Vets' Suits Over Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Fail in Calif.

Although the Department of Veterans' Affairs may not be meeting the needs of all veterans, a California federal judge has ruled, there is no system-wide violation of rights that warrants court action.

U.S. District Judge Samuel Conti of the Northern District of California said his court had no jurisdiction to make the extensive changes to the VA that the petitioners sought.

The suit, filed in July 2007 by nonprofits Veterans for Common Sense and Veterans United for Truth, alleged that the VA's claims system violated the rights of veterans seeking treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder.

PTSD is an emotional illness characterized by insomnia, nightmares and anger that can develop after a traumatizing event.

The groups claimed that the VA failed to properly diagnose and timely treat soldiers with mental disorders.

The plaintiffs, who represented all veterans seeking treatment for PTSD, sought a court order to force the agency to improve its claim processing procedures. They did not seek monetary damages.

In an earlier ruling Judge Conti said the groups had standing to sue because the individuals they represented would have standing.

In addition, he said, the VA's appeal system for claim denials was inadequate because it was limited to the review of individual claims.

After reviewing both sides' expert testimony and numerous exhibits, Judge Conti said the changes needed to deal with delayed and inadequate treatment fall outside the District Court's jurisdiction.

The changes the plaintiffs seek would result in a complete overhaul of the VA system, the judge said.

Under federal law the authority to remedy the alleged problems "lies with Congress, the secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, the adjudication system within the VA and the [U.S. Court of Appeals for the] Federal Circuit," Judge Conti said.

Although the plaintiffs offered evidence that the VA's treatment and claims-review delays violated veterans' due-process rights, they failed to prove that there was any system-wide crisis of unreasonable delays, the judge said.

The judge agreed with the plaintiffs' contention that some veterans received inadequate treatment but said it was beyond the court's power to determine how much care should be provided.

The court would be forced to define what timely and effective health care is even though mental health experts' testimony offered at the trial failed to reach a consensus on the issue, Judge Conti said.

The plaintiffs are expected to appeal.

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