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October 15, 2010 - Twenty-seven Filipino WW II veteran-plaintiffs are suing the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for discrimination. Their lawsuit was filed in federal court in San Francisco and claims the VA pays these Filipino veterans fewer benefits than what they pay US soldiers. More specifically, they claim the VA paid them either $9,000 or $15,000 in lump sum payments and this is a fraction of the amount of benefits other veterans receive. Their claim includes the amount of pensions and health care provided.
The lump sum payments came out of a compromise made last year borne out of the VA never paying promised pensions. In that compromise between the two groups, the VA agreed to pay the lump sums instead of pensions the Filipino veterans were promised during WWII. The Filipino veterans believe every veteran should be afforded the same benefits.
The lawsuit's demand is simple: the same level of compensation as other veterans. Along the same lines, it is asking the federal government to make benefits available to the widows of Filipino soldiers who died before benefits were first available. The lawsuit also claims the VA is not paying benefits to many veterans due to their service records having been burned in a fire. Those veterans, however, are still capable of proving their time in service.
As for the amount of people this lawsuit will likely affect, there were approximately 250,000 Filipinos engaged in combat with American troops against the Japanese. The lump sum payments were not approved until 2009, so widows of Filipino soldiers who died prior to 2009 are ineligible for benefits.
This is the second suit filed against the VA claiming the VA is not paying benefits to Filipino soldiers as they should.
Soldiers can return home with a number of conditions, injuries, and aggravated preexisting conditions. If you believe you have a service-connected physical or psychological injury you may be entitled to Veterans’ Disability Compensation.
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