Posted on 07/28/2024 11:16:51 AM PDT by marcusmaximus
“Interesting item. When the VA sends out people to do briefings, it will be to a gathering of veterans. You will often hear things like . . . Yeah I was jump trained and I messed up my knee on a jump and they would not let me jump again. Yeah, I hobble but I can walk so I don’t apply for disability *** because there are other guys who need it more ***.
The reply is always interesting. Something like: “You go file a claim. I have worked for the VA almost 20 years and I have never, ever seen a veteran denied a claim because too many others filed and we ran out of money. That never happens.”
Thank you for sharing.
“And the lawyer must work for the VA.”
Thank you for clarification.
I assume this is probably true because of the knowledge of laws & regulation needed within this specific area of legal practice.
The lawyer must be accredited with the Department of Veterans Affairs.
No, lawyers that do this work are working for their lawfirm. They must be VA accredited, but they are not VA employees.
My experience is that some GS-5 at The Veterans Benefit Agency (VBA) will determine disability based on whether they think you are receiving too much money.
There is nothing more stupid and more discriminating than the Disability Percentage Calculator.
If you receive 50% disability for one thing and then you are given 40% disability for another thing, those numbers don’t add up to 90%.
They run it through their magic calculator and suddenly, it’s a lot less.
Ask them the purpose of their magic disability calculator.
They get red faced and start stammering and then scream at you that they’ll call for their armed guard.
Social Security Disability adds the percentages without a magic calculator.
They just discriminate against Veterans so they have more money for employee bonuses.
>>>>However, even after repeated requests to you over such an long, extended period of time... again I must apparently remind you that I am not your Mother.
I do not call you “Bimbo”.
Once again, I will repeat my request for you to stop referring to me as “mommy”.<<<<
You can call me whatever you want. I’m not ultrasensitive and can take the heat...unlike you, mommy.
When you remove “Mom” from your user ID, I’ll stop calling you mommy.
So you are OK with the VA telling you which lawyer to use, and it has to be one they have on their list.
In my state, there was one lawyer on that list for a very large state.
I went to see him and he knew the VA buttered his bread.
You think the lawyer is going to go against the VA?
Who pays the lawyer for his time?
Is it the VA?
If so, then he’s working for them.
>>>>So you are OK with the VA telling you which lawyer to use, and it has to be one they have on their list.<<<<
The VA didn’t tell my husband which lawyer to use. He found her through word of mouth.
Here’s the definition of a VA accredited attorney:
VA-accredited attorneys or representatives are individuals recognized by VA as legally authorized and capable of assisting claimants in pursuit of benefits before the Department of Veterans Affairs. The accreditation program exists to ensure that veterans and their family members receive adequate, informed representation throughout the VA benefits appeals process. VA-accredited representatives can include attorneys, accredited claims agents, veteran service organizations (VSOs), and state or county government entities.
Accredited representatives are trained to help claimants understand and pursue the VA benefits available to them. These individuals are legally authorized to represent veterans, servicemembers, dependents, and survivors before VA for a number of VA benefits, such as disability compensation and dependency and indemnity compensation. Individuals and organizations who are not accredited by VA are not permitted to represent veterans in this capacity.
https://cck-law.com/blog/what-is-a-va-accredited-attorney-or-representative/
In my husband’s case, the lawyer got a percentage of the initial payout.
The VA does not pay...no way, the Veteran is on his own.
Who pays them for their time?
I have direct experience with VA lawyers.
Do lawyers work for free?
You wrote that your husband died before his case was settled.
Is that not true?
Yes, that is true.
See post 170.
You are all over the place.
In your own post, you write that your Veteran husband was dead before he received any benefit from VBA.
You are writing me one thing, and I have direct experience with VBA and their lawyers.
I will go with my direct experience.
Here’s what happened:
My husband died and his attorney filed a Dependency and Indemnity Compensation claim for me.
I received a portion of the compensation he should have received.
No, that’s not the process.
VA accredited attorney means they have studied the statutes and regulatory paragraphs of the VA. This it not part of law school. It’s a specialty. A non accredited attorney won’t know how to fight effectively unless they accumulated the info all via experience. And if they have, there would be no reason not to take the accreditation exam.
As for who pays who, it’s like all civil cases. The claim is brought against a defendant. The minute a veteran files an intent to file a claim, a clock starts. The Intent to File event is actually there to start that clock while the veteran puts together his or her claim.
Lawyers only can represent veterans who have that claim denied.
Once denied then the lawyer is allowed to step up and find a flaw with the denial, or help the vet gather more evidence in support of the claim.
If the veteran eventually wins his claim, there is backpay back to the original “Intent to File” date. If it’s 2 years delay, and it was 100% disabled (this overall scenario is kind of rare, but this is the idea) then that veteran will start collecting about $50K/year tax free. And it is backdated to the Intent to File date. 2 years would be 2X$50K backpay and then ongoing monthly check.
The lawyer’s fee is X% of the backpay. It’s the veteran paying him, but the veteran pays X% of backpay the lawyer so if he does not win the claim, the fee will be 0 and that’s a lot of lawyer hours unpaid. Which is why the lawyers in this field only take cases they know will win.
Just like all lawyers in all fields.
So no. The lawyer is not inclined to save the VA money. Quite the reverse.
“When you remove “Mom” from your user ID, I’ll stop calling you mommy.”
Really?
WOW!
So you WANT to be Called Bimbo now!
“No, that’s not the process.”
Appreciate both of your expretise & re-clarifications regarding the process of filing a disability claim with the Department of Veterans Affairs. I am sure your comments will be of help to many.
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/4254676/posts?page=147#147
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/4254676/posts?page=158#158
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/4254676/posts?page=164#164
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/4254676/posts?page=165#165
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/4254676/posts?page=171#171
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/4254676/posts?page=175#175
https://freerepublic.com/focus/chat/4254676/posts?page=177#177
blueunicorn6
Appreiate and thank you both for your insightful comments.
“Those signs are seemingly enough to worry our current Democrat administration enough to make them slow-roll aid to Ukraine so as not to cause a sudden collapse of Russia, as was seen in Russia’s previous losing wars.”
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/4254676/posts?page=127#127
“Biden could have easily given enough airpower to Ukraine such that last years offensive would have been effective enough to regain it’s territory. Putin was stupid to invade, and the denial of airpower by Biden was stupid.”
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/4254676/posts?page=129#129
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