After June 20, 2007, Disabled Veterans Will Be Able To Hire An Attorney Much Earlier

[bena]

I'm new learning as I go. I'm working on my disability explain when I can get a lawyer. My claim gone to dro I disagree with them.

[spike]

I know this might not be a popular view, but with anything people think that the Attorney's are the saving grace here....I am skeptical of how this works. Honestly, has anyone gone to a court room for a ticket. It's great that Attorney's get to get moved faster, but what about the vet's that do not get a attorney will all those be backlogged. I can see a problem with this....also from what I have read, I believe you can hire an attorney on a NOD and thats the process? I think the only way to get through the backlog is to increase the number of reps for VA. If you are hurried all the time for having such a workload, i think there are a lot of errors and the attitude is probably to just get the claims off their desk mentality. I think thats where the focus should be. I think this Attorney thing is going to rear its ugly head in the next year or so. I think your going to get less of assistance at Hospitals and documentation because of the Attorneys looking to critique everything the doctors writes....

[Alex]

As to how to get an attorney to pursue your claim, go to www.NOVA.com/ NOVA is the trade asspcoation for lawyers practicing veteterans law. Since some of the people there practice only before the court, ask anyone you call his or her experiences practicing before the agency. The best lawyers around practice both before the court and VA.

As to what the system will look like after full implementation of the new rules, it seems that most 100% and TDIU claims will be hand;ed by a very small number of attorneys, while most claims under 50% will continue to be handled by VSO's

Alex

[Ricky]

Hey Pete, how do you figure they will have to treat attorneys better than they do us. The Ro's have no shame and incompentence is incompentence. The attorney will be no better getting around incompetence than we are.

For example - we have been filing our claims. Most of us breath, eat and sleep Title 38, CFR 38 and Va internal operating guides. What I am saying we know the law. In the filing of our claims we use the law to obtain benefits. The idiots at the RO either do not know the law or simply fail to follow it. This goes on for years until someone at the BVA unscrews what the RO has done. The RO idiots is not repremanded, does not receive a decrease in pay, does not receive any negitive action. He/she simply goes on their merry way to the next claim and they receive a pay increase along with a merit bonus. Now what is going to make them act any differenty when working with an attorney?

The attorney is not going to have direct access with the idiots - he/she will have to do just like us and correspond with them on the issues. During the claims process he/she will file the claims and appeals quoting the law and telling the idiots what they should do (just like we do now).

He/she will not be able to slap the idiots for issuing an inadequate SOC - they can not shoot them, they can not do anything to them nor can we. See its all the same process so once again I ask why will they treat attorneys any different? As a matter of fact I expect a lot of animosity between the VA and a claim that is being persued by an attorney!

Anyway it does not matter to me personally. The law says you can only use an attorney if a claim or NOD is submitted after Jun 07. My appeal has been pending for close to 3 years now so I guess I will still have to go it alone (except for the advice of my Hadit buddies). I hope that after this appeal I NEVER EVER have to deal with the VA again.

Edited June 9, 2007 by Ricky

[Berta]

"Anyway it does not matter to me personally. The law says you can only use an attorney if a claim or NOD is submitted after Jun 07. My appeal has been pending for close to 3 years now so I guess I will still have to go it alone (except for the advice of my Hadit buddies). I hope that after this appeal I NEVER EVER have to deal with the VA again. "

Yes -the law appears to say that-However the proposed regulation is specific and states that an attorney may be hired "after a notice of disagreement is filed with respect to a decision by an agency of original jurisdiction."

RIN 2900-AM62

I suggest that if any of you intend to get a lawyer and have had a NOD filed prior to the regs on this- copy page one of the link below and let the attorney whip this out if the VA questions his/her representation.

I am holding them to the proposed rule as no comment was allowed as to any limits on the filing date of the NOD.

I have commented to the VA in DC (OOREG) many times on proposed regs and did not see any reason to even question the way the proposed rule was written.

http://www.nvlsp.org/images/ATTNYFEEREGPROPOSAL.pdf

Any one can comment when these regs are proposed but I dont see why anyone who question this- we even discussed it here-

but knowing the VA I believe they will screw this up-

Oddly enough the VA is working on my request for reconsideration of 2 CUEs I filed-

The VSM even promised me VCAA letters on them which I never got.

I have until 6-30-07 to file a NOD-

and will file it the day after these regs go through-if no decision comes before then-

and then I will call my lawyer-

this is not the case he thought I would give him-

He was very interested in my SC death claim and was shocked they have failed to address the evidence I had.

I understand that a vet or widow can hire lawyer for one claim matter and keep another POA for different VA claim matter- this is interesting-will check that however-

I want to do that-

but does that mean that all older NODs filed cannot get attorney help and just a newer one on a new or re-opened claim?

I want to leave my SC death claim with the POA I have now- so if they continue to bugger it up-I will have even more evidence if I write to the OGC about them.

Either they discriminated against me or they simply dont know what they are doing and have hurt and damaged other claimants on their POA.

Not all in this vet rep division- but some-

I do understand a change will take place in a few weeks at this POA office.

My lawyer wants to hear all that but sure was interested in my AO claim-

he is a disabled veteran himself and has dealt with the VA.

Lets face it-if the regs really want us to buy what they seem to be selling-

as the post at watchdog seems to indicate-

only NODs filed on or after 6-20-07----then lawyers are already losing retro fees on potentially thousands of claims-

and vets have to wait for a denial to even file a NOD -so when are the lawyers going to generate business?

anyone see my point?

I am holding to the wording of the proposed reg in the Fed register-it even states that lawyers can prepare ,present, and prosecute claims-

"prepare" means no NOD has been filed yet-

why allow these vet reps to continue to file claims- and yet prevent lawyers from repping vets if the NOD is filed prior to June 20,2007 ?

[Berta]

I just re-read the Fast letter to VAROs on all this and I filled a complaint with Bradley G. Mayes -VBA, Wash DC and asked him to clarify this - because this is in direct conflict with the proposed rule the Federal Register published some time ago.

If VA can propose a rule- how can they change it when they decide to write up the actual regs?

I pointed out to Mr. Mayes that he must mean if a NOD is filed "BY or after June 2007" -otherwise thousands of long term claimants are being denied this right to have a lawyer.

I am getting madder by the minute on this-

because the public was not given the right to comment on what the actual regs seem to have become.

I will let you all know what the VBA response is to all this.

If any of you wish to complain via Iris to Mr. Mayer refer to this -as the original proposed reg-#RIN 2900-AM62.

It says NOTHING as to limiting this right if the NOD was filed prior to June 20,2007.

[c398x2]

As to how to get an attorney to pursue your claim, go to www.NOVA.com/ NOVA is the trade asspcoation for lawyers practicing veteterans law.

You sure about that URL there shipmate? It don't seem to work.