Supreme Court to Decide If Vets Missing Disability Benefits Deadlines Will Get Back Pay

The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) agreed to hear the veteran disability case Arellano v. McDonough, which will determine whether veterans who missed the filing date for disability benefits due to injury or incapacitation will be eligible to receive back pay to their discharge date from the military. Finnegan’s pro bono client Adolfo Arellano, a U.S. Navy veteran, was unable to apply within the one-year window to receive retroactive disability benefits due to severe health conditions he developed following an accident aboard an aircraft carrier.  Finnegan partner James Barney represents Arellano in the case and argued that under the legal principle of equitable tolling, veterans experiencing severe health conditions or injuries should have the deadline for receiving retroactive disability benefits waived. 

James believes SCOTUS could overturn the precedent in this case: 

“What we are arguing in this appeal is that a veteran should be allowed to at least ask for equitable tolling. There may be circumstances that are extremely compelling that ordinarily would lead a judge to rule that is permissible. But because of this [precedent], the veterans court is saying that their hands are tied.”

If SCOTUS rules in favor of Arellano, the decision would not automatically grant new benefits to any veteran, but it may open the door for veterans to dispute the deadline requirement allowing them to make an argument for retroactive pay. James continued, “If there were a similar deadline in any private litigation, the private litigants would be entitled to argue for equitable tolling...So why is it that military veterans aren’t given that same chance?”

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