07/23/2023
Pagando por Su Abogado de Discapacidad de Veteranos
When clients have an injury or disability that keeps them from working or impacts their ability to live independently, financial issues often come hand in hand.
When clients can’t work or have to pay out for large medical expenses, it can be a real struggle to make ends meet. Budgets are tight, barely enough to cover necessities, with little room for extras. We see this time and again with VA Disability, Social Security Disability and workers’ compensation claims.
If clients can’t afford the basics, how can they be expected to come up with the funds to hire an attorney? Clients are sometimes unsure if they should even pursue a case or have any likelihood of success.
At our firm, clients aren’t expected to provide any money upfront.
As a veterans’ disability attorney at the Deuterman Law Group, I work on a “contingency” basis, as do all my other colleagues.
That means our clients don’t pay any money upfront and we only collect a fee if the disability claim is approved. If we don’t win, we don’t collect a fee.
Disabled veterans shouldn’t have to worry about how to pay for an attorney as they’re seeking benefits for their service-connected injuries and illnesses. And they shouldn’t have to navigate the complex and often bureaucratic VA system on their own because they can’t afford expert legal help.
If your VA benefits have been denied, you deserve the expert help that only an experienced, accredited VA Disability attorney can provide.
Clients who are worried about the cost of hiring an attorney should know there are limitations on our fees and other protections for veterans.
While most people are used to attorneys charging at least a third for the work they do in a case, in VA Disability benefits cases, our fee is only 20 percent of the past-due benefits (lump sum) and not any of the future monthly payments. Under current law, a disabled veteran cannot be charged a fee related to a disability claim until an appeal is filed.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has many safeguards in place to protect veterans. Any attorney representing a veteran in a benefits case must first be accredited by the VA. The Veterans Administration also has the right to review our fee before we can collect it to ensure our veteran clients have been treated fairly.
In other words, if an attorney doesn’t substantially advance your VA Disability benefits case, they shouldn’t get paid. That’s exactly the way it should be.
Why Should I Hire An Attorney
While there are many free resources available to disabled veterans applying for benefits, including Stateside Legal and local Veterans Service Organizations, our firm provides consistent communications with dedicated support staff. In addition, your benefits award is much more likely to be maximized when you have one of our attorneys representing you.
That’s because we work exclusively on these types of cases every day and we know how the VA appeals process works, especially at the local level. We stay on top of all the filing deadlines for appeals and develop best practices for the evidence required for VA disability cases.
Did you know that if you miss a filing deadline as part of your appeal, you might have to start the entire process over again? We’ve seen this happen many times to disabled vets who don’t have an attorney and a team of paralegals focused on their claim and important dates.
When Should I Hire An Attorney
If you have been denied VA Disability benefits, or if you’re in the process of applying, I encourage you to contact the Deuterman Law Group to see how we can help.
Once you have submitted your initial application for VA Disability benefits, it may take several months to receive an initial decision. Many veterans aren’t approved on the first go-round, so it ends up being a year or years before a grant is eventually made.
It’s not uncommon for legitimate VA claims to be denied at first. If you don’t already have an attorney, now is the time to hire one to helping you deal with the VA’s bureaucracy and red tape. There are many important deadlines involved in a VA appeal. As mentioned earlier, if you miss a deadline, you may have to start the entire process over again – prolonging your wait for benefits.
If you’ve been denied for VA disability benefits, it helps to have an experienced VA-accredited attorney working on your appeal. Our VA-accredited attorneys have helped many disabled veterans with their VA disability claims. Our team can assist you with developing a thorough and effective appeal that qualifies you for the highest level of VA disability benefits you deserve.
