Clinic at Yale Law School, which represents the veterans along with Jenner and Block LLP. “However, tens of thousands of other veterans are in the same situation and still need help. The Department of Defense should inform all former servicemembers who received bad discharges that it is now taking applications that raise PTSD seriously.”
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Yale Law School takes on VA over sexual assault cases

Yale Law School suit alleges Veterans Administration biased against sex assault victims with PTSD
New Haven Register
By Mary E. O’Leary
POSTED: 04/30/14 NEW HAVEN

The Service Women’s Action Network and Vietnam Veterans of America Wednesday sued the Veterans Administration, claiming its rules discriminate against vets seeking disability benefits for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder tied to military sexual trauma.

The organizations are represented by the Yale Law School’s Legal Services Clinic, which filed the action in the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C.

The suit claims that nearly one in three women is raped during their term of service in the military, while more than half experience unwanted sexual contact.

But it is not only women who are victims, according to the suit. It says that of the 26,000 reports of unwanted sexual contact made in 2011-12, some 52 percent came from men.

“These assaults often result in devastating, long-term psychological injuries, most notably Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Sexual violence correlates with PTSD more highly than any other trauma, including combat,” the suit states.

In order to acquire disability benefits, veterans have to prove the disability is service-related.
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Vietnam Veterans of America: Coast Guard wrongfully discharged hundreds

Veterans group: Coast Guard wrongly discharged members
The Associated Press
By JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN
Published: February 27, 2014

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — The U.S. Coast Guard routinely violates its procedures and regulations intended to protect service members from erroneous discharges for personality or adjustment disorders, a veterans group and Yale Law School students alleged Thursday.

Vietnam Veterans of America released a report based on an analysis by the students who looked at a random sample of 265 discharges for the disorders over a 12-year period ending Sept. 30, 2012. Of those, the students found 255 failed to comply with Coast Guard regulations in some way.

The violations can lead to veterans being denied benefits and stigma in finding work, the report says.

"We are disappointed to see that so many members of our Coast Guard have been illegally discharged and denied their rights," said Tom Berger, executive director of VVA's Veterans Health Council. "We are hopeful that this report will spark action to correct this injustice."

Jordan St. John, deputy chief of public affairs for the Coast Guard, said the Coast Guard hadn't seen the report and couldn't comment.
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