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VA DOCTOR LASHES OUT AT SYSTEM, SAYS VETS

SHORTCHANGED BY CLAIMS PROCESS -- "The people

making the decisions clearly don't know what these

diagnoses mean. The VA...is a business. It is no longer

serving the needs of the veteran." Says his

superiors have urged him to keep quiet.

 

Dr. Sean Zielinski -- Psychologist at the Las Vegas VA

 

Be sure to watch the video of this story at the link below.

Story here... http://www.klas-tv
.com/Global/story.asp?S=6884531

Story below:

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I-Team: V.A. Insider Says Local Veterans Shortchanged

It's a story with a familiar ring. Veterans fight for our country and then are denied benefits they feel they deserve. Now -- an insider is speaking out about the practices of the Veterans Administration in Nevada.

A 2005 audit by the V.A.'s Inspector General shows that -- on average -- Nevada veterans collect higher annual benefits than the national average. The average annual payment in Nevada is $8,771. That's above the national average of $8,378.

One long-time doctor at the Las Vegas V.A. Health Administration office says, despite the numbers, all is not well in Nevada. He's an insider who claims that bureaucrats at the regional benefits office in Reno are routinely overruling the diagnoses of trained clinical professionals.

Las Vegas resident Steve Leong spent five years in the Army, two of those in Vietnam. He has the medals to prove it and showed them to the I-Team's Mark Sayre. "This is the national defense medal and this is the Vietnamese campaign. And of course my rifle awards. I was a pretty good shot back in those days," Leong says as he proudly displays his medals.

Leong says he can never forget his days in the service. "And the sights and sounds of war is something that someone has to be there to experience. And once you experience it, it doesn't leave you -- it stays with you for the duration of your life," Leong said.

Leong received an honorable discharge and, Leong says, "it changed my life as far as appreciating freedom. Freedom is not cheap. Freedom has to be paid for by a lot of those guys that [are] still over there," Leong said.

Leong says Vietnam left him with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD. Las Vegas-based V.A. psychologist Dr. Sean Zielinski was Leong's psychologist and determinied it was "more likely than not" tied to Leong's military service. Leong reads from Dr. Zielinski's official report on his case: "Veteran suffers from severe chronic depression, anxiety, anger, irritability, mood swings, periodic nightmares and flashbacks."

After the diagnosis by Dr. Zielinski, Leong was shocked when he was denied all benefits by the V.A. regional office in Reno. "Denied, denied. Everything is denied," Leong said, holding the denial letters. "The people in Reno that are making these decisions are not qualified. They are neither licensed nor do they have the experience to be in this type of position to be making these kind of decisions for us veterans and that's wrong. I did the walk, I did the talk. They're doing the talk, but nothing is happening," Leong said.

Dr. Sean Zielinski, still an employee at the V.A. in Las Vegas, agrees. "The people making the decisions clearly don't know what these diagnoses mean," Dr. Zielinski said. Dr. Zielinski has been with the Las Vegas V.A. office since 1980 and started with the organization in 1971 -- New York. His service record is backed up by congressional commendations on his office wall.

"The practical effect is if you come back from a war where you have been either psychologically or physically injured, you will probably be turned down for what the law says what kind of benefits you deserve," Dr. Zielinski told the I-Team. Dr. Zielinski spoke to the I-Team without official approval and says his superiors have urged him to keep quiet about his concerns. "The V.A. has turned out to be like a corporation. It is a business. It is no longer serving the needs of the veteran," Dr. Zielinski alleges.

For veteran Steve Leong, he's left questioning his country's commitment to him and all veterans in similar circumstances. "I feel my country let me down. I have an agreement with my country. I go to war; I protect our country. If I need help when I get out of it, the V.A. says they will help us. OK, now I need the help. 'No, we are not going help you. We are denying your benefits.' So that's a slap in the face to me, that's what it is. It is not right," Leong said.

V.A. Reno regional office director Don Iddings recently spoke to the I-Team on the phone. He emphasized that the procedures in place here in Nevada for reviewing claims are exactly the same as in all V.A. regional offices nationwide.

Iddings says often times the problem is clinical diagnoses simply can't be conclusively connected to the veteran's military service. Iddings did offer to personally review the case of Steve Leong to determine if any mistakes were made in denying his claim -- but Leong declined. Leong said he does not want to be treated any differently than any other veteran in a similar circumstance.

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Larry Scott  --