Can the USCG make you pay back medical cost from an accident if you have been discharged?

Question

My son was honorably discharged from the USCG after a motorcycle accident involving alcohol. I know he was wrong but now they are doing an investigation a year after the fact and saying that due to his misconduct he should pay for his medical bills. He has not recovered mentally or physically and owns nothing. He connot afford an attorney and they will not provide him with one. I have two other sons that are Marines and they have never heard of anything like this. Can they reverse the honorable discharge? We just do not understand why they would do this. It seems like someone made a mistake a year ago and now they are trying to fix it. He was questioned initially, prior to discharge and signed away his right to an attorney eight weeks after severe head trauma. Is there anyone that can help us?

Navy Sailor, Thank you for your response. I fully understand that my son actions deserve punishment. The good thing is he knows also and expected to punished and or discharged but to be discharged and a year later have this issue come up. He never received counsel or rehab, those are the benefits our kids deserve when they sign up and put their lives on the line. I have two sons in Iraq and we are a very pro military. I am not a blind mother just think it should have been delt with prior to discharge.

Answer 1

Of course they can. Why wouldn't they? The military and the USCG takes great medical care of us. Your son violated the UCMJ by drinking and driving and got in an accident. The USCG is not responsible for paying any medical bills for an accident that happened in association with a UCMJ violation. Just an added note, if your son would have died....you would not have received any financial benefit from his SGLI life insurance or any other death benefit from the Coast Guard. Yes it is horrible that your son is damaged from this accident, but even his mother cannot protect him from everything. He needs to realize that his actions have consequences sometimes that may not seem right or fair but truly are if you stand back and look at the situation from a logical point of view. Honestly I am not sure how he got an honorable discharge if his discharge was in connection with this accident. He was lucky to get that. You can fight this, but the result may be worse that what the reality is right now. I have dealt with situations similar to this on several occassions and it is bad to be the person who has to face the facts of their actions, but your son was in control of the situation that brought him to where he is today even though you look at him now with grief, he chose his fate when he got on his motorcycle drunk. Your only choice is to talk to the legal department at his last active duty command to see what is going on. You probably want to talk to the people running the current investigation also. They will have all the information you will need to understand why this is happening.

Answer 2

newspaper article last week about a man being brought back to active duty so he could be tried for murder...civilian courts already found him not guilty, so civil court faces double jeopardy clause.
in short...lawyer- one familiar with UCMJ.