MSPB and Federal Employee Attorney Blog

Attig Law Firm Successful in Vietnam Veteran’s Claim

Chris Attig — Wed, 09 May 2012 18:23:36 +0000

The Attig Law Firm secured substantial past-due VA disability benefits for our client, a Vietnam Veteran. The award of benefits to our client is the culmination of (at least) a four (4) year fight against the VA, and resulted in service connection of the Veteran’s Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and includes a substantial payment of past-due accrued benefits to the Veteran.

This story epitomizes what the VA has done to some of our nation’s finest young men and women in the aftermath of the Vietnam War. Our client left for Vietnam in 1970 a clean-cut All-American teenager. One of his earliest experiences in Vietnam involved a fellow soldier, who forced him to play “hot potato” with the recently-severed hand of a Vietnamese national. He then went on to serve in the Phu Bai and Quang Tri regions, where (among many other incidents) he was in a helicopter that had been shot down and managed to rescue other soldiers from that crashed chopper. For his service in Vietnam, our client had received the Bronze Star.

Our client returned from Vietnam with a severe case of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and other medical conditions which have defined large portions of his life for the 40 years after his combat service in Vietnam.

After filing a claim in 2008, the VA denied PTSD benefits to our client. Their basis was ridiculous and relied on a VA Compensation and Pension Exam which concluded that the Veteran did not actually have PTSD, but instead concluded that the Veteran had “antisocial personality disorder”. Curiously, a diagnosis of this condition would have required that there be evidence of the conditions onset prior to age 15 – which there was not.

(Attorney Note: The law does not permit a C&P doctor to change a mental health diagnosis without substantial medical evidence, expert analysis and due process of law. Read this blog entry for more information about this situation).

After the VA denied his claim, the Veteran retained the Attig Law Firm, who worked with medical care providers and experts to establish the true nature of this Veteran’s conditions, the true causes of the conditions, and presented these arguments to a Decision Review Officer (DRO) at a VA Regional Office.

(Attorney Note: I continue to be pleased with the DRO process in general, and the DROs in the particular VA Regional Office that granted this claim. Thanks to the DRO in the case who set aside the layers of bureaucratic red-tape, and took the time to listen to this Veteran’s story, without pre-judgment.)

Approximately 1 year after the DRO Conference, the VA issued its decision granting a rating of 50% for the Veteran’s PTSD, effective immediately. In addition, the Veteran will receive substantial past-due benefits from the VA as a result of their failure to promptly and timely grant his 2008 claim.

There is still much work to do for this Veteran; his fight with the VA is not over. However, we are thankful for the opportunity to have helped this Veteran put at least a small part of his experiences in Vietnam, and his subsequent battles with the VA, in the past.

No post on this website is meant to be legal advice and the posts on this website do not serve as a substitute for legal advice. Information is power, and we are providing this information to give you, the Veteran, some power. This information is not widely or easily accessible to Veterans. The information presented on this website is a general description of law and processes; each Veteran’s case is different, and there may be approaches listed here that are not accurate or applicable to your particular case. Likewise, there may be information that is applicable to your case that is not provided on this Veterans Disability Compensation Blog.

It is very important that we note that each and every Veteran’s claim is different. Just because we were able to secure substantial past-due benefits for one Veteran or Veteran’s spouse does not mean or imply that we will be able to do so for you. In some cases, we may not be able to secure any financial compensation or past-due benefits due to the facts or law of your particular case.

It is best to consult with a lawyer familiar with VA Disability claims and benefits or a Veterans Service Organization to examine your particular case. If you would like to discuss your VA claim with a lawyer who handles VA Benefits and Disability Appeals, contact the Attig Law Firm, PLLC, for a free consultation with a VA Benefits attorney.

The Attig Law Firm, PLLC, represents Veterans in Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma (and all around the nation) in their claims for disability compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Attig Law Firm prevails before Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC) on behalf of Veteran’s Surviving Spouse.

Chris Attig — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 20:27:00 +0000

In a second decision received today, the Attig Law Firm prevailed before the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC) for the surviving spouse of a Veteran.

In this case, the Veteran died around 2008. His surviving spouse, who believed that his death was caused by his service-connected condition, filed claims for Accrued Benefits and for Dependency Indemnity Compensation (DIC). The VA Regional Office denied the claims and the Veteran’s spouse filed an appeal to the BVA. The BVA, after long deliberation, denied the Veteran’s spouse’s claim for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) and remanded the claim for Accrued Benefits to the VA Regional Office.

The Attig Law Firm looked at the case, and determined that the BVA erred when it denied the Veteran’s spouse’s claim for DIC before the VA had finally adjudicated the claims for accrued benefits. The Firm believed that this was error because, logically, the VA cannot decide whether the Veteran died from a service-connected condition before it had decided what all of his service-connected conditions were.

The Firm successfully persuaded the VA that this view of the law was correct, by pointing out that it is error for the BVA to decide a portion of a claim that is “inextricably intertwined” with another portion of a claim, particularly when the undecided portion of the claim could affect the portion of the claim that the BVA denied.

The Attig Law Firm and the VA Office of General Counsel entered into a Joint Motion for Remand before the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC), which was granted today. The BVA decision denying DIC benefits will be vacated, and will not be decided until the VA has determined which of the Veterans conditions were service-connected.

This was a rather confusing case which illustrates the concept that any Veteran should seek out legal representation before the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC). Often, an attorney experienced handling Veterans appeals before the CAVC will be able to present an argument that the Veteran or their surviving spouse may not be aware exists.

If you are a Veteran (or a surviving spouse of a Veteran) and have a claim before the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC), it is very important that you consider hiring an attorney with experience handling such claims. Even if you don’t hire the Attig Law Firm – find a reputable and competent attorney to help you with your CAVC Appeal!

No post on this website is meant to be legal advice and the posts on this website do not serve as a substitute for legal advice. Information is power, and we are providing this information to give you, the Veteran, some power. This information is not widely or easily accessible to Veterans. The information presented on this website is a general description of law and processes; each case is different, and there may be approaches listed here that are not accurate or applicable to your case. Likewise, there may be information that is applicable to your case that is not provided on this Veterans Disability Compensation Blog.

The Attig Law Firm, PLLC, represents Veterans in Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma (and all around the nation) in their claims for disability compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Attig Law Firm Successful in assisting Vietnam Veteran’s Surviving Spouse

Chris Attig — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 20:05:28 +0000

The Attig Law Firm secured substantial benefits for the surviving spouse of a Veteran client. The award of benefits to our client is the culmination of a twelve (12) year fight against the VA, and resulted in posthumous service connection of multiple conditions, and includes a substantial payment of past-due accrued benefits and Dependency Indemnity Compensation (DIC).

The Veteran’s surviving spouse is expected to receive at least $250,000 in past-due benefits, and going forward, will begin to receive a monthly annuity from the VA each month until remarriage or death.

In this case, the Veteran was a Brown Water Navy Veteran. He initially filed his claim around 2000, and was denied for several years by the VA Regional Office. His claim was remanded for correction of errors by the Board of Veterans Appeals (BVA). While on remand, the VA put a stay on this case due to then-pending court appeals and rulings pertaining to Brown Water Navy Vet Agent Orange exposure claims.

Unfortunately, the Veteran passed away from his Agent Orange related illnesses in 2009. The Attig Law Firm began to work with the Veteran’s spouse on her Accrued Benefits and Dependency Indemnity Compensation claims (DIC) to continue to try to prove the Veteran’s contention that he was exposed to Agent Orange while in the inland waterways of Vietnam, and that his multiple conditions (certain type of cancer, diabetes, etc.) resulted from his Agent Orange exposure.

In 2010, the Veteran’s ship was added to the list of ships that were confirmed to have been exposed to Agent Orange in the inland waterways of Vietnam – ironically, in the very way and on the very missions that the Veteran recounted to the VA many, many times.

Even after this development was pointed out to the VA, the Agency continued to deny the claims for accrued benefits and DIC by the Veteran’s spouse for nearly 2 years. It was only after a face-to-face conference between attorney Chris Attig at the Attig Law Firm, and a DRO at the Regional Office that the VA changed its decision and granted all of the claims of the Veteran’s spouse.

(As an aside, I continue to be impressed with many of the DROs and the DRO process in this particular Regional Office; I would encourage all Veterans to take advantage of the DRO process in between the NOD and the BVA Appeal).

Though it would have been nice to see the VA make the right decision before the Veteran’s death, the Attig Law Firm is proud to have seen justice ultimately done for the Veteran’s surviving spouse.

No post on this website is meant to be legal advice and the posts on this website do not serve as a substitute for legal advice. Information is power, and we are providing this information to give you, the Veteran, some power. This information is not widely or easily accessible to Veterans. The information presented on this website is a general description of law and processes; each case is different, and there may be approaches listed here that are not accurate or applicable to your case. Likewise, there may be information that is applicable to your case that is not provided on this Veterans Disability Compensation Blog.

The Attig Law Firm, PLLC, represents Veterans in Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma (and all around the nation) in their claims for disability compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Veterans Law Practice: Veterans Lawyers ignored once again.

Chris Attig — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 12:40:37 +0000

Friends, Colleagues, and Veterans:

Texas Lawyer is currently seeking nominations for “Go To Guides” for Texas Lawyers. Once again, a major organization with high visibility in the legal field has excluded the practice area of Veterans Law.

I mention this for a very practical reason. Over the next 3-5 years, we will have tens of thousands of Veterans returning from combat – combat that is not like any war our nation has fought.

* In Vietnam, 3.4 million veterans served in the theatre of operations over 11 years.

* In Iraq and Afghanistan combined, a little over 2,000,000 soldiers have fought on 2 fronts over 8-11 years. (As pointed out in many places, fewer Veterans have fought longer wars than at any other time in our history)

* At least 1 in 10 of our Iraq/Afghanistan Veterans will have a mental health condition such as PTSD

* At least 2 in 10 of our Iraq/Afghanistan Veterans will have a Traumatic Brain Injury

* At least half of our Iraq/Afghanistan Veterans will need ongoing and continuous medical care<

* Over 13,000 of our Iraq/Afghanistan Veterans are homeless. Iraq and Afghanistan Vets make up 10% of homeless Veteran population despite being only 5% of the “Veteran population”.

* Crimes committed by combat Veterans between the ages of 18 and 30 are on the rise.

Looking at these statistics, the tens of thousands of Veterans returning from combat service will need legal help – and a lot of it. They will need help with VA benefits, with family issues in family courts, guardianship and probate court issues, health insurance issues, housing, social security, employment and pay issues, criminal issues and so much more.

As it stands now, there are not enough attorneys that practice in Veterans Benefits to support the sheer volume of legal issues presented by our returning Veterans. Sure, there are probably plenty of family and criminal lawyers out there, but how many understand and grasp the unique needs and situations of our Iraq/Afghanistan Veterans? Very, very few. I get phone calls every week from attorneys – very accomplished in their own right – who need help understanding their Veteran client’s situation or their Veteran client’s legal needs.

As long as organizations like Lexis-Nexis (Martindale Hubbell), Texas Lawyer, the American Bar Association, and Avvo (to name just a few) refuse to recognize the legal practice area of Veterans Benefits, it is very difficult to convince other attorneys to join this fight. Despite exhaustive efforts over the past 3 years, I have personally recruited only 3 attorneys to the Veterans Law practice area.

My # 1 obstacle – convincing young and energetic attorneys that Veterans Law is a recognized and viable practice area. This will not begin to change until a national or state attorney’s group publicly recognizes and acknowledges the Veterans Law Practice area, or a major publication covers the practice area, or a major law firm starts a Veterans Law Practice area.

Help me convince organizations like Texas Lawyer to add a Veterans Law practice area to their ”Go To Guide”. Who knows – maybe next year they’ll change their mind and add a Veterans Law Practice area to their “Super Lawyer” lists.

I have to stress this – I am NOT asking you to nominate me – this is NOT a bid for my glory.

Nominate any – or every – attorney you know that practices Veterans Law or who has helped Veterans with their legal needs. In fact, the more different attorneys that are nominated, the better. Heck, nominate them if they are outside of Texas, too. Let’s flood Texas Lawyer with so many recommendations that they are forced to ask the question “What is this Veterans Law practice area?”.

Here is the link to the nomination site:

http://www.law.com/jsp/tx/specials.jsp?p=goto&src=EMC-Email&et=promotion&bu=Texas&pt=Texas%20Lawyer&cn=goto%203-29-2012%20-%20B&kw=www.TexasLawyer.com%2Fgoto

Library of Congress Veterans History Project coming to Dallas on April 21, 2012.

Chris Attig — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 11:12:26 +0000

I learned yesterday that the Texas Court Reporters Association, in conjunction with the State Bar of Texas and the Library of Congress, will be providing an incredible opportunity for our nation’s combat Veterans.

On April 21, 2012, volunteer Court Reporters will record up to a 2 hour oral history of a number of combat Veterans. These recordings will be archived and preserved and made available to historians, researchers, and your family members through the Library of Congress.

The project is known as the Library of Congress Veterans History Project), and was started by Congress in 2000. You can learn more about the project on this website: http://www.loc.gov/vets

The Project is making its first “stop” in Dallas on April 21, 2012 – here are the details:

DATE: April 21, 2012

TIME: TBD

LOCATION: George Allen Court Building, 600 Commerce Street, Dallas, Texas (Specific Locations to be provided to Veterans who will participate in the project).

CONTACT FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Stephanie Moses: stephanie_moses@sbcglobal.net (214-653-7178)

Renee Carroll: rcarroll@swbell.net (214-653-7159)

Linda Kaiser: lmarptr@aol.com (469-767-9417)

I would personally like to encourage Veterans in Dallas to participate in this project. Many years ago, my grandfather participated in an oral history project (he was a Court Reporter in the US Senate for 20+ years). I have a copy of the recording and it is very nice to be able to go back and listen to his voice every now and again.

Thanks to the Texas Court Reporters Association, the State Bar of Texas, Texas Lawyers for Texas Veterans, the Dallas County Court Judges and their staff, and the Library of Congress, for their support of this project.

Veterans Disability Compensation: Win on behalf of client at Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims

Chris Attig — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 12:14:48 +0000

In February 2012, the Attig Law Firm, working together with the VA Office of General Counsel, succeeded in getting the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC) to vacate an erroneous BVA decision and remand the case to the BVA for correction of the BVA’s errors.

The case involved a Vietnam Veteran whose condition was caused by Agent Orange. Several years earlier, prior to this firm’s representation of the Veteran, the Veteran’s claim for service connection of his Agent Orange related condition was denied.

The Veteran secured new evidence in 2003, and sought to reopen his claim for the Agent Orange related condition, claiming (correctly) that the evidence was new and material. The evidence included the opinion of a VA Doctor that the Veteran’s condition was caused by Agent Orange.

The VA Regional Office and the BVA refused to reopen the claim, contending that while the evidence was new, it was not material.

The VARO and the BVA were wrong.

Material evidence is evidence that, by itself or when considered with previous evidence of record, relates to an unestablished fact necessary to the claim. For example, if your claim was denied because it was missing evidence of an injury in military service, and your new evidence relates to that missing element, the evidence is “material”.

The CAVC will review the BVA’s determination of whether the appellant has submitted new and material evidence to reopen a prior claim under the “clearly erroneous” standard of review. 38 U.S.C. § 7261(a)(4); Suaviso v. Nicholson, 19 Vet.App. 532, 533 (2006). “A factual finding ‘is “clearly erroneous” when although there is evidence to support it, the reviewing court on the entire evidence is left with the definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been committed.’ ” Hersey v. Derwinski, 2 Vet.App. 91, 94 (1992) (quoting United States v. U.S. Gypsum Co., 333 U.S. 364, 395 (1948)).

In this case, the VA Office of General Counsel agreed with Veteran’s attorney Chris Attig that the Veteran’s evidence was material, and that the BVA committed other errors in denying to reopen the Veteran’s claim. They entered a joint motion to vacate the BVA decision as to this part of the claim and remand it to the BVA to correct the errors in its decision.

Congrats to our Veteran on winning another battle in the war against the VA! He has worked with our Firm since 2008 while we knock down – one brick at a time – the wall that the VA has built between this Veteran and the benefits to which he is entitled.

Along the way, we have secured the following relief for the Veteran:

1) Service-connection for PTSD with 50% rating and 7 years past-due benefits (2009-2010).

2) BVA Remand of wrongly denied claims by the VA Regional Office (2010-2011).

3) CAVC Remand of wrongly denied claims by the BVA (2011-2012).

No post on this website is meant to be legal advice and the posts on this website do not serve as a substitute for legal advice. Information is power, and we are providing this information to give you, the Veteran, some power. This information is not widely or easily accessible to Veterans. The information presented on this website is a general description of law and processes; each case is different, and there may be approaches listed here that are not accurate or applicable to your case. Likewise, their may be information that is applicable to your case that is not provided on this Veterans Disability Compensation Blog.

It is very important that we note that each and every Veteran’s claim is different. Just because we were able to secure substantial past-due benefits for one Veteran does not mean or imply that we will be able to do so for you. In some cases, we may not be able to secure you any financial compensation due to the facts of your particular case.

It is best to consult with a lawyer familiar with VA Disability claims and benefits or a Veterans Service Organization to examine your particular case. If you would like to discuss your VA claim with a lawyer who handles VA Benefits and Disability Appeals in Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and all around the nation, contact the Attig Law Firm, PLLC, for a free consultation with a VA Benefits attorney.

The Attig Law Firm, PLLC, and VA benefits attorney Chris Attig, represents military Veterans in Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma (as well as all around the nation) before the VA Regional Office, the Board of Veterans Appeals (BVA) and the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC) in claims for disability compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Veterans Disability Benefits: Waco VA Regional Office pathetically understaffed – results in huge delays for Veterans seeking benefits.

Chris Attig — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 17:11:42 +0000

For years, attorneys that represent Veterans before the Waco VA Regional Office have noticed incredibly delayed turn-around times on DRO (Decision Review Officer) decisions.

The Waco VA Regional Office has said that the reasons for these delays are that Waco DROs are handling all the Nehmer claims for Agent Orange Ischemic Heart Disease benefits. They have also said that the Waco DROs are training new claims examiners. I have no idea if these facts are true. But does it matter?

Information received by the Attig Law Firm under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) shows that the Waco VA Regional Office is pathetically under-staffed as far as its DROs.

Congress has authorized the Waco VA Regional Office to have 31 DROs. Guess how many the Waco VA Regional Office actually has?

4! You read that right – four!

Four (4) DROs for the thousands (or tens of thousands) of claims piling up in Waco? Is that the best that Waco can do for Texas Veterans?

This is pathetic. Write your Congressman and ask them to have the Waco VA Regional Office explain why it can’t staff up its operation and get help to our Veterans quicker.

It is best to consult with a lawyer familiar with VA Disability claims and benefits or a Veterans Service Organization to examine your particular case. If you would like to discuss your VA claim with a lawyer who handles VA Benefits and Disability Appeals in Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and all around the nation, contact the Attig Law Firm, PLLC, for a free consultation with a VA Benefits attorney.

Veterans Disability Benefits: KARK TV in Little Rock reports on injustices at the Little Rock VA Regional Office.

Chris Attig — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 15:01:28 +0000

Thanks to KARK reporter Marci Manley for picking up this story about problems at the Little Rock VA Regional Office.

Click here to see Marci’s report

For those of us that represent Veterans before this Regional Office, we know all too well that the stories told by Veterans in this TV news report are more “the rule” than the “exception”.

While, in my opinion, the Little Rock Regional Office is not the worst VA Regional Office, it has more than its share of problems. Chief among these are its delays….long and unacceptable waits for Veterans in need of help.

Let me tell you about a couple experiences of clients of mine.

Client #1: Vietnam Veteran files his claim around 2002. After 6 years of fighting the Little Rock VA Regional Office, he hired the Attig Law Firm in November 2008. By July 2009, I convinced the VA to service-connect his PTSD – which was the result of his combat experiences in Vietnam. The irony is that the VA had all the information that I used to convince them to grant the claim in the Veteran’s Claims file for over 6 years! We are still fighting for this Veteran at the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims in Washington. Even with a VA Doctor opinion stating that another medical condition was caused by his exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam, the VA still refuses to grant his claim.

Client #2. Our client is the Veteran’s surviving spouse. Her husband, a Vietnam Veteran, filed his claim in 2001. After years of unsuccessfully fighting the VA for benefits, he died a couple years ago. The VA Regional Office and the BVA erred so many times that it was remanded back to the VA Regional Office by both the BVA (2008) and the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (2006). Now, his wife has picked up the fight. The case is at the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, currently, and we are attempting to get the VA General Counsel to agree to remand the case again to the VA Regional Office in Little Rock to fix their mistakes.

Client #3. Our client filed his claims in 2002. After 6 years of fighting the VA Regional Office in Little Rock, he hired the Attig Law Firm. We came on board while the case was at the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, and immediately got the case sent back to the BVA and the VA Regional Office to correct errors. As a result of our work, the Veteran received over $100,000 in past-due benefits for his claim. On top of that, because of our work, in 2011, the Veteran received TDIU retroactive to 2002 – because the Little Rock VA Regional Office failed to properly decide his claim 9 years earlier!

The VA Regional Office in Little Rock will delay and delay and delay if given the chance.

While my Firm can’t help every Veteran that files a claim in Arkansas, but there are a lot of attorneys that can help the Arkansas Veterans that we can’t. Contact us to see if we can help with your VA disability benefits claim in Arkansas, or if we can get you a referral to another Veterans disability benefits attorney.

It is best to consult with a lawyer familiar with VA Disability claims and benefits or a Veterans Service Organization to examine your particular case. If you would like to discuss your VA claim with a lawyer who handles VA Benefits and Disability Appeals in Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and all around the nation, contact the Attig Law Firm, PLLC, for a free consultation with a VA Benefits attorney.

Veterans Disability Benefits: The slow pace of the VA’s Regional Office in Waco, Texas.

Chris Attig — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 12:46:05 +0000

No post on this website is meant to be legal advice and the posts on this website do not serve as a substitute for legal advice. Information is power, and we are providing this information to give you, the Veteran, some power. This information is not widely or easily accessible to Veterans. The information presented on this website is a general description of law and processes; each case is different, and there may be approaches listed here that are not accurate or applicable to your case. Likewise, their may be information that is applicable to your case that is not provided on this Veterans Disability Compensation Blog.

Anyone veteran or veterans’ advocate working with the Waco VA Regional Office knows that it is taking an incredibly long time to process claims.

My Firm has several cases before the Waco VA Regional Office right now. Here are some of the wait times my clients have experienced; I’ve used these cases as examples because they are the “straightforward”cases where there is no reason that the VA should be denying part or all of the claims.

Client #1. This client is the surviving spouse of Vietnam Veteran who died of his Agent Orange related illnesses in 2009. Surviving spouse filed claim for survivor’s benefits in September 2009. Client received full denial in April 2010. After a timely Notice of Disagreement, a DRO Hearing was finally scheduled and held in December 2011. After the DRO promised a full grant of accrued benefits and DIC by the end of December 2011, no action has been taken on the case in 3 months.

Client #2. This client is the victim of a Military Sexual Trauma. The initial claim was filed in May 2009 and denied by the VA in May 2010. After a timely Notice of Disagreement the VA scheduled a DRO Hearing for December 2010. The hearing was cancelled so that the Veteran could have a C&P (Compensation and Pension Exam in January 2011). In the 13 months since January 2011, the file has sat on the DRO’s desk and no decision has been written.

Client #3: This client, a Vietnam Veteran, filed a claim to reopen his claim in November 2008. The VA denied the claim in November 2009. After a timely Notice of Disagreement, the VA scheduled a DRO Hearing for July 2011. The Veteran has submitted additional new and material evidence to support a grant of benefits, but has heard nothing from the VA in the 7 months since July 2011.

Client #4: This client, a Vietnam-era Veteran who was exposed to Agent Orange while serving on the Korean DMZ during the Vietnam War, filed his claim in December 2009, which the VA quickly denied by April 2010. After submitting a timely Notice of Disagreement, the VA did nothing until this past week, when it set a DRO hearing for April 2012.

Client #5: This client, a Vietnam Veteran, submitted his claim in August 2008, which the VA denied by October 2008. This Veteran was never given a DRO Hearing, instead it took nearly 3.5 years for the BVA to set a hearing in his case. That BVA hearing is set for April 2012.

A couple of themes from the above:

1) The Waco VA Regional Office denies claims very quickly.

2) The Waco VA Regional Office takes years to simply schedule a DRO hearing.

3) After the DRO Hearing, the Waco VA Regional Office sits on the cases and appears to take no action – in some cases, for over a year.

I have been told that the Waco VA Regional Office has some really good excuses why it is no longer issuing DRO decisions.

One employee told me that the Waco VA Regional Office was handling the back-log of “Nehmer” cases – reviews of claims files to select the proper effective date for Vietnam Veterans with ischemic heart disease due to Agent Orange exposure.

I’ve been told that the Waco VA Regional Office has pulled all of its DROs off their work reviewing files and writing DRO decisions to train several dozen new claims examiners. If this is true, then these new claims examiners have gotten over one (1) year of training in Waco.

Who knows why the Waco VA Regional Office is taking so long to issue DRO decisions and move perfected appeals to the BVA for hearing scheduling. Maybe its time for the Waco VA Regional Office leadership to step up and ask for help. Maybe it is time for the VA Office of Inspector General to come down to Waco and see what is going on there.

I don’t know what is going on at Waco, but I will say that if you are a Veteran trying to recover compensation for the injuries and diseases that resulted from your military service, it will take Waco VA Regional Office years to make key decisions in your case.

It is best to consult with a lawyer familiar with VA Disability claims and benefits or a Veterans Service Organization to examine your particular case. If you would like to discuss your VA claim with a lawyer who handles VA Benefits and Disability Appeals in Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and all around the nation, contact the Attig Law Firm, PLLC, for a free consultation with a VA Benefits attorney.

Veterans Benefits: Congress hears testimony on abuses and problems in VA Fiduciary Program.

Chris Attig — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 13:57:38 +0000

I posted recently about the colossal failure that is the VA’s Fiduciary Program. It’s time to start clamoring for change about this process, and two Veterans’ advocates have taken a tremendous step in that direction. It is because of their efforts over the last couple of years that this issue has stayed in the public eye (once they tell me its okay to mention their names, I will post them here).

Take for example the case of Houston attorney Joe Phillips and his wife. This “fiduciary” is currently pending a federal criminal trial in Houston for allegedly scheming (with his wife) to steal over $2 million from the bank accounts of the Veterans whose finances they were to manage. This scheme is alleged to have started in 2003 – meaning it took the VA and the Dept. of Justice over 8 years to audit the fiduciary, identify the alleged fraud, and charge these individuals for their alleged malfeasance. Read the story here on the Department of Justice website.

On February 9, 2012, the U.S. House of Representative’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations (O&I) held an oversight hearing entitled, “Reforming VA’s Flawed Fiduciary System.” The VA’s approximately 95,000 appointed fiduciaries manage over $3 billion in payments made to more than 100,000 of our nation’s veterans and their dependents. Read the transcripts of the hearing testimony by clicking this link.

Here’s a link to an article about the testimony from the website of the U.S House of Representative’s Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.

But, a little disheartening is that most of the same themes from 2012 were put before the U.S. House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee in 2010: read that testimony by clicking this link.

What is the VA’s Fiduciary Program all about? Read this post to hear, very generally, what’s going on.

Here are some links to stories of problems in the VA Fiduciary Program:

1) Joe Phillips, a Houston attorney, and his wife. This “fiduciary” is currently pending a federal criminal trial in Houston for allegedly scheming (with his wife) to steal over $2 million from the bank accounts of the Veterans whose finances they were to manage. This scheme is alleged to have started in 2003 – meaning it took the VA and the Dept. of Justice over 8 years to audit the fiduciary, identify the alleged fraud, and charge these individuals for their alleged malfeasance. Read the story here on the Department of Justice website.

2) Read about this Central Texas Veteran whose family had to pawn their possessions because the VA’s appointed “fiduciary” appears to refuse to communicate with the Veteran and refuses to provide the money the Veteran needs to take care of himself: Veteran’s Family Asking About Their Money.

3) Read about this Florida Veteran whose fiduciaries are taking a percentage of all of his money – not just his VA benefits. Vets lose benefits as VA covers up mistake.

4) Read about this Tennessee Veteran whose fiduciary allegedly embezzled over $100,000 in money from the Veteran and the Veteran’s estate: Surviving Family members fight for Memphis Veteran’s Benefits.

5) Read about how the VA appointed a convicted felon (!) to manage this Veteran’s money. VA Hires Convicted Felon to Manage this Veteran’s Money.

It is my opinion that the VA Fiduciary Program needs to be gutted completely. Why? There is a process under every state’s guardianship law for every Veteran. This process involves the Veterans’ family, is managed and audited by the state court, and ensures that the Veteran’s physical, medical and other needs are being met (something that the VA’s Fidiciary program falls woefully short on).

Here is what should happen to effectuate change in the VA:

1) States should pass laws regulating the conduct of individuals who serve as fiduciaries of that state’s veterans. These laws should include the appointment of special prosecutors at the state and county level to investigate and prosecute fraud, embezzlement, theft, etc., of Veteran’s money and property. The Attig Law Firm is in the process of drafting Model Legislation for States to use. Please contact Attorney Chris Attig if you would like to join this effort or receive updates on this effort.

2) Veterans should challenge the VA’s appointment of any fiduciary that they do not know – immediately! In a 2011 Decision issued by the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Freeman v. Shinseki - argued by friends of the Attig Law Firm and attorneys Katrina Eagle and Doug Rosinski), the court found that Veterans should have an opportunity to file an appeal of the VA’s appointment of a fiduciary. (This is going to be hard because in many cases the VA doesn’t tell the Veteran that they appointed a fiduciary and emptied the bank accounts of the Veteran until months later). How does the Veteran challenge the decision? File a Notice of Disagreement with the VA Regional Office just as you would for your disability compensation appeals.

3) Veterans should contact attorneys in their geographical area to ask for help ensuring that the Fiduciary has complied with their own State laws involving the VA Fiduciary’s Duties to the Veteran. In many cases, state law provides avenues to take the Fiduciary to State Court and sue in civil court for damages if the VA Fiduciary is mismanaging a Veteran’s money or has breached a VA fiduciary duty to the Veteran. (If you are in the DFW area, contact the Attig Law Firm and we will discuss with you whether or not we will be able to assist you in investigating your VA Appointed Fiduciary – unfortunately, we are not able to assist Veterans with Fiduciary issues outside the DFW Metroplex at this time. We are working to build a referral network of attorneys outside DFW that are able to assist in these cases, and maybe able to refer you to an attorney in your area, so shoot us an email anyway: vetlaw@attiglawfirm.com

4) If you feel that your fiduciary is stealing money from a Veteran – contact your City and County District Attorney’s Office. If that doesn’t work, contact your States’ Attorney General’s Office. If that doesn’t work, contact your State legislators. If that doesn’t work, contact your Federal legislators. Keep reaching out to these folks until someone answers and helps investigates whether your VA Fiduciary has committed a criminal act or act(s).

5) Everyone should contact their Federal legislators and ask them to hold hearings into the abuses visited on Veterans by these “fiduciaries”. Only through these hearings will the legislative needs of our Veterans become clear.

It is best to consult with a lawyer familiar with VA Disability claims and benefits or a Veterans Service Organization to examine your particular case. If you would like to discuss your VA claim with a lawyer who handles VA Benefits and Disability Appeals in Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and all around the nation, contact the Attig Law Firm, PLLC, for a free consultation with a VA Benefits attorney.

The Attig Law Firm, PLLC, and VA benefits attorney Chris Attig, represents military Veterans in Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma (as well as all around the nation) before the VA Regional Office, the Board of Veterans Appeals (BVA) and the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC)in claims for disability compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs.