9th Circuit reverses Judge, Veterans w/PTSD prevail today

I just received word from my sources that the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has overturned USDC Judge Conti's decision in a case involving veterans with PTSD and the benefits and treatments they have been systematically denied since forever.


This is the caption of the case, news outlets have not even reported it yet:

Veterans For Common Sense et al. v. Peake,
Case No. C 07 3758, U.S.D.C. (N.D. Cal. 2007)

Here is a link to the Plaintiffs' website:


http://www.veteransptsdclassaction.org/


Here is part of their overview of their case(DU's limit of 4 paragraphs) from that web page;


"What This Case Is About

Many veterans who have fought in Iraq and/or Afghanistan, as well as those who served in earlier conflicts, are not being given the disability compensation, medical services and care they need. A much higher percentage of these veterans suffer with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ("PTSD") than veterans of any previous war, due to the multiple tours many are serving, the unrelenting vigilance required by the circumstances, the greater prevalence of brain injuries caused by the types of weaponry in use, among other reasons. Despite this, the Department of Veterans' Affairs ("DVA") is failing to provide adequate and timely benefits and medical care. This federal lawsuit, on behalf of veterans with pending claims based upon PTSD, regardless of the conflict in which they served, is for declaratory and injunctive relief, based primarily on the due process clause of the Constitution. We will focus on the following issues:

• The widespread breakdown of the DVA's adjudication and health care systems for veterans experiencing PTSD. For example, the application process is too complicated; even veterans with "successful" claims are given ratings that are too low; veterans who are rated as disabled continue to be denied appropriate medical care and ongoing support;

• The prolonged administrative delays in processing PTSD claims, at both the regional office and appellate levels. Applications are often bounced up and down through a complicated appeals process. We estimate that the average time for a claim to go through the entire appeals process, from the Regional Office to a petition for certiorari to the Supreme Court, is between twelve and fifteen years;

• A variety of statutory and regulatory impediments to a veteran's ability to collect PTSD compensation. These include the inability to obtain discovery, the absence of subpoena power for documents and witnesses, and the inability to hire a lawyer to help out at the regional office level, among other impediments; and

• A pattern and practice of internal DVA abuses and improper rules. These are difficult to detect or prove without discovery.

You are invited to familiarize yourselves with these issues by visiting our Resources, reading the pivotal Court-filed Documents in the case and reading relevant News Articles. We appreciate your interest."



I am a very happy person right now. I actually had tears of joy when I heard this news. I will provide some news link when they finally hear about it and publish it.



Hands off my Social Security!
Hands off Latin America!


robdogbucky

which is like 100 pages long. Even though I was told the news by someone overcome with joy about the decision I have to temper my feelings about it now as I heard the actual decision is more like:

AFFIRMED in part, REVERSED in part, and REMANDED

It is the Affirmed in part element I would like to see before I run off and celebrate. I am still trying to find out more details. That decision is being pored over now. Still, it is a an overturn of J. Conti, who gave the vets nothing in his initial decision on the case. Anything that changes that decision and restores either some of the demands made or sends the case back for further litigation are some of the things I don't know yet. He wimped out and probably knew it would go this route and he wanted the burden shifted to the appellate court. That, my friends, is merely MHO though.

I will update as I learn more.


rdb

http://www.stripes.com/court-orders-va-to-overhaul-mental-health-care-system-1.143251

Sounds pretty good!

'ordered the Veterans Affairs Department to overhaul its mental health care system, ruling that its "unchecked incompetence" in handling post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health claims is unconstitutional, the AP says.'

http://www.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/Index

for the link to this story. The only part that worries me is this:

"The appeals court sent the case back to Conti in the trial court and ordered him to work with the VA and the veterans groups toward a new mental health care plan that implements a speedier process to appeal denied benefits, provides timely mental health treatment and ensures suicidal vets are seen immediately.

If the VA fails to come up with an acceptable plan, the appeals court told Conti to fashion his own plan."


We shall see, but it is definitely a good day for vets with PTSD. Further joy and justice pending.




Hands off my Social Security!
Hands off Latin America!


rdb

I say Yay! I hate that we still have to "fight" to get mental health issues recognized as worthy of treatment, but am glad that they are winning this one! I work with a lot of veterans, and PTSD is one of my specialties. Hope it continues to go well and they get the treatment that they need and deserve!

http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2011/05/10/0816728comb%20.pdf

CONCLUSION
The United States Constitution confers upon veterans and their surviving
relatives a right to the effective provision of mental health care and to the just and
timely adjudication of their claims for health care and service-connected death and
disability benefits. Although the terms of the Administrative Procedure Act
preclude Veterans from obtaining relief in our court for their statutory claims, their
entitlements to the provision of health care and to veterans’ benefits are property
interests protected by the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment. The
deprivation of those property interests by delaying their provision, without
justification and without any procedure to expedite, violates veterans’
constitutional rights. Because neither Congress nor the Executive has corrected the
103
behavior that yields these constitutional violations, the courts must provide the
plaintiffs with a remedy. We therefore remand this case to the district court with
the instruction that, unless the parties resolve this dispute first, it enter an order
consistent with this opinion.
AFFIRMED in part, REVERSED in part, and REMANDED.

:thumbsup:

the judge below him won't want that case to have to go back up to him again.

Again, not having read it all and not being a lawyer, it looks to him like he cut to the chase in saying their constitutional rights were violated and that better be fixed.

and trial court surely won't want his next decision to go back to the 9th Circuit.

Now I know why when I typed that it felt off.
Thanks for the correction.

Rec and :kick: