Hello, Shipmates. I am beginning this NOD journey this week and I am wondering what experiences you guys have with lawyers that specialize in VA claims and appeals? Mainly, I am wondering what a lawyer can do for me that I can't do myself? Can they get me through the process quicker? What exactly can they do? Off hand I want to say "not much" other than fill out the paperwork and file on my behalf, but what good does that do me? I have my wits about myself and I'm able to fill out the paperwork, gather evidence, etc. I've always opted to act pro-se as much as possible. I handled my own divorce, my children's name changes (10X more complicated than a divorce, believe it or not) Am I being shortsighted? 4 years of 100% back pay is substantial and I wouldn't mind paying a lawyer if they actually helped me with something I could never do myself. Does any one have any experiences they can share with me?
Background:
I won a claim 100% scd for MST/PTSD and that was half the battle. The other half is that the VA closed my original claim for this 4 years ago without ever notifying me. I'm filing for the original 2011 ED. They claim I WAS notified but i moved or ignored them because their mail had returned to them unopened and that they tried calling me ONCE and my phone was disconnected. I have proof to the contrary of both of their statements which I submitted for their review along with my ptsd/mst evidence. They ignored it. Now I have to fight this.
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ATCJen
Hello, Shipmates. I am beginning this NOD journey this week and I am wondering what experiences you guys have with lawyers that specialize in VA claims and appeals? Mainly, I am wondering what a lawyer can do for me that I can't do myself? Can they get me through the process quicker? What exactly can they do? Off hand I want to say "not much" other than fill out the paperwork and file on my behalf, but what good does that do me? I have my wits about myself and I'm able to fill out the paperwork, gather evidence, etc. I've always opted to act pro-se as much as possible. I handled my own divorce, my children's name changes (10X more complicated than a divorce, believe it or not) Am I being shortsighted? 4 years of 100% back pay is substantial and I wouldn't mind paying a lawyer if they actually helped me with something I could never do myself. Does any one have any experiences they can share with me?
Background:
I won a claim 100% scd for MST/PTSD and that was half the battle. The other half is that the VA closed my original claim for this 4 years ago without ever notifying me. I'm filing for the original 2011 ED. They claim I WAS notified but i moved or ignored them because their mail had returned to them unopened and that they tried calling me ONCE and my phone was disconnected. I have proof to the contrary of both of their statements which I submitted for their review along with my ptsd/mst evidence. They ignored it. Now I have to fight this.
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HorizontalMike
ABSOLUTELY CORRECT! The conversations I have with my lawyer have really awakened my knowledge of just how the VA plays their game and the tricks that they pull. My lawyer also points out several
Guest
The crazy one here, as for me, I have a degree in administration and I read VA regulations a lot. One of my problem is that my medication will send my brain into fantasy land and it is very hard for
broncovet
According to the BVA chairmans report, for 2014, claimants represented by an attorney "lose" (get denied) just 13% of the time. Most VSO's "lose" about 22to 26 percent of the time. So your odds are
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