Lawsuit accuses VA of racial discrimination in benefits decisions

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Lawsuit accuses VA of racial discrimination in benefits decisions
By Leo Shane III
 Nov 28, 12:39 PM
Conley Monk Jr., fourth from left, a Marine Corps veteran of the Vietnam War, stands with Yale Law School Visiting Clinical Professor Jason Parkin, left, law students Rebecca Harris, Michelle Fraling, Adam Henderson, Mike Sullivan and Beatrice Pollard, and Clinical Professor Mike Wishnie to announce the filing of a lawsuit against the Department of Veterans Affairs seeking redress for longstanding racial disparities in veterans’ benefits programs. (Courtesy of Yale Law School)

Black veterans are less likely to have their benefits claims processed and paid out than their white peers because of systemic problems within the Department of Veterans Affairs, according to a lawsuit filed against the agency Monday.

“A Black veteran who served honorably can walk into the VA, file a disability claim and be at a significantly higher likelihood of having that claim denied,” said Adam Henderson, a student working with the Yale Law School Veterans Legal Services Clinic, one of several groups connected to the lawsuit.

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