About a century ago, returning war veterans with disabilities helped shift cultural and legal attitudes from the charitable model to the rehabilitation model. Today’s soldiers often survive injuries that would have been fatal in prior combat engagements, leaving them with even more significant physical impairments. There is also a growing understanding of the scope of mental impairments associated with military service. At the same time, disability has shifted from something personal that the individual must work to overcome, to something largely attributable to societal choices. We now recognize equal opportunity for individuals with disabilities is a matter of civil rights. Veterans with disabilities may once again play a significant role in shaping the future of disability rights law and health care norms. Beyond those topics, veterans with disabilities may affect criminal law, employee benefits law, and tax law, to name a few. This panel will explore the contemporary impact of veterans with disabilities on our law, including how law and policy can be more responsive to their needs and the needs of those with whom they interact, and how their unique status may inform various normative conversations.
Business meeting at program conclusion.