Friday, August 21, 2009

Cushman v. Shinseki: Constitution Requires Fairness in Veterans Disability Claims

Noting that the "right of due process of applicants for veterans' benefits is an issue of first impression for this court" the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has reversed a Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC) judgment where a veteran's due process right to a fair hearing was violated by tainted medical evidence.

Spelling out what would seem to an ordinary person to be patently obvious, but seems to have eluded CAVC for decades, the court ruled a veteran "has a constitutional right to have his claim for veteran’s disability benefits decided according to fundamentally fair procedures."

Read the Full text on Findlaw; Cushman v. Shinseki offers hope to a great many Americans!

And thanks again to Larry Scott of VA Watchdog for giving this the publicity it deserves!

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