Blog by Evan Stouber, Junior Associate

Leonard K. Jackson is “a single father of two daughters.”^[1]  He is also a Veteran of the United States and has deployed overseas from 1980-1983.^[2]  During his service overseas, he suffered injuries resulting in “a range of physical and mental health issues.”^[3]  Unfortunately, he was denied his service connection claim in 2001 and started an appeal only after receiving information on how to actually start the VA service connection claim.^[4]  However, the claim still took over 4 years of going through an appeal.^[5]  In the VA system for disability benefits, the claim goes through the process, but if denied without new and material evidence under the initial VA System (Legacy System), the claim would reset, thus resulting in a new wait time.^[6]  Having your claim reset is devastating, especially when the Veteran has already been waiting a significant period of time already.^[7]

There are veterans that have waited over ten years to get their promised benefits from the Veteran Affairs (hereinafter “VA”).^[8]  Veterans serve our country and they should be getting the benefits that come from their sacrifices.  It is not reasonable to have veterans wait decades for benefits that were promised from the very beginning of their service.  Those benefits have come through their line of service, which extends from social security, to educational benefits, to disability benefits.^[9]

While the VA is a federal agency, the VA’s failures to act in securing benefits to Veterans have significant drawbacks on Veterans’ ability to fully participate in society.^[10]  The failure to act has led to this increased length of time that Veterans wait to receive their benefits.^[11]  Moreover, with this increased wait time, there are now Veterans that go on with their life without educational and medical benefits, preventing them from fixing issues that are detrimental to their ability to work and function in society.^[12]

With veterans suffering from disabilities from their time in service, their disabilities have intruded on their post-service life and their ability to rehabilitate into society.[13]  This intrusion is recognized in the CRPD and is aimed to be protected by the CRPD.[14]  One of the main goals of the CRPD is to habilitate and rehabilitate persons with disabilities.[15]  Under this treaty, states should “strengthen” their services “in the areas of health, employment, [and] education.”[16]  Thus, the removal of veteran employment at the VA could pose a significant risk to veterans regarding this treaty. [17]

^[1] Leonard K. Jackson, I’m a Veteran and I’ve Waited Over 10 Years for Disability Benefits, TheWhiteHouseBlog (May 4, 2016, 3:00 PM), https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2016/05/04/im-veteran-and-ive-waited-over-10-years-disability-benefits (describing the rationale for the period of time it took for a veteran to receive their benefits).

^[2] Id.

^[3] Id.

^[4] Id.

^[5] Id.

^[6] 38 CFR § 3.156.

^[7] Jackson, supra note 1.

^[8] See Leonard K. Jackson, I’m a Veteran and I’ve Waited Over 10 Years for Disability Benefits, TheWhiteHouseBlog (May 4, 2016, 3:00 PM), https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2016/05/04/im-veteran-and-ive-waited-over-10-years-disability-benefits

^[9] What Benefits Are You Eligible For as a Veteran?, Military.com. (Nov. 11, 2022), https://www.military.com/benefits/veteran-benefits.html.

^[10] See Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities art. 1, 26, Dec. 12, 2006, 2515 U.N.T.S. 3 [hereinafter CRPD]; See Deirdre Heavey, ‘Changes That Actually Help Our Veterans’: VA Secretary Defends Proposed 15% Workforce Reduction, Msn (Mar. 11, 2025) (stating the risk of poverty and unemployment for people with disabilities in the U.S. population); U.S. Census Bureau. USDL-23-0351 (Feb. 23, 2023).

^[11] Jackson, supra note 1.

^[12] Jackson, supra note 1; Jonathan Vespa & Caitlin Carter, Trends in Veteran Disability Status and Service-Connected Disability: 2008–2022 1 (U.S. Dep’t. of Com. 2022).

[13] See Id. (expressing the effect their disability had on his life and family); CRPD art. 26, Dec. 12, 2006, 2515 U.N.T.S. 3.

[14] Id. at Preamble.

[15] CRPD, supra note 3; 2515 U.N.T.S. ¶ 26.

[16] Id.

[17] U.N. Secretary-General; supra note 17, at 28.