House lawmakers roll out bill to make court records free
House lawmakers are planning to introduce a bipartisan bill Wednesday that would make court records free to the public. [more]
Released 2/13/19 | Tags: Class Actions, Congressional Legislation
News Room
NVLSP News Articles
Advice for Blue Water Vietnam Veterans About Procopio v. Wilkie Decision
Advice for Blue Water Vietnam Veterans Regarding Procopio v. Wilkie Decision On January 29, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued the groundbreaking decision Procopio v. Wilkie, No. 2017-1821 (Fed. Cir. Jan. 29, 2019). The Court held that veterans who served in the 12 nautical … [more]
Released 2/7/19 | Tags: Agent Orange, Veteran's Benefits
Attacking a Pay Wall That Hides Public Court Filings
The federal judiciary has built an imposing pay wall around its court filings, charging a preposterous 10 cents a page for electronic access to what are meant to be public records. A pending lawsuit could help tear that wall down. [more]
Released 2/4/19 | Tags: Class Actions
Questions about the lawsuit over emergency medical cost reimbursement at non-VA facilities?
Do you have questions about the lawsuit against the VA over the reimbursement of emergency medical costs at non-VA facilities? We talked to Bart Stichman, executive director at the National Veterans Legal Services Program to get some answers. [more]
Released 1/31/19 | Tags: Agent Orange, Board of Veterans Appeals, Class Actions, Congressional Legislation, Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, Veteran's Benefits
Court rules VA must presume exposure for ‘Blue Water’ Navy veterans
In a huge victory for tens of thousands of Vietnam-era sailors, a federal court on Tuesday ruled the Department of Veterans Affairs must presume "Blue Water" Navy veterans were exposed to Agent Orange, unlocking VA benefits and disability compensation. [more]
Released 1/30/19 | Tags: Agent Orange, Board of Veterans Appeals, Class Actions, Congressional Legislation, Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, Veteran's Benefits
Court Rules VA Must Pay Disability benefits to ‘blue water’ Vietnam veterans
A federal court ruled Tuesday that the Department of Veterans Affairs cannot deny disability benefits to thousands of Vietnam veterans who claim exposure to cancer-causing chemical defoliants simply because those vets served in the waters off the country’s coastline, and not inland. [more]
Released 1/30/19 | Tags: Agent Orange, Board of Veterans Appeals, Class Actions, Congressional Legislation, Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, Veteran's Benefits
Vets Expand Scope Of Landmark Benefits Class Action
When Navy veteran Peter Boerschinger, 79, required emergency treatment for pneumonia and congestive heart failure, he assumed that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs would pick up the cost of the emergency room visit that his private insurance didn’t pay for. [more]
Released 1/13/19 | Tags: Board of Veterans Appeals, Class Actions, Congressional Legislation, Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, Veteran's Benefits
YES, the VA has to reimburse you for emergency medical costs — despite what they say
Three lawsuits later, the VA is still making it unnecessarily difficult for veterans to get reimbursement for emergency medical costs from non-VA facilities. The National Veterans Legal Services Program (NVLSP) is working — for the third time in as many years — to fix that. [more]
Released 1/13/19 | Tags: Board of Veterans Appeals, Class Actions, Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, Veteran's Benefits
The Biggest Access To Justice Decisions Of 2018
From bail reform to class actions for veterans, 2018 was full of big cases in the realm of access to justice. Here, Law360 takes a look at four of the most consequential court decisions issued this year. [more]
Released 12/17/18 | Tags:
VA hit with lawsuit claiming 1,000s of vets never received medical reimbursements
Last week the Veterans Affairs Department was hit with a class action lawsuit. It claims tens of thousands of vets never received reimbursement they’re entitled to for emergency medical services rendered at non-VA facilities. Bart Stichman, executive director and co-founder of the National Veterans Legal Services Program, joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin to explain why they’re going after VA. [more]
Released 11/12/18 | Tags: Class Actions, Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, Veteran's Benefits