Most military veterans have qualms with the Department of Veterans Affairs, but few have the cahonies to sue the agency for $35 million. To former Navy pilot William Royster, $35 million is a small price to pay for a decade stuck on the ground.

Royster was diagnosed by a VA psychiatrist in April 2004 with bipolar disorder so severe that he could no longer pilot aircraft. The veteran had previously flown fighter jets during Operation Desert Storm, and he was honorably discharged from the Navy after being shot out of the sky. His post-military livelihood depended on piloting commercial planes for United Airlines, but Royster’s diagnosis cost him his career.

The veteran was treated and medicated for bipolar disorder for ten years, but in November 2014 a different doctor found that Royster wasn’t bipolar at all.

“From the review of the records, he (Mr. Royster) never had any manic symptoms and he never met the criteria for the diagnosis of bipolar disorder. … Thus in my professional opinion, I do not believe that Mr. Royster has a diagnosis of bipolar disorder,” Dr. Shreeja Kumar, Royster’s new doctors, wrote.

When he was discharged in the late 1990s, the Navy did not indicate that Royster was unfit to pilot commercial aircraft. The only thing that kept in grounded for so long was his alleged mental condition.

Royster’s lawyer filed a complaint with the Department of Veterans Affairs, but it was rejected in August when the VA found no evidence of employee wrongdoing. Now Royster is suing the federal government for a fat $35 million.

The VA’s medical mistakes often cost veterans dearly. Last May, a veteran misdiagnosed with lung cancer took his own life after being given only a few more weeks to live. Another veteran was misdiagnosed with hyperthyroidism instead of hypothyroidism, a mixup that put him on the wrong medication, caused him to grow to 450 lbs and make his real condition worse. Both veterans died before seeing any justice for this malpractice.