Fried Frank Secures Long-Awaited Survivor Benefits for Pro Bono Client

A Fried Frank team recently secured entitlement to survivor benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for its pro bono client, Helen Wilson, along with an initial award reflecting over 10 years of retroactive payments.

Ms. Wilson's late husband served in the Army from 1972 to 1974. Mr. Wilson passed away in 1993 while suffering from a seizure disorder that he developed during his military service. Ms. Wilson first applied for survivor benefits in 2015, but her claim remained pending before the VA for various reasons, chief among them the need to establish a connection between Mr. Wilson's death and his military service.

To establish entitlement to survivor benefits, the evidence must show that a service-connected disability was either the primary or a contributory cause of the veteran's death. Fried Frank assisted Ms. Wilson with supplemental submissions to the VA, including a medical opinion linking Mr. Wilson's seizure disorder and death to his exposure to a certain chemical compound while serving at Fort Jackson.

On October 10, 2026, the VA granted Ms. Wilson entitlement to survivor benefits, persuaded by the medical opinion solicited by Fried Frank. As a result, Ms. Wilson received a retroactive payment of benefits of nearly $200,000, and she will continue to receive monthly payments from the VA. The award is life-changing for Ms. Wilson and reflects over 10 years of persistence that her claim would succeed.

"Fried Frank helped me through a lot to get this outcome," said Ms. Wilson. "I am grateful for everything, and I know my husband would be too."

The Fried Frank team included litigation partner Robin A. Henry, litigation of counsel James J. McCullough and litigation associate Wellington Baumann. A team at Legal Counsel for the Elderly also assisted with this matter.

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