H
Harry Hope
Guest
From The San Francisco Chronicle, 12/15/07:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/12/15/BA56TUU96.DTL
Feds ask judge to reject suit over treatment of combat vets
Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
The government asked a San Francisco federal judge on Friday to
dismiss a high-profile lawsuit challenging the system of treatment and
benefits for returning combat veterans.
The government's lawyers argued that civil courts have no authority
over the Department of Veterans Affairs' medical decisions or how it
handles grievances and claims.
"If plaintiffs are not happy with the way the system is currently
working, their remedy is to take it up with Congress" or with the
veterans department, Justice Department attorney Daniel Bensing told
U.S. District Judge Samuel Conti.
He said that in 1988, Congress created a system of reviewing veterans'
claims and it can't be second-guessed by regular courts.
It was the first hearing on the nationwide lawsuit that is being
closely watched by veterans, their families and advocacy groups.
The suit seeks a judicial finding that the VA's system of handling
claims and appeals violates veterans' rights.
The plaintiffs also want court orders requiring the department to
provide immediate medical and psychological help to returning troops
and to screen them for risk of stress disorders and suicide.
Gordon Erspamer, a lawyer for veterans' advocates, argued Friday that
the system established under the 1988 law is rife with constitutional
violations that federal courts are competent to judge.
Wounded veterans, he said, are arbitrarily denied care and benefits,
are forced to wait months for vital treatment and years for benefits,
have no access to lawyers or potential witnesses, and have little
recourse when their claims are rejected.
Under the current procedures, Erspamer said, the government "can deny
health care to veterans coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan with
impunity. ... If this court dismisses this case, there is no way that
these claims will ever be adjudicated."
Conti, a World War II veteran and a judicial conservative during his
37 years on the bench, raised questions about the courts' authority
over the dispute but did not say how he would rule on the government's
dismissal motion.
The suit was filed in July by two organizations - Veterans for Common
Sense and Veterans United for Truth - as a proposed class action on
behalf of 320,000 to 800,000 veterans, or their survivors, claiming
service-connected deaths and disabilities.
They focused on claims of post-traumatic stress disorder, increasingly
common among returning troops.
A Pentagon study group reported in June that about 84,000 veterans,
more than one-third of those who sought care from the VA from 2002
through 2006, had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress or another
mental disorder.
The Pentagon group also found that the system was understaffed,
prompting the VA to announce staffing increases in July.
The suit said the department has a backlog of more than 600,000
disability claims.
Veterans' advocates say the VA pressures stressed-out soldiers to
acknowledge pre-existing "personality disorders" that gain them a
speedy discharge while forfeiting future disability benefits.
Erspamer said improper delays and denials of treatment and benefits
have contributed to an "epidemic of suicides."
__________________________________________________
How 'bout that for Repugs supporting our troops
Harry
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/12/15/BA56TUU96.DTL
Feds ask judge to reject suit over treatment of combat vets
Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
The government asked a San Francisco federal judge on Friday to
dismiss a high-profile lawsuit challenging the system of treatment and
benefits for returning combat veterans.
The government's lawyers argued that civil courts have no authority
over the Department of Veterans Affairs' medical decisions or how it
handles grievances and claims.
"If plaintiffs are not happy with the way the system is currently
working, their remedy is to take it up with Congress" or with the
veterans department, Justice Department attorney Daniel Bensing told
U.S. District Judge Samuel Conti.
He said that in 1988, Congress created a system of reviewing veterans'
claims and it can't be second-guessed by regular courts.
It was the first hearing on the nationwide lawsuit that is being
closely watched by veterans, their families and advocacy groups.
The suit seeks a judicial finding that the VA's system of handling
claims and appeals violates veterans' rights.
The plaintiffs also want court orders requiring the department to
provide immediate medical and psychological help to returning troops
and to screen them for risk of stress disorders and suicide.
Gordon Erspamer, a lawyer for veterans' advocates, argued Friday that
the system established under the 1988 law is rife with constitutional
violations that federal courts are competent to judge.
Wounded veterans, he said, are arbitrarily denied care and benefits,
are forced to wait months for vital treatment and years for benefits,
have no access to lawyers or potential witnesses, and have little
recourse when their claims are rejected.
Under the current procedures, Erspamer said, the government "can deny
health care to veterans coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan with
impunity. ... If this court dismisses this case, there is no way that
these claims will ever be adjudicated."
Conti, a World War II veteran and a judicial conservative during his
37 years on the bench, raised questions about the courts' authority
over the dispute but did not say how he would rule on the government's
dismissal motion.
The suit was filed in July by two organizations - Veterans for Common
Sense and Veterans United for Truth - as a proposed class action on
behalf of 320,000 to 800,000 veterans, or their survivors, claiming
service-connected deaths and disabilities.
They focused on claims of post-traumatic stress disorder, increasingly
common among returning troops.
A Pentagon study group reported in June that about 84,000 veterans,
more than one-third of those who sought care from the VA from 2002
through 2006, had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress or another
mental disorder.
The Pentagon group also found that the system was understaffed,
prompting the VA to announce staffing increases in July.
The suit said the department has a backlog of more than 600,000
disability claims.
Veterans' advocates say the VA pressures stressed-out soldiers to
acknowledge pre-existing "personality disorders" that gain them a
speedy discharge while forfeiting future disability benefits.
Erspamer said improper delays and denials of treatment and benefits
have contributed to an "epidemic of suicides."
__________________________________________________
How 'bout that for Repugs supporting our troops
Harry
