Health Law
Claim: VA Failing to Address ‘Epidemic of Suicides’
Posted Apr 21, 2008, 06:30 am CDT
By Molly McDonough
A class action suit claiming the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs isn't doing enough to prevent suicide or providing adequate medical care for vets is scheduled for trial today in San Francisco.
Filed in July, the suit alleges the VA has inadequately addressed a host of mental health problems, particularly post-traumatic stress disorder, according to the Associated Press.
The government, however, disputes the claims and says it is making suicide prevention a top priority.
The AP reports that an average of 18 military veterans commit suicide each day, creating what the plaintiffs claim is an "epidemic of suicides."
''We find that the VA has simply not devoted enough resources,'' Gordon Erspamer, the lawyer representing the veterans groups, told the AP. ''They don't have enough psychiatrists.''
Plaintiffs are asking the court to order the VA to undergo a complete overhaul.
The government claims the court has no such authority and shouldn't be wading into day-to-day management issues of a network that includes 153 medical centers nationwide.
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