FAQ's
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the cost to hire your firm?
We are able to serve most of our clients on a contingency fee basis, which means you pay no money up front, and we don’t charge any fees if we don’t win your case. Our fee is typically taken out of past due benefits. So, if you first filed your claim two years ago, and we get VA to award you benefits going back that far, our fee would be a percentage of the increased compensation VA awards you for that period of time. All future benefits are yours to keep.
What percent of cases do you win?
We do not keep win / loss statistics because winning and losing with VA is not always cut and dry. Because we typically work on contingency, we do not get paid unless you win. If we open your file, that means we believe you have a strong case, and we will fight to get you every benefit you deserve. While there are similarities between some kinds of cases, every VA disability case comes with its own unique fact pattern. Sometimes we open a case, and after we review the medical records, we discover it is not as strong a case as we originally thought. It is our job to keep you informed at all points in the development of your case. Sometimes, a case can be won incrementally. For example, one client was fighting for service-connected benefits for his irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). VA initially said the IBS was not related to service. We appealed. VA issued a new decision which recognized the client’s condition began during service, but VA did not consider all his current symptoms when assigning a rating. We filed a second appeal to get him the maximum possible rating based on his symptoms. We will keep fighting for you until we either win everything possible or determine there is nothing left to win.
Do I need to hire an attorney near me?
The short answer is, NO. We have a virtual practice, and can represent clients in all 50 states, any territory, and even eligible claimants living overseas. We use video conferencing, telephone calls, emails, and a combination of electronic documents and snail mail to communicate with clients. We can upload necessary documents to VA electronically, or mail, and fax them. With the Appeals Modernization and Improvement Act (AMA), VA now pushes all claims at the Regional Office level through the National Work Que – meaning a claim that was filed by a veteran living in New York, may be decided by the Seattle Regional Office, depending on the work level and staffing at the various offices. There is no reason to be in the same city or even state as the Regional Office processing your claim. This provides the most choice of counsel to the clients, who can select a representative from anywhere in the country.