Court Holds VA Secretary in Contempt

The U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims has found the secretary of Veterans Affairs in contempt. In a Nov. 28 ruling, a panel from the court determined that the department’s chief should be held accountable for mistakes that led to ignoring an order to restore the 100-percent disability claim for veterans who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during the past two years. Even though the court had ordered the VA to make such a determination in a 2012 ruling, the VA countered that errors relating to computer entry of data has thwarted its effort to comply. The case before the court involved a veterans who had been receiving 100-percent disability compensation for his PTSD claim, until the VA lowered the rating by claiming he had not gone to doctor’s appointments. The ruling ordered VA to pay the veteran’s legal fees, and warned that further inaction on the department’s part could result in fines levied against individuals within the department. Morning Muster, a blog published by the veterans’ advocacy law firm Bergman and Moore, was the first to report the court’s decision.