Class Action Lawsuit Brought Against VA-PTSD Combat : Winning the War Within

Latest updates on this and related VA/Army lawsuits posted in "As Second Legal Attempt Fails to Force VA Hand on Disability Claims Processing, Army Sued Over Discharged Veteran PTSD Disability Ratings." -- Ilona Meagher, 12/17/08

From Associated Press:

Frustrated by delays in health care, a coalition of injured Iraq war veterans is accusing VA Secretary Jim Nicholson of breaking the law by denying them disability pay and mental health treatment. ... The class-action lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, filed Monday in federal court in San Francisco, seeks broad change in the agency as it struggles to meet growing demands from veterans returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Suing on behalf of hundreds of thousands of veterans, it charges that the VA has failed warriors on several fronts -- from providing prompt disability benefits, to adding staff to reduce wait times for medical care to boosting services for post-traumatic stress disorder.

The lawsuit also accuses the VA of deliberately cheating some veterans by allegedly working with the Pentagon to misclassify PTSD claims as pre-existing personality disorders to avoid paying out benefits. The VA and Pentagon have generally denied such charges.

Click on 'Article Link' below tags for more...

From the Los Angeles Times:

[A]ttorneys for the plaintiffs say the VA is "structurally unsuitable" for dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder, which the lawsuit [pdf] calls "a signature problem of veterans" of the current ongoing wars. ... About 1.6 million men and women have served in the two countries. A recent report by a special Pentagon Task Force found that 38% of soldiers and 50% of National Guard members coming home from Iraq or Afghanistan have mental health issues, ranging from PTSD to brain injuries.

Only 27 of the VA's 1,400 hospitals around the country have inpatient PTSD programs, the plaintiffs' lawyers said. "A number of veterans have committed suicide shortly after having been turned away from VA facilities either because they were told they were ineligible or because the wait was too long," the lawsuit states.

From NBC-11 [San Jose/San Francisco/Oakland]:

The proposed class includes all veterans with stress disorder, stretching back to those from the Vietnam War, as well as those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

One of the groups' attorneys, Sid Wolinksy of Berkeley-based Disability Rights Advocates, said, "This lawsuit is the first class action lawsuit to directly challenge the VA's unconscionable backlog of claims and the endless waiting time disabled veterans face in receiving appropriate mental health care from the VA." ...

"Since the Iraq and Afghanistan wars began, the VA has betrayed our veterans," said Paul Sullivan, executive director of Veterans for Common Sense, based in Washington D.C. "Instead of hiring more doctors and claims processors, the VA instituted new policies that block veterans' access to prompt mental health care.

"While we are reluctant to file suit against the VA, it is the VA's anti-veteran policies that leave us no other option than to fight for what our veterans earned after fighting on the front lines in Iraq and Afghanistan," Sullivan said.

The eight officials named in the lawsuit:

R. JAMES NICHOLSON, Secretary of Department of Veterans Affairs; UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
JAMES P. TERRY, Chairman, Board of Veterans Appeals
DANIEL L. COOPER, Under Secretary, Veterans Benefits Administration
BRADLEY G. MAYES, Director, Compensation and Pension Service
DR. MICHAEL J. KUSSMAN, Under Secretary, Veterans Health Administration
PRITZ K. NAVARA, Veterans Service Center Manager, Oakland Regional Office, Department of Veterans Affairs; UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
ALBERTO GONZALES, Attorney General of the United States
WILLIAM P. GREENE, JR., Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims

Of the lawsuit, Melissa Kasnitz, managing attorney of DRA says:

This class action does not seek money damages, nor does it address the claims of any individual veteran. It seeks systemic relief for the flawed system of providing heath care and benefits to veterans. Currently, there is a backlog of over 600,000 cases in the veterans benefit system, and veterans with PTSD are not able to promptly get treatment for mental health problems, despite a statute that requires free healthcare for two years after service. We are asking to the courts to order VA to fix these problems.

Continuing from AP:

[G]overnment investigators warned as early as 2002 that the VA needed to fix its backlogged claims system and make other changes. Yet, the lawsuit says, Nicholson and other officials still insisted on a budget in 2005 that fell $1 billion short, and they made "a mockery of the rule of law" by awarding senior officials $3.8 million in bonuses despite their role in the budget foul-up.

Today, the VA's backlog of disability payments is now between 400,000 and 600,000, with delays of up to 177 days to process an initial claim and an average of 657 days to process an appeal. Several congressional committees and a presidential commission are now studying ways to improve care. ...

The lawsuit cites violations of the Constitution and federal law, which mandates at least two years of health care to injured veterans. The veterans groups involved in the lawsuit are Veterans for Common Sense in Washington, D.C., which claims 11,500 members, and Veterans United for Truth, based in Santa Barbara, California, with 500 members.

Related Documents

DRA Press Release
Combat-Related PTSD Fact Sheet [MS Word doc]
Complaint [PDF]

If you are a veteran and wish to add your name to the lawsuit:

Disability Rights Advocates (DRA) is interested in hearing from veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder who served in Iraq and/or Afghanistan. We are investigating the experiences of these veterans as they seek benefits through the Department of Veterans' Affairs.

We are seeking information on how the existing system serves veterans, including whether or not they are satisfied with the speed that their claims are addressed and the outcomes. We also are interested in hearing from veterans about the quality of care they receive at VA facilities.

We encourage any Iraq or Afghani veterans with PTSD who are interested in sharing their experiences to contact us. You can call, write, or email us at: Disability Rights Advocates, 2001 Center Street, Fourth Floor, Berkeley, CA 94704, (510) 665-8644; veterans@dralegal.org. Collect calls will be accepted.

All information will be kept confidential.

Additional comments, and a visit by Melissa Kasnitz of Disability Rights Advocates, in my Daily Kos and my exclusive Q & A at ePluribus Media.

If you have an account over there, feel free to leave your questions/concerns for her; or leave them in comments here. I'll be happy to forward them to to DRA for you.

Labels: advocacy, injustice, legal, nicholson, pd, shortfalls, stats, va, vets

Comments are moderated. Unproductive comments will not be posted.

How long will something like this take?

By Anonymous, at 7/23/2007 10:40:00 PM
What is this? I returned from OIF in late 2005, and aside from (understandably) long waits, have received great care from the VA. Maybe we should start profiling soldiers BEFORE we go fight to make sure we can handle the stress of shooting people, getting shot at, and getting blown up. If I chose to make a claim for every time one of my vehicles got blown up, I'd be a rich man. The VA provides an honorable, outstanding service. Give them their due.

By Anonymous, at 7/25/2007 05:26:00 PM
Hi Anon, sorry for the delay in getting back to you. I had a chance to ask Melissa Kasnitz herself about this.

Here's my question:

Explaining what to expect to layperson
As a layperson, what are the steps that we can expect from this point forward? Is there a usual timeline for these types of class action lawsuits?

When would such a case be expected to have its first day in court? And once it arrives at that point, and receives the OK to move forward, how how long would such a lawsuit be expected to take before a decision is made generally?

Also, I'm not sure if you can comment on this, but I'm also curious how evidence and testimony will be given at trial. Would veterans be expected to testify publicly?
-----------

And her answer:

The short answer is that the process is slow
Complex actions in federal court move slowly. The next formal step will be a response by the VA, which is not due until 60 days after formal service of the complaint. At that time, they can either answer the allegations in the complaint, or file a motion to have the complaint dismissed.
-----------

Lots more questions & answers in the rest of the post. hth

By Ilona, at 7/25/2007 05:30:00 PM
And hi Anon 2,

I wouldn't even think to argue with you. I'm very happy that you're getting great care!

The problem, however, is that programs and wait times and attitudes are hardy consistent across the board; one VAMC may be doing -- and many ARE doing -- excellent work in meeting the needs of their clients.

Another VA in another part of the country, however, may not -- and there have been many documented cases that back this up.

Indeed, the same can be said of the greater military/DoD as well. Fort Carson, for example, has been the one base that seems to have had the most problems associated with it; meanwhile other bases are doing fine -- we hardly hear a peep of complaint out of them.

It's well established that there are systemic problems in both the DoD and VA systems. Please read any number of studies and reports -- both independent and coming from government bodies and the military as well -- to see that in many cases you are one of the fortunate ones.

We want everyone to be as cared for and satisfied as you have been with your aftercare. Your peers deserve to be just as happy as you are.

Thank you so much for your comment and for your service. And please remember, that these actions are meant to improve the system, not merely to complain. There have been serious failures -- well documented -- that have cost lives. That is unacceptable.

By Ilona, at 7/25/2007 05:47:00 PM
There are thousands of people coming back, and certainly some are getting good care. But from my experience, I hope that something drastic takes place because some of us are being left out to dry.
I am so fed up with fighting just to get what was promised me that I wonder if they are making it difficult on purpose. Is the government running out of money, and is that why they are fighting us just for the benefits we deserve? I don't get it, but I feel like giving up every time I have to go to the education office, or the hospital, or anywhere that the VA has their fingers in the pot.
I have friends who've had it so in the military than I have and they are even having a more difficult time getting their coverage. Many of them have just moved on to new jobs and get their medical coverage from other places now. I suspect that anyone who is actually adequately taken care of is the exception. I'm ready to move to another country and say "forget it" to all of this crap, to be completely honest.

By Anonymous, at 3/08/2008 03:33:00 PM
As a civilian who cares about taking care of our defenders, I'm frustrated, too; so, I can't fully realize the enormity of the frustration you have to be feeling.

Are you getting any help at all with navigating the system? If not, please seek out resources -- either through local vets' groups who can guide you or give you the best tips on who to contact in your area for help, or via national groups like those listed in the right-hand sidebar (like the Nat'l Veterans Foundation).

Thanks for visiting and leaving your comment, but more importantly for your service. I know words aren't exactly what you need right now...know that many care about your concerns and are working hard to improve things for your and your peers.

By Ilona Meagher, at 3/08/2008 03:53:00 PM