Jacksonville veteran at risk of VA disability benefits cutoff

A local veteran is at risk of having his disability benefits cut off by the Veterans Administration.

He said he’s worried it could be happening to other veterans.

“I wanted to get off the streets of New York, do something for my country," James Dempsey, a Vietnam veteran said in explaining his reason for joining the Army.

He said his service came with lasting impacts, post-traumatic stress disorder.

“I’m always on edge, short-tempered," he said. "I have nightmares, a lot of different things.”

Dempsey admits he self-medicated with alcohol and marijuana, until he realized it wasn’t an effective way of coping.

He said he was granted disability, but 15 months later, he received a letter saying the VA was severing his benefits.

STORY: Veterans left in limbo, waiting years only to have their VA disability claims denied

“They said that they made a grave error and it had to do with my self-medicating,” explained Dempsey.

Action News Jax reporter Beth Rousseau asked the VA about the case.

Dempsey filled out a waiver allowing them to release specifics on his situation.

A spokesperson for the VA sent this response:

"The criteria for granting, denying, reducing, or severing benefits in VA's disability compensation program are prescribed in the Federal statutes and regulations that govern the program. These can be found in title 38 of the United States Code and title 38 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

Severance of service connection (revocation of benefits) is rare in the compensation program, but actual data on the frequency of these decisions is not readily available and would require further research."

“I’m dependent on that to live so it would make a big impact,” Dempsey said.

STORY: New VA decision to impact tens of thousands of local veterans denied disability

He said he’s going through the proper process to keep his benefits.

Cox Media Group