Veterans Groups Win Round In Federal Court in Lawsuit Against VA

Veterans Groups Win Round In Federal Court in Lawsuit Against VA

By Jason Leopold
The Public Record
Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Favoured : None

Published in : Law


A federal court judge sided with two veterans advocacy groups suing the Veterans Administration Tuesday, agreeing to add to evidence an explosive email written by a VA official that suggested counselors consider diagnosing war veterans who show signs of post traumatic stress disorder with a less serious condition.

Two veterans advocacy groups, Veterans for Common Sense and Veterans United for Truth, sued the VA last year for allegedly failing to provide treatment to veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan who are suffering from PTSD.

The groups want a judge to issue a preliminary injunction to force the VA to immediately treat veterans who show signs of PTSD and are at risk of suicide. Attorneys representing both organizations asked the judge to reopen their case and consider admitting Perez’s email into evidence after another veterans group publicly disclosed it last month.

Last week, U.S. District Court Judge Samuel Conti ordered Justice Department attorneys defending the VA to appear in court Tuesday for a hearing to explain the contents of the email and whether it should be admitted into evidence. Conti said, “The email raises potentially serious questions that may warrant further attention."


Justice Department attorney James Schwartz sent a letter to Conti last Wednesday saying the email has no bearing on the plaintiffs’ lawsuit. Schwartz said the email was an isolated incident and in no way reflected VA policy. He added that Perez had been “counseled.”

On Tuesday, Scwartz told Conti that the VA’s inspector general had launched an investigation into the matter. He added that Perez was disciplined and in no way did she intend to imply that the VA sought to cut costs by diagnosing veterans suffering with PTSD with the less serious diagnosis of “adjustment disorder.”

"It was an honest mistake by a junior staff member," Bensing told the judge. "There really is nothing more to this matter. We submit that it should have no effect on this case."

Conti was not swayed. He admitted the document into evidence, which is expected to have an impact on his ruling.

“The Court’s ruling is an important victory for veterans," Veterans for Common Sense said in a statement Tuesday. "The ruling adds critical new evidence the judge will review as part of our lawsuit against VA on behalf of all veterans. VA’s anti-PTSD e-mail is a shocking example of how serious the problems are within VA. When combined, the e-mail and the evidence presented at trial clearly demonstrate a systemic failure by VA to provide prompt and high-quality mental healthcare to our Nation's veterans suffering from PTSD.”

The March 20 email was written by Norma Perez, a VA psychologist and the coordinator of a post-traumatic stress disorder clinical team in Temple, Texas.

"Given that we are having more and more compensation-seeking veterans, I'd like to suggest that you refrain from giving a diagnosis of PTSD straight out," Perez’s email says. "We really don't or have time to do the extensive testing that should be done to determine PTSD."

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