PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — An Oregon veteran says an insurance company is wrong to use an “acts of war” exclusion to deny him short-term disability benefits because he argues the Iraq War was over by the time of his October 2008 deployment.
The Oregonian reports (http://bit.ly/yrvbvH ) 29-year-old Jerico McCoy has filed suit in a Portland federal court. McCoy says Iraq was a sovereign country allied with the United States when he arrived to join a psychological operations team.
McCoy says he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder that forced him to quit work and school.
The insurance company, Aetna Inc., says disability benefits aren’t paid for conditions resulting from acts of war.
McCoy argues that by October 2008, soldiers were on bases in an allied nation such as those in Korea and Germany.
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Information from: The Oregonian, http://www.oregonlive.com