US contractors in Iraq suffering from psychological injuries repeatedly denied insurance claims

US contractors serving in Iraq and Afghanistan who have sustained psychological injuries such as post-traumatic stress disorder are often finding themselves "caught in a morass of red tape and rejected insurance claims" finds a new Los Angeles Times investigation.

"Some seriously afflicted contract workers have been dumped into indigent medical care programs, according to court records," reports the Times. "Many have had to wage lengthy legal battles to win payments for psychological treatment. At least four have committed suicide after returning home from Iraq, according to court records and interviews with attorneys and family members."

Insurance companies have fought claims for psychological injuries by using doctors of "questionable expertise," says the paper. In one case, writes T. Christian Miller, an insurance company psychiatrist dismissed psychology as "baloney."

"The companies have disputed some cases in which their own doctors determined that workers were suffering psychological damage, court records show."

AIG, the insurance company that deals with the most Iraq claims, has paid out on just 50% of psychological claims compared with 90% for all other injuries.

Excerpts:

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Gary Pitts, a Houston attorney who has represented more than two dozen contractors with psychological problems, said contractors "put their lives on the line, and then they have to wait to get benefits" while insurance companies fight their claims.

The system "is costly; it's inefficient; and it's inhumane," he said.

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Contractors deployed to these war zones often experience the same kind of trauma that produces psychological problems in soldiers. Military surveys estimate that 15% to 20% of soldiers in Iraq show signs of post-traumatic stress disorder, a debilitating condition often attributed to witnessing or participating in violence.

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READ THE FULL LA TIMES REPORT HERE



