Our mission is to help veterans and their families understand and successfully pursue their legal rights and successfully pursue their rightful benefits. There are two branches to this group.
- Disability Claims and Appeals
Many veterans with service-related disabilities often have claims either denied or assigned a lower percentage rating than the facts of the case warrant. There is help: Our Attorneys and Government Benefits Specialists will coordinate with a veteran's medical team and navigate the bureaucracy of the VA on your behalf. Our team members will use their experience with the bureaucracy of the Department of Veterans Affairs, as well as their industry contacts, to navigate the rules and regulations to more effectively advocate on behalf of veterans. We help veterans avoid delays and mistakes, and work to ensure the best appeal possible.
VA regulations require the Department to provide benefits to those who have been injured while in military service. Service Connection is the common term for these benefits. The injury or illness does not have to be caused by combat. To count as a Service Connection-eligible injury, it only needs to be incurred while on active service or under military orders.
Compensation benefits are paid monthly. The benefit depends on the level of severity of the disability. The VA assigns the severity a "percentage disabled" number called the disability rating. Amounts paid can range from $123 to $2,673 per month -- or more if very severe conditions exist. This is not an income-based benefit. We encourage any veteran who believes he or she has an injury from their service to apply for disability compensation, especially since there is typically no statute of limitations for these claims.
The Secretary of Veterans Affairs has recently established a service connection for Vietnam Veterans with three specific illnesses based on the latest evidence of an association with the herbicides referred to as "Agent Orange." The illnesses are B cell leukemias (such as hair cell leukemia), Parkinson's disease, and ischemic heart disease. Veterans who served in Vietnam during the war and who have a "presumed" illness don't have to prove an association between their illnesses and their military service: this simplifies and speeds up the application process for benefits.
- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Sometimes disabilities are visible to all. But there are also times where pain is hidden dee inside. The stress of combat can linger for years before any problems are apparent. One of the most common diagnoses of combat veterans is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Compensation can be paid for PTSD, but the veteran must take the initiative by filing a claim for benefits.
Older Veterans
The VA has a little-known program called Pension with Aid and Attendance – only 4 percent of eligible beneficiaries receive this monthly benefit for Veterans of Foreign Wars who are over age 65 and in need of long-term care.
If a veteran has served at least ninety days of active military service, one day of which was during wartime, and has an honorable discharge, the veteran and their spouse may be eligible for this benefit. Aid & Attendance benefits can total as much as $2,471 per month plus medical services, so for veterans over 65 who need long-term care, either in an assisted living facility or in-home nursing care, this benefit can make a real financial difference.
This benefit is related to the veteran’s dates of service, not the length of service or whether the veteran retired from the military. It is a needs-based benefit paid to qualifying veterans with low incomes and/or high medical costs. There is also a pension benefit for surviving spouses. Amounts payable to widows are not as great as veterans’ benefits, but can greatly assist widows who need assistance.
Because the veteran's Social Security benefits impact the rate of pension and other monthly benefits, our VA and SSA specialists work together to ensure veterans and their families get the fullest benefits possible.
A Trusted Team of Benefits Specialists
Our team not only has experience in veterans' issues and government benefits, but also, with Attorneys versed in elder law and civil litigation, pursues legal remedies from a position of strength and integrity. Our Attorneys and Benefits Specialists tap a wealth of experience and industry contacts to advocate on behalf of veterans, whether they served 40 years or 4 days ago.
Miles J. Murphy, III, Attorney, with more than 24 years of experience in Family Law, Civil Litigation, Commercial Law, Personal Injury, and Insurance Subrogation.
Miles is also a certified VA Attorney and is a member of the National Organization of Social Security Claimants' Representatives (NOSSCR).
Brian J. Plachta, Attorney, with more than 25 years of experience in Business, Corporate, Estate Planning, Probate, Elder, and Real Estate Law.
Richard J. Cross, Government Benefits Specialist,
with more than 30 years of experience as a Social Security claims
representative and VA eligibility service officer. Richard is also a Vietnam veteran and VA eligibility service officer, Richard now specializes on SSA and VA disability appeals on behalf of private clients.
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