The U.S. Department of Defense is accused in a class action of unlawfully denying medical and disability benefits to Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans who claim that they are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Michael Sabo, et al. v. United States of America, No. 08-899 C, E.D. Pa.).

Michael Sabo, Nicholas Wells, Juan Perez, Alan Pitts and Billy J. Talley filed a class action complaint in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, alleging the military failed to follow its own guidelines when it denied benefits to wounded soldiers.

The plaintiffs claim that they were discharged from duty after a U.S. Army review board concluded that they were suffering from PTSD and were no longer fit to serve. PTSD is a mental health disorder that can develop after an individual experiences, witnesses or undergoes a traumatic event. The disorder often causes or threatens grave physical harm or death to that person or others who are around the affected person.

The plaintiffs claim that their disabilities were not rated severe enough so as to qualify them for ongoing disability payments and medical coverage for themselves and their families.

The plaintiffs claim that the Army has failed to honor its clear and explicit duty of not abandoning its fallen or wounded soldiers. The plaintiffs say the Army's act of giving intentionally low ratings to soldiers suffering from PTSD was a transparent attempt to purge its ranks and eradicate its responsibility to care for its wounded soldiers.

The plaintiffs seek to represent a class of all U.S. Army service members who were evaluated and discharged from active duty between Dec. 17, 2002, and Oct. 13, 2008, due to a finding that the individual's PTSD renders that person unfit for continued military service and the individual merits a disability rating below 50 percent for PTSD.