UPDATE: VETERANS' GROUPS LOSE LAWSUIT AGAINST VA

UPDATE: VETERANS' GROUPS LOSE LAWSUIT AGAINST VA

Judge did not find systemic problems of poor mental health

care and says suit was "misdirected," telling vets they

should ask Congress and VA to improve system.







For complete background on this lawsuit (with backlinks), go here...
http://www.vawatchdog.org/08/nf08/nfJUN08/nf061108-3.htm

The official web site for this lawsuit is here...
http://www.veteransptsdclassaction.org/index.html

This is the initial story about the Jude's decision. More details to follow as they are available.

Story here... http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5
hjgOj1p7jQr_N17TWI62slWt_x8gD91H8KSG0

Story below:



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Federal judge refuses to order overhaul of VA

By PAUL ELIAS


SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal judge on Wednesday refused to order an overhaul of the Department of Veterans Affairs' health care system, saying veterans groups who had sued for the changes should take their case elsewhere.

In a ruling issued following a two-week trial in San Francisco last month, U.S. District Court Judge Samuel Conti ruled that the lawsuit was "misdirected" and that the plaintiffs should instead ask Congress, the head of the Veterans Administration and the federal court in Washington, D.C., to improve the system.
Veterans groups had sued the VA, alleging that its mental health care and benefits award system were flawed.


The groups wanted Conti to order the agency to dramatically improve how fast it processes applications and how it delivers mental health care, especially for preventing suicides and treating post-traumatic stress disorder.

Conti said he didn't find any of the poor mental health care and other deep-rooted problems that the veterans alleged in their lawsuit.

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posted by Larry Scott
Founder and Editor
VA Watchdog dot Org

UPDATE: VETERANS WILL APPEAL LOSS IN SUIT AGAINST

VA -- Vets' attorney: "The judge essentially said that there's

nobody to oversee the VA. The VA isn't doing its job."







For complete background on this lawsuit (with backlinks), go here...
http://www.vawatchdog.org/08/nf08/nfJUN08/nf062608-1.htm

The official web site for this lawsuit is here...
http://www.veteransptsdclassaction.org/index.html

This is the second story today about this Court decision and details the plans to appeal.

Story here... http://ap.google.com/article/ALeq
M5hjgOj1p7jQr_N17TWI62slWt_x8gD91HDELG0

Story below:



-------------------------



Federal judge refuses to order overhaul of VA

By PAUL ELIAS


SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal judge on Wednesday refused to order an overhaul of the Department of Veterans Affairs' health care system, saying veterans groups who had sued for the changes should take their case elsewhere.

U.S. District Judge Samuel Conti ruled that the lawsuit was "misdirected" and that the retired warriors should instead ask Congress, the head of Veterans Affairs and the federal court in Washington, D.C., to improve the system.

Veterans groups had sued the VA, alleging that its mental health care and benefits award systems were flawed. The groups wanted Conti to order the agency to dramatically improve how fast it processes applications and how it delivers mental health care, especially for preventing suicides and treating post-traumatic stress disorder.

Conti, a World War II veteran, said the groups "did not prove a systemic denial or unreasonable delay in mental health care" in their lawsuit.

"Although the evidence clearly did not prove that every veteran always gets immediate mental health care, it by no means follows that there is a systemwide crisis in which health care is not being provided within a reasonable time," Conti wrote in his 82-page ruling.

Conti did say that the "VA may not be meeting all of the needs of the nation's veterans" and said veterans "have faced significant delays in receiving disability benefits and medical care from the VA." But he concluded that he was powerless to order changes where he did find problems and said that such decisions are left exclusively to the agency's chief.

VA spokesman Phil Budahn said the agency was pleased.

Gordon Erspamer, a lawyer for the veterans groups, said he would appeal.

"The judge essentially said that there's nobody to oversee the VA," Erspamer said. "The VA isn't doing its job."

Conti's ruling came after a two-week trial without a jury that ended April 30.

During that trial, lawyers for the groups showed the judge e-mails between high-ranking VA officials confirming high rates of suicides among veterans and a desire to keep quiet the number of vets under its care who attempt suicide.

"Shhh!" began a Feb. 13 e-mail from Dr. Ira Katz, a VA deputy chief. "Our suicide prevention coordinators are identifying about 1,000 suicide attempts per month among the veterans we see in our medical facilities. Is this something we should (carefully) address ourselves in some sort of release before someone stumbles on it?"

Katz wrote in another e-mail that 18 veterans kill themselves daily on average.

After the trial another e-mail surfaced that was written by VA psychologist Norma Perez suggesting that counselors in Texas make a point to diagnose fewer post-traumatic stress disorder cases. The veterans' lawyers argued that e-mail showed the VA's unwillingness to properly treat mental health issues.

Conti said the e-mail was "troubling" but not proof of a systemwide policy, and that Perez was not a high-ranking official.

-------------------------

posted by Larry Scott
Founder and Editor
VA Watchdog dot Org

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