Numerous veterans’ rights groups filed a suit on Monday in San Francisco that seek to make the federal government take drastic changes in how it it handles and treats hundreds of thousands of injured veterans of the war on terror in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The PTSD treatment facility reports that the Department of Veterans Affairs has in fact violated the rights of those vertans who are returning by denying or delaying their efforts to seek combat related treatment for disabilities. Many of these veterans suffer from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
An attorney with the Disability Rights Advocates in Berkeley says that this is more than a lawsuit, it’s a call to action. A complete overhaul needs to be done on our broken system.
The lawsuit names not individual plaintiffs because the veterans’ fear their will be retribution by the VA. The focus of the suit is on the VA’s mishandling of PTSD disability claims. Attorneys estimate that the suit could possibly include between 350,000 and 850,000 veterans.
A recent report released by the Pentagon shows that close to 50% of some branches of the military returning back from Iraq are experiencing some type of psychological trauma as a result from the war. These percentages equal huge numbers of soldiers who have served in the wars. Between 2002 and 2006 nearly 100,000 veterans were diagnosed with a psychological disorder which can include depression, PTSD or even drug abuse.
Given what occurred after the Vietnam war, it is extremely important that the government pays close attention to the issues of post traumatic stress disorder. Many times the disorder can result in suicide if the individual does not the help they deserve.
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