On February 17th, 2026, Secretary Collins published an interim final rule that upended decades of precedent and policy, which impacted how disabled veterans are evaluated. Less than 24 hours later, Derek Debus, Director of Military, Veterans, and Firearms Law, joined with MilVet Law, Wesley McCauley of United Veterans Disability, and Vietnam Veteran Andrew Laffoon to sue Secretary Collins for his unprecedented and anti-Veteran rule. Represented by Attorney Paul Jennings, Stone Rose Law argued that the rule harms veterans by disincentivizing treatment, thus resulting in improperly lower disability evaluations.
Less than 24 hours after the lawsuit was filed, Secretary Collins stated he would halt enforcement of the
rule. On February 26th, 2026, the VA published notice that it was formally rescinding the controversial rule.
Craig Rosenstein, founder of Stone Rose Law, had this to say:
“I am proud that our team, along with our friends at MilVet and United Veterans Disability, were the first to jump into the fray. While other organizations and firms rushed to give press conferences and news interviews, we rushed into court to do the work we do every day—fighting for those who fought for us.”
ABC15’s Craig McKee sat down with Derek Debus to discuss how the ongoing lawsuit could still allow the VA to implement the rule.
