DALLAS, March 2 (UPI) -- An Army reservist wounded in Iraq is seeking compensation for his injury in Texas under a state program for compensating crime victims.
Staff Sgt. Ryan Kelly, 23, filed a $150,000 lawsuit last month against the state of Texas after twice being denied a grant from the fund, The Dallas Morning News reported Tuesday.
The Crime Victims Compensation Fund is intended to pay uncovered medical expenses for victims of crime, including those injured or killed in overseas terrorism.
The Texas attorney general's office stated in court papers the Abilene, Texas, reservist is a casualty of war, not a crime victim.
Kelly lost part of his right leg when an artillery shell detonated July 14 near Baghdad.
Kelly plans to represent himself in court and his case could be heard next month in Taylor County district court at Abilene, about 150 miles west of Dallas.
