Released 4/3/18 | Tags: Class Actions
Siding with an Orrick pro bono team’s arguments on behalf of a Gulf War veteran, a federal appeals court today established vital precedent for veterans seeking benefits for disabilities arising from their military service when the disability consists solely of pain. In Saunders v. Wilkie, the Federal Circuit unanimously rejected certain limits on disability benefits imposed for nearly two decades by the Department of Veterans Affairs, providing critical support to veterans who can now recover just compensation for pain-related disabilities. An Orrick team led by Mel Bostwick and Eric Shumsky, partners in the firm’s Supreme Court and Appellate Practice, along with co-counsel at the National Veterans Legal Services Program, secured the win for Gulf War veteran Melba Saunders.