Vets sue Navy for PTSD-linked discharges

HARTFORD, Conn. — Thousands of Navy and Marine Corps veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan who developed post-traumatic stress disorder but were denied Veterans Affairs health benefits have been given a green light to sue the military, under a ruling by a federal judge in Connecticut.

Senior U.S. District Judge Charles Haight Jr. in New Haven on Thursday certified a class-action lawsuit against Navy Secretary Richard Spencer by veterans who say they were unfairly given less-than-honorable discharges for minor infractions linked to their untreated mental health problems.

The discharge designation prevents them from getting VA benefits including mental health treatment.

“This decision is a victory for the tens of thousands of military veterans suffering from service-connected PTSD and TBI [traumatic brain injury],” lead plaintiff and Marine veteran Tyson Manker of Jacksonville, Ill., said in a statement Friday.

Manker developed PTSD after serving in the 2003 invasion of Iraq and received an other-than-honorable discharge for a single incident when hemedicated himself with an illegal drug, according to the lawsuit. The Naval Discharge Review Board rejected his request for a discharge upgrade, as it has done with similar applications by thousands of other veterans.

Yale Law School students are representing the veterans and have filed a similar lawsuit against the Army.