I Need An Attorney!

[Veteran43]

What do I do if I can't find an Attorney to take my case? I filed an SF 95.

[jbasser]

http://www.vetlawyers.com/

[Berta]

"What do I do if I can't find an Attorney to take my case? I filed an SF 95." You can persue the case yourself.

After 20 NY lawyers would not take my case (or even look at the evidence) I did it myself.

In those days lawyers could not advertise their specialty so I could not find any lawyers with malpractice experience.This was pre- internet too.

These days things are different.Try the lawyers at the link from John and also-if they cant help you-they will possibly refer you to someone who can -also Google malpractice lawyers on the net.

The BEST thing you can have is an IMO for these types of claims. I didnt have an IMO for my 1151/FTCA claims- but now I realize that a strong IMO of negligence would have caused any lawyer to take the case or refer me to someone who could handle it.

Negligence and malpractice has a paper trail.It is not easy to find.

But it is documented in medical records. It could hinge on the wrong diagnosis or lack of diagnosis and or improper medications or lack of appropriate meds.Lots of things can begin as scenario of negligence.

A FTCA case or 1151 claim also requires a documented disability directly due to the malpractice.

This is where the money comes in as damages.This is where a strong IMO is imperative.

With documented proof of a disability that negligence has caused and then with documentation from the clinical records of how the negligence occured, any good IMO doctor and/or lawyer would readily see the potential for FTCA-if the case is worth enough money.

I hope you got all of your clinical records from VA before the SF 95 was filed.

The regional counsel up here in NY wanted to begin negotiations for a settlement within 3-4 months after he got my SF 95.

He had already had a Peer Review done which supported my charges.He took the Peer Review report over to the VARO (in those days the RO was a block away from the RC) for my Section 1151 claim.

Then he retired, as well as the Peer Review doctor who no longer had access to his VA computer which help copy of this report.

The report suddenly 'disappeared'. The RC retired and the doctor who did the report retired too.VA told me the report never existed at all.

My FTCA took 3 more years and was settled with Office of General Counsel in DC.

When I re opened my claim in 2003 (under direct SC death) I asked for copy of my C file and the none existent Peer Review Report was right at the bottom of the stack.I can see why the RC wanted to settle fast. It was awful and completely supported malpractice.

I am telling you all this so you can expect that VA will go as low as they can go (I also have some horrendous SSOCs on the 1151 claim stating absurd and hurtful reasons that they claimed my husband died. (ALL lies as supported by my evidence)

so this too is one good reason to get a lawyer so they do not remove, ignore or lose your evidence.I dont think they would have pulled on a lawyer what they tried to pull on me -such as the so called non existent Peer Review report.

My re-opened claim in 2003 regarded additional malpractice I had discovered. I could not FTCA or 1151 them again and the evidence supported direct SC death due to a malpracticed Agent Orange condition.

This time I spent $4,000 for 2 separate IMOs and had a freeby from former VA doctor, and won that case at the BVA.The VARO did not consider any of my evidence for 6 years,and did not send me a legal VCAA letter. I feel that the prior FTCA/1151 award caused them to ignore the new claim and deny without attempting to consider anything I sent them (to include 3 IMOS).

You need a strong IMO that reveals the malpractice with direct references to the evidence.

That is how I won my 1151/ FTCA claims-

I am not a doctor but I took them step by step through the documented medical proof of negligence , by clinical reports, blood work, EKGs and ECHO, MRI results etc. and they finally had no way out.

Edited October 12, 2010 by Berta

[Berta]

Sorry-I think IO rattled off al this to you in a prior post-

I need to add one thing.

You can file FTCA and Section 1151 claims.

There is a monetary offset if you succeed in both claims however and this and much more is explained in all of the info here in the FTCA forum.

The OGC did offset a portion of my FTCA award against my DIC.For over a decade I didnt get a DIC check (they made an error there and took out too much offset but that was resolved).

They can only offset the 1151 comp and not any SC compensation you get for any SC disabilities.

However if you can prove both direct SC and 1151 SC for the same disability, they cannot offset anything.

But this is a highly unusual scenario.SC and also 1151 award for same disabilty or death.

It is the main reason the VA took almost a year to refund my FTCA offset to me when I won my last AO death claim.

The RC tried to say I was wrong, the VARO tried to, even the OGC tried to get me to believe I was wrong= so I kept sending them VA case law that said I was right and after a few letters and phone calls to them,I received a nice letter one of the OGC lawyers also sent to the VARO -spelling out the same VA case law I had argued my point with , and I got my offset money.

I wonder how many vets and widows they tell the wrong thing too- regarding FTCA matters.To save money that is not theirs to keep.

I never buy what they are selling -unless I like what I hear and the regs support what I believe.