Iraqi, Afghan veterans sue US government

SAN FRANCISCO: Hundreds of thousands of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans have filed a class-action lawsuit against the US government for providing them with deficient medical and financial support.
 
In the case filed on Monday, they accused the US Department of Veterans Affairs of violating the constitutional rights of war veterans who have to face a bureaucratic
nightmare that leaves claims pending for up to 10 years.
 
"The delays have become an insurmountable barrier preventing many veterans from obtaining health care and benefits," the plaintiffs said in their 11-page complaint filed at a US District Court in San Francisco.
 
The Veterans for Common Sense and Veterans United for Truth Inc. complained on behalf of "hundreds of thousands of men and women who have suffered grievous injuries," alleging the system for deciding VA claims "has largely collapsed."
 
"The huge influx of injured troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan has overwhelmed the VA's outmoded systems for providing medical care and disability benefits," the complaint said.
 
In addition, it said the VA's "archaic systems are structurally unsuitable for dealing with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)," which afflicts many war veterans.
 
The veterans charge the VA with deliberately tricking some PTSD sufferers by having them acknowledge pre-existing personality disorders in order to avoid giving them benefits.