On February 22, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) agreed to hear a case involving a U.S. Navy veteran’s ability to receive retroactive disability benefits due to a service-related medical disability, thus waiving the Department of Veterans Affairs deadline for filing. Finnegan represents pro bono Navy veteran Adolfo Arellano, who was unable to file for disability benefits for 30 years following discharge from the military. Arellano argues that his effective date to receive disability benefits should be adjusted from 2011 to when he was discharged in 1981. The current law restricts disability back-pay to a year after discharge from service, but under the doctrine of equitable tolling, courts are permitted to waive deadlines on the occasion that the claimant could not discover the injury until after the deadline expired. The case was initially denied in the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims and received a split decision in the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC). If SCOTUS sides in favor of Arellano, the decision could have a major impact on many other disability appeals.
Finnegan partner James Barney represents Arellano in the case and stated, “We are grateful that the Supreme Court has decided to review the Federal Circuit’s en banc Arellano decision, which involves an important issue to many disabled military veterans and their families.”
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