Veterans Groups to Appeal Judge's Decision Over VA's Treatment of PTSD
Cases
Jason Leopold - The Public Record - June 28, 2008
A federal Judge has ruled that he lacks the legal authority to force the Department of Veterans Affairs to immediately treat war
veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and could not order the VA to overhaul its internal systems that
handle benefits claims and medical services.
Two veterans advocacy groups, Veterans for Common Sense (VCS) and Veterans United for Truth, filed a lawsuit seeking classaction
status against the VA last year claiming a systematic breakdown at the agency had led to an epidemic of suicides among
war veterans.
The lawsuit claimed that some war veterans were turned away from VA hospitals after they sought care for PTSD and later
committed suicide.
Paul Sullivan, the executive director of Washington, D.C.-based Veterans for Common Sense, said his organization and Veterans
United for Truth would immediately appeal the ruling.
“This ruling will only cause us to redouble our efforts and our pursuit of justice for our nation’s veterans,” Sullivan said. “We will not
rest until our job is finished.”
Gordon Erspramer, the lead attorney representing the veterans advocacy groups, said if the decision is upheld on appeal it “would
suggest that veterans have no enforceable rights in America, and the Constitution does not apply to veterans.”
Here is a link to the legal documents on the laws
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
The PTSD Lawsuit Update
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