Lawyers And Va

[rogus]

I have seen a number of postings concerning lawyers and the VA but have not seen a definitive answer as to whether or not you can hire a lawyer to represent or under what conditions you can hire one.

If you can hire one where do you start to look for one?

[john999]

If vets had the same rights as social security disability claimants we would be a hell of a lot better off. SSA is supposed to be an non-adversarial system so why do they need lawyers. The truth is that so many SSA claimants get turned down that the public demanded lawyers to help them steer through the process. There are millions and millions of potential SSA claimants but there are many less veterans so we don't have the clout that SSA participants have. I mean almost everybody in America is in the SSA system. The government can't screw everybody, all the time. Politicians would loose their jobs. You see what happened when Bush tried to screw with SSA. He got smacked. It is all about votes and money. Vets are a minority especially since there is no draft.

[rogus]

What gets me is that even if I get back pay of benefits it won't cover the fact that I had to sell my car and if things gets worse my home.

[jlshand]

John, you are right on about the SSA! BUT........ How would you like to be among the first claimants represented by a lawyer early in the VA game ? Can you imagine the games the VARO's would play on a lawyer just learning the system ? I guess someone would have to be the guinea pigs But it will never happen anyway. You are right, we haven't enough clout.

You would think a "populist" like Sen McClain would want to go out on a limb on this VA mess. I think it just shows a tacit approval on the part of the congress as well as our lack of enough voting clout.

What continues to amaze and sicken me is the willingness of the VA to "negotiate" certain claims as pointed out on this and other boards. As if our health issues could be bandied about like the haggle over the price of a car!!! If this doesnt lend the lie to the non adversarial B.S I dont know what would!

This government should be ashamed of the near total poverty of the current adjudication process, but then again there is all that "saved" money to finance pork projects and midnight raises........

[john999]

Oh, yeah, you never break even when you finally get VA benefits. If you do get 100% your quality of life has probably suffered so much that no amount of money would make it right. With the VA it is all about money and nothing else.

[Berta]

"The VA has no defence in a court of law."

They said words almost exactly to that affect when I settled with them-for wrongful death- in a hidden memo-documented.

Terry-your post here speaks volumes to the system-

Take service disabled men and women, give them an extensive medical and legal criteria they have to fulfill, manipulate, and/or

lose their evidence, give them C & Ps by their own VA doctors - a legal conflict concept there-dont let them hire attorneys as in a civil court, stave off proper decisions for years,add to their stress and financial problems-,then have Congress charter vet orgs to represent them, and allow them to hire SOs who dont have a clue, and there you have the VA claims process-

Not for ALL but for SOME-

We dont hear about the many vets who do get good decisions in a reasonable period of time.

I know the VA is quite capable of doing claims right yet it does appear that some are targeted for the VA rigamorale-regardless of how good their evidence is-

otherwise- if the evidence was lousy- they could not really fight back.

I wonder if they get kicks out of the denial letters which come, late Friday afternoons or Sat-

or on the eve of a Holiday

and I also believe that some RO employees resent giving out awards of disability comp.

The local vets community here used to say in the 1990s that 2 specific vet orgs were "in bed with" the VA.

I think that bed sure has gotten even more crowded since.

[Guest fla_viking]

Berta

You said something very interesting about decissions made on holiday weekends. For about 5 years in the 90.'s all the VA and court rulings would come on the friday before the holiday weekend. I even wrote to the court and complaned about that tactic. Got no responce. All those rulings during the holiday weekend had screw me written all over them. If they ever investigate if the VA is delibertly causing Psychic harm through there rulings. All they have to do is investigate decissions sent out on a holiday weekend and you will have all the evidence you need.

I had to file a writ once because they were waiting for a holiday weekend and it was 6 mo between them.

Terry Higgins