Civil War-era Legal Pay Limit for Vet Claim Help May Be Lifted
This just up at Army Times:
Click on 'Article Link' below tags for more...
The current law places a limit of $10 on fees that can be paid for legal help given to a veteran filing a VA benefits claim "as long as a claim is handled administratively." Once a claim has been heard by the court and ruled upon (which may occur as much as 3-5 years after the initial filing), only then can a lawyer receive fees in excess of $10. I have to admit, not being a veteran myself, I had no idea this rule even existed!
Additional details:
This bill was also introduced in the House on March 9, 2006 as HR 4914 by Rep. Lane Evans [D-IL] (who recently announced his retirement and will be sorely, sorely missed).
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The chairman of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee says it is time to drop a Civil War-era rule that prohibits lawyers from being paid more than $10 to help veterans with benefits claims. Other lawmakers have made similar attempts over the years, but the May 4 announcement by Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, that he was introducing a bill to drop the prohibition marked the first time a veterans’ affairs committee chairman supported the proposal.
Click on 'Article Link' below tags for more...
The current law places a limit of $10 on fees that can be paid for legal help given to a veteran filing a VA benefits claim "as long as a claim is handled administratively." Once a claim has been heard by the court and ruled upon (which may occur as much as 3-5 years after the initial filing), only then can a lawyer receive fees in excess of $10. I have to admit, not being a veteran myself, I had no idea this rule even existed!
Additional details:
Today, 85 percent of veterans appealing their initial benefits decision get help from veterans’ service organizations or other nonprofit groups, Craig aides said. Craig is joined in the effort by Sen. Lindsey O. Graham, R-S.C., an Air Force reserve judge who is a member of the veterans’ committee and chairman of military personnel subcommittee of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “This overdue change will significantly improve veterans’ access to the VA and expedite just outcomes,” Graham said in a statement.
Their bill, S 2694, is called the Veterans’ Choice of Representation Act. It would repeal a ban that Craig aides said began when it was possible to become a lawyer without attending law school.
Although discussions have taken place over the years to allow paid legal representation, the federal government and many veterans’ groups have resisted changing what has been viewed as a generally nonadversarial process for filing claims in which benefit of the doubt is supposed to go to a veteran.
Opinion has changed, though, among veterans groups in recent years. Many associations now provide legal representation for members or recommend lawyers when a veteran is dissatisfied with the administrative handling of a case and requests judicial review. “I suppose that some would still warn that lawyers are not to be trusted, but the reality is that the laws are complex and I want veterans to have the option of hiring an attorney to help navigate the system, if they choose,” Craig said.
This bill was also introduced in the House on March 9, 2006 as HR 4914 by Rep. Lane Evans [D-IL] (who recently announced his retirement and will be sorely, sorely missed).
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- 86,000+ OEF/OIF Vets Granted Disability; 30,000 Claims Pending
- Local Angle on National Story: Veterans Claim Processing Nightmare
- House Bill Introduced to Allow Vets Legal Rep for VA Claims
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- Veteran Filing a PTSD Claim? Here's Help...
Labels: claims, craig, evans, graham, legal, legislation, senate, va
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"the federal government and many veterans’ groups have resisted changing what has been viewed as a generally nonadversarial process for filing claims in which benefit of the doubt is supposed to go to a veteran."
Viewed as a nonadversarial process is exacatly what is wrong with the VSO's representing vets. Every part of the process is adversaial. It's close to my 40 year anniversary of being wounded and it's been tooth and nail the whole way. I have dozens of horror stories. Dozens. Just ask.
I look forward to adequate representation.
By
pvt pyle, at 5/04/2006 09:27:00 PM
Hi Pvt Pyle,
The more I do research on all things military, the more I begin to realize how common your experience is. Even having to wait 3 to 5 years for a decision on a VA claim appears to be unfathomable; yet, it's common and typical. A larger problem than I have resources or smarts to tackle, that's for sure.
But I can tell you thank you, sir, for your service to our country. I'm sorry that your struggles weren't left behind on the battlefield. Like you, I also look forward to our military members receiving the adequate representation they deserve. And how.
Thank you for your insightful comment!
By
ilona, at 5/05/2006 03:39:00 PM
Please consider this when you think that a lawyer, for a fee, is going to be better than a free, recommended counselor from the dozens of organizations experienced at winning claims:
Most state governments invest taxpayer dollars to help veterans organizations like these represent veterans and in so doing, bring federal dollars to their states. Most state governments are run by politicians who are also lawyers.
Now these same states would be eager to see their fellow lawyers get a piece of the pie, if they thought it would also bring more federal dollars into their states than would be possible with the free VSO counselors.
Are you aware of any states lobbying hard to allow lawyers to do what is being done very well now for free?
The big problems with VA claims are with hard-to-find medical info that may go back many years. It has very little to do with understanding the law. Yes, the VA could use more staff members. Claims are usually correctly settled within a year. If an appeal is necessary, you can add one to three years. Many appeals can never be won however, regardless of representation. It is usually not a question of whether the "Vet deserves the award...", but whether the evidence is available that allows the VA to pay the award under current statutes.
Many current VA awards have been made possible only in recent years because the CONGRESS CHANGED THE LAW the VA has to work with.
If you have been fighting for many years to win a claim, experience tells me two things:
-You probably really did suffer a service-connected injury, disease or exposure to environmental hazard
-You will never get a different decision until you and your counselor find new WRITTEN evidence of the above.
Right now, all independent service officers have military experience; we understand that, for example, all Navy enlisted men come in contact with asbestos when aboard ship. The VA workers do not generally understand that. How many lawyers understand that, or were even ever in the service?
Thank you for the usefull info. Best Regards and good luck
By
QuestRepublic, at 5/11/2006 01:30:00 PM
On July 19, 2006 the U.S. House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs held a hearing titled “Oversight Hearing on the Role of National, State, and County Veterans’ Service Officers in Claims Development. Here is link to the portion of audio recording the house put on the internet http://veterans.house.gov/hearings/schedule109/jul06/7-19-06/7-19-06.wma . There are also hyperlinks to the “prepared testimony” of many of the witnesses that testified at that hearing, just below their names at http://veterans.house.gov/hearings/schedule109/jul06/7-19-06/witness.html .
At that hearing the President of the National Association of County Veterans’ Service Office and Congresswomen Berkley (from Nevada) discussed the situation that exists in Nebraska between one County Veterans’ Service Officer and one particular law firm. That discussion is included in the audio recording at http://veterans.house.gov/hearings/schedule109/jul06/7-19-06/7-19-06.wma (about halfway through the recording).
I’ve “cut and paste” (below) the “Witness List” of those that testified yesterday, and below that is an Air Force Times article (from yesterday) titled “Vets’ service organizations weed out seedy lawyers” (reporting on that hearing) http://www.airforcetimes.com/print.php?f=1-292925-1964708.php
Bill Williams,
Buffalo County, VSO
Kearney, NE
WITNESS LIST
HOUSE COMMITTEE ON VETERANS’ AFFAIRS
SUBCOMMITTEE ON DISABILITY ASSISTANCE AND MEMORIAL AFFAIRS
Oversight Hearing on the Role of National, State, and County Veterans’ Service Officers in Claims Development
Wednesday, July 19, 2006, 1:00 p.m.
334 Cannon House Office Building
Panel 1
Col. Warren R. “Rocky” McPherson, USMC (Ret.)
Executive Director
Florida Department of Veterans’ Affairs
(Prepared Testimony | PDF)
Mr. Tim Tetz
Executive Director
Nevada Office of Veterans Services
(PDF)
Ms. Ann Knowles
President
National Association of County
Veterans Service Officers
(Prepared Testimony | PDF)
Mr. Joseph Violante
National Legislative Director
Disabled American Veterans
(Prepared Testimony | PDF)
Mr. Blake Ortner
Associate Legislative Director
Paralyzed Veterans of America
(Prepared Testimony | PDF)
Panel 2
Mr. Jack McCoy
Associate Deputy Under Secretary for Policy and Program Management
Veterans Benefits Administration
(Prepared Testimony | PDF)
Accompanied by
Mr. Steve Simmons
Deputy Director
Compensation and Pension Service
Statements Submitted for the Record
Mr. James Doran
National Service Director
AMVETS
(Prepared Testimony | PDF)
Mr. Dennis Cullinan
Director, National Legislative Service
Veterans of Foreign Wars
(PDF)
Mr. George Basher
Director
State of New York Division of Veterans’ Affairs
http://www.airforcetimes.com/print.php?f=1-292925-1964708.php
July 19, 2006
Vets’ service organizations weed out seedy lawyers
By Gayle S. Putrich
Staff writer, Air Force Times
Veterans’ service organizations need help hunting down and steering veterans away from shady lawyers, said the directors of several of those organizations at a hearing on Capitol Hill on Wednesday.
House lawmakers expressed concern about reports that a county veterans service officer has referred veterans to a local attorney when they needed help getting benefits from the Department of Veteran’s Affairs. The attorney agrees to help the veterans at no charge, said Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., but in cases where a veteran’s claim is successful for at least 20 percent of retroactive benefits, the lawyer then solicits “gifts” as compensation.
“While I believe that veterans who choose to hire an attorney should be able to do so, I believe that this choice should be made openly and honestly, with no pressure to give ‘gifts’ to the attorney or other representative,” said Berkley, the ranking Democrat on the House Veterans’ Affairs subcommittee for disability assistance and memorial affairs.
Though such practices may be isolated regional incidents, representatives from AMVETS, Disabled American Veterans, Paralyzed Veterans of America and other groups said they were completely unacceptable and said they need help keeping veterans safe from dishonest benefits lawyers.
Ann Knowles, president of the National Association of County Veterans Service Officers, said her organization had heard of lawyers asking for gifts or donations after winning a supposedly pro bono case and that they were able to “squash” such activities on a case-by-case basis. But Knowles said the growing trend of harassment of veterans has to be fought on a larger scale.
“We cannot handle this on our own,” Knowles said. “This has to be handled on the national level.”
Under the current appeals system, about 85 percent of veterans choose to be represented by veterans’ service organizations or state veterans’ agency personnel. Veterans are not permitted to hire counsel until they have exhausted their administrative options within VA — a process that can take years.
In the Senate, Republicans Larry Craig of Idaho and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina have a bill in play that would allow veterans to hire their own lawyers at any time to represent them in benefits disputes with the VA. The VA opposes the legislation, saying it would increase costs to veterans without necessarily improving the process.
By
BuffalobillCVSO, at 7/26/2006 11:04:00 AM
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