Federal Judge Rejects Veterans

A federal judge has ruled against a group of veterans seeking health care outside of the VA medical system. District Judge Claudia Wilken says veterans harmed by government experiments failed to prove the VA is incapable of helping them. The lawsuit dates to 2009. It was filed by veterans who were guinea pigs in tests of chemical agents, germs and new drugs. The experiments ended in 1976. The ruling points out many VA outreach programs, including a 2006 letter offering disability benefits to those harmed by the experiments. The government also released the veterans from any secrecy oaths they'd taken in connection with the experiments.