The U.S. Navy to reconsider 3,770 medical discharges for retirement upgrades

Navy and Marine veterans who were medically discharged between September 12, 2016, through June 11, 2018, will receive an opportunity to have their cases reconsidered. They will receive a letter from the Secretary of the Navy Council of Review Boards asking if they want to have their cases reconsidered. Veterans will be given up to 180 days from the date of their letters to request such a review. They will also have an opportunity to provide additional evidence and declare their goal of being medically retired.

From Military.com:

Veterans who request a review must apply within 180 days of the date of the letter. They will be asked to spell out their end goal of medical retirement and provide any additional medical or non-medical evidence they may have to bolster their case.

The reviews will be done by a special class-action review board and will consist of a documentation review by a physical evaluation board, followed by a decision. If the veteran is not satisfied with the results of the board, they may request a formal hearing, followed by a petition for relief if necessary.

The review stems from a federal judge’s decision last year in the case Torres v. Del Toro, which found the Navy improperly dictated that the only medical conditions considered for disability by the physical evaluation board were those specifically listed by a medical evaluation board.

Under the policy, which was rescinded in 2018, physical evaluation boards were barred from considering any other medical conditions that weren’t “properly referred” to them.

The judge ruled that the policy “was unlawful in its effect on the physical evaluation board decisions” on plaintiffs in the class-action suit, and he subsequently vacated their decisions, ordering the Navy to review the cases.

But the strongly worded letters being sent to veterans are not sitting well with the attorneys who worked on that legal case.

Esther Leibfarth, a senior staff attorney at National Veterans Legal Services Program, or NVLSP, said Thursday that the letters are “confusing” and appear to “disincentivize people from applying for a benefit for which they were previously denied.”

The letters say the process is not “bound by the original findings,” meaning that the review could result in medical retirement, but the decision could also be the same or lower than the original findings.

“Once new findings are issued through the re-adjudication process, however, there is not an option to go back to the original findings,” according to a copy of the letter provided by the NVLSP.

Leibfarth said she fears veterans may not request a review out of fear of losing their Veterans Affairs disability benefits or receiving a lower VA disability rating — neither of which is tied to the Defense Department medical discharge evaluation process.

Military.com provides additional information here.

Category: Navy, Veteran Health Care, Veterans Issues