Jun 26, 2008 12:41 am US/Pacific
SF Federal Judge Refuses To Order Overhaul Of VA
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5 / AP / BCN) ―
A federal judge in San Francisco refused Wednesday 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 May without a jury, 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 last year, alleging that its mental health care and benefits award system were flawed —and that care and suicide prevention for veterans suffering stress from combat in Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq were woefully inadequate.
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 in an 82-page ruling that the veterans' agency "may not be meeting the needs of all the nation's veterans," but said a complete overhaul of the system "is clearly outside this court's jurisdiction."
Arturo Gonzalez, a lawyer for the groups Veterans for Common Sense and Veterans United for Truth, said they plan to appeal to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.
Gonzalez said the judge's opinion "acknowledges numerous problems" and accepts many of the factual claims made by the groups about deficiencies in mental health care and the claims system.
Conti's ruling noted studies by department officials showing that there are about 18 suicides per day among the nation's 25 million veterans and that the rate is more than three times higher than for the general population.
A spokesman for the veterans' agency said he had not yet seen the ruling and had no immediate comment.
(© CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The Associated Press and Bay City News contributed to this report.)
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