VA LAWSUIT (LACK of CARE) UPDATE 08:
A federal judge considering a
>> lawsuit that alleges inadequate veterans' medical care on 5 JUN ordered
>> government lawyers to explain an e-mail by a Veterans Affairs
>> psychologist
>> suggesting that counselors diagnose fewer post-traumatic stress
disorder
>> cases in soldiers. The hearing ordered by U.S. District Court Judge
>> Samuel
>> Conti follows a two-week trial that ended last month. Veterans groups
had
>> sued VA, saying it inadequately addressed a "rising tide" of
mental
>> health
>> problems, especially post-traumatic stress disorder and suicides. The
>> plaintiffs asked Conti to reopen the case in light of the e-mail
>> discovered after the trial ended. The judge agreed, saying "the
e-mail
>> raises potentially serious questions that may warrant further
attention."
>> He ordered lawyers for both sides to appear in court 10 JUN to discuss
>> whether the e-mail has any bearing on the case.
>>
>> The document in question is a 20 MAR memo
written by Norma Perez, who
>> helps coordinate a post-traumatic stress disorder clinical team in
>> central
>> 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 wrote to VA counselors. "We really
don't or
>> have
>> time to do the extensive testing that should be done to determine PTSD."
>> The e-mail was forwarded to VoteVets.org, an Iraq and Afghanistan war
>> veterans lobbying group opposed to the Bush administration's handling
of
>> the war and veterans issues. Lawyers for the veterans groups argue that
>> Perez's e-mail goes to the heart of their case, showing VA's
indifference
>> to treating mental health. "This is not Joe the janitor writing
this,"
>> said vets' lawyer Arturo Gonzalez. "This is a supervisor and it
shows how
>> the VA thinks." Gonzalez wants the judge to add the e-mail to the
>> evidence
>> given to him at the nonjury trial in support of the lawsuit. On 4 JUN,
>> DOJ
>> lawyer James Schwartz wrote the judge a letter arguing that the e-mail
>> was
>> a mistake, that Perez had been "counseled" and that it has
nothing to do
>> with the lawsuit. "It was the action of a single individual that
in no
>> way
>> represented the policies of VA, that, once discovered, was dealt with
>> quickly and appropriately," Schwartz told the judge. [Source: Air
Force
>> Times AP Paul Elias article Posted 6 JUN 08 ++]