The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled unanimously that the VA should not rigidly enforce the 120-day limit for veterans to file appeals to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims and that exceptions should be considered, case-by-case.
VetsFirst, which submitted a brief to the Supreme Court on the veteran’s behalf, applauds the decision. When deadlines are missed, the VA must look beyond procedural rules, taking into consideration each veteran’s disability and hardships.
The VA appeals process is often complex and confusing. For veterans with service-connected disabilities that affect cognition, filing for benefits can be a daunting task. The VA must be more sensitive about these situations.
In the Supreme Court’s ruling, the justices sided with David Henderson, a Korean War veteran who was discharged from active duty in 1952 with a 100 percent service-connected cognitive disability––paranoid schizophrenia.
In 2001, Henderson was denied a request for monthly home care benefits because he had missed the VA’s 120-day window for appeals. Henderson, who passed away in October, said he had filed late due to his disability.
But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled in favor of the VA’s right to strictly apply the 120-day filing period and rejected his appeal because he had missed the deadline by 15 days.
David’s wife Doretha continued his fight, taking the case to the Supreme Court and scoring a victory for veterans of all eras.
Justice Samuel Alito wrote, “The VA is charged with the responsibility of assisting veterans in developing evidence that supports their claims, and in evaluating that evidence, the VA must give the veteran the benefit of any doubt. Rigid jurisdictional treatment of the 120-day period for filing a notice of appeal would clash sharply with this scheme.”