Great Articel On Vso's Vets Get Lawyerd Up Now

[Guest fla_viking]

Dear Fellow veterans & Friends

VAwatchdog wrote quotes from VSO's who wrote to Jim Strickland. It appears what we vets have felt all along. VSO's and VA employees are one of the same. Some VSO's feel its the vets responciblity to get records.

Vets get lawyerd up now while you can.

Come June the law will pass allowing vets lawyers. Come the month of May the must pass bill to take away vets rights to lawyers may pass. If we ever do get lawyers a huge battel to take it away shortly there after will begin.

IF you hire a lawyer now to take effect in June before the bill is passed and taken away or shortly there after while the bill is still in effect. The VA will have to grandfather you in and let you keep your lawyer. IF you wait to hire a lawyer they my pass the bill taking lawyers away again and you will be at a loss.

When my mother hired a lawyer for me in 2002. The VA did not like that so they changed the rule not allowing third parties to hire lawyers on behalf of veterans. I got my 100% and back pay for 6 years with my lawyer.

The best thing to do now is hire a lawyer as soon as possibel so the lawyer will be grandfathered in if congress changes the law again.

Terry Higgins

[Pete53]

No one knows for sure what is going to happen. I don't think Lawers are the answer to most of the problems at the VA.

Of course I may be myopic as I won SSD on my own with no Lawyer.

[Stretch]

I was so screwed-up when I got out that I did not know that my VSO was not honest or searching for answers in my claims. I should have known, because he never ask me for one piece of evidence or explanation of injuries (1974). I didn't stand a chance. I could not talk Veteran to Veteran.

If a lawyer will charge nothing for a loss; will only charge 25% of backpay, and that backpay is covered by EAJA, then why should anybody object to a veteran having professional representation.

Just to name a few variances from law:

• Different service of VSO's who have no information on other branches of Service. (example: MOS vs. NEC).
  
• National Security effects some service persons more than others. (Project 112/SHAD, AO, Benzene, JP-5, Asbestos, and etc.)
  
• Toxic Chemicals seem to be directly connected for some branches of service and not others.
  

I think that Senator Obama, has it correct when he says there are different standards, even for different states. This is Unequal Justice.