Bravo v. VA

No. 87-0590 (CCC) (D.P.R. May 5, 1992) ; Clearinghouse Number: 49712

Description

Puerto Rican Veterans Alleging Discriminatory Review of Degree of Disability Determinations Awarded Retroactive Benefits

Abstract

The district court has approved a settlement in this class action brought by Puerto Rican and Virgin Islands veterans who challenged defendant VA's decision to conduct reviews of the degree of disability determinations of all class members. In 1982, after discovering that the number of Puerto Rican and Virgin Islands veterans receiving total disability benefits was four times the national average, VA decided to conduct a mass review of all such veterans who had service-connected psychiatric disabilities and who were rated totally disabled after January 8, 1982. VA removed approximately 4,200 claim files to the "mainland" for review. After changing more than 1,000 ratings, VA transferred rating jurisdiction back to Puerto Rico. Plaintiffs claimed that this mass review was unconstitutionally motivated by racial and ethnic prejudices and that VA used discriminatory standards and procedures during the review process. Pursuant to the settlement, VA agreed to (1) rescind the rules that it had been using since 1982 to rate the psychiatric disabilities of class members; (2) invalidate all rating decisions it made from the date of the initial reduction to the present, including decisions of the Board of Veterans' Appeals; (3) redetermine the disability rating of each class member from the date of the initial reduction to the present by using rating board members from other VA jurisdictions not involved in any of these cases in the past and by using national standards; (4) guarantee approximately half of the veterans involved a total of over $1 million by raising their disability rating to 100 percent during the three-month review period, regardless of the outcome; and (5) pay benefits retroactive to the date of the initial reduction if the rating board determines the disability rating should not have been reduced. Counsel estimates that an aggregate of over $30 million in retroactive veterans benefits will be paid. [Editor's Note: This case is more fully described in CLEARINGHOUSE REVIEW article "Court Approves Class Action Settlement Providing up to $30 Million in Retroactive VA Benefits to Puerto Rican Veterans" by the National Veterans Legal Services Project.]

Additional Information

Attorney Information
Plaintiffs represented by Barton Stichman, National Veterans Legal Services Project, 2001 S St. NW, Washington, DC 20009, (202) 265-8305.
Docket Date
1992-05-05 00:00:00+00:00

Files

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