thedrifter
09-17-07, 02:44 PM
Lawyers offer free help to disabled vets
By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Sunday Sep 16, 2007 8:59:17 EDT
Veterans seeking answers to questions about disability claims can get free help next week from lawyers donating their time.
As part of the “When Duty Calls” program, the law office of Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice will help veterans with the initial stages of their disability claims filed with the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Having proper documentation, as well as an understanding of how the process works, can shorten the amount of time it takes a claim to go through. According to congressional testimony in March, initial claims take between 127 and 177 days to be processed. And it’s important to get everything right the first time: Claims appeals take an average of 657 days to be processed.
VA has a backlog of about 600,000 disability claims.
Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice also will work to recruit licensed attorneys in the District of Columbia, Northern Virginia, Delaware and Maryland, and then train them to provide pro bono help in preparing and submitting claims.
The firm will offer the free clinic for veterans from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 18, at 1401 Eye St. NW, 7th Floor, in Washington, D.C. For more information, call (202) 467-6900.
Ellie
By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Sunday Sep 16, 2007 8:59:17 EDT
Veterans seeking answers to questions about disability claims can get free help next week from lawyers donating their time.
As part of the “When Duty Calls” program, the law office of Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice will help veterans with the initial stages of their disability claims filed with the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Having proper documentation, as well as an understanding of how the process works, can shorten the amount of time it takes a claim to go through. According to congressional testimony in March, initial claims take between 127 and 177 days to be processed. And it’s important to get everything right the first time: Claims appeals take an average of 657 days to be processed.
VA has a backlog of about 600,000 disability claims.
Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice also will work to recruit licensed attorneys in the District of Columbia, Northern Virginia, Delaware and Maryland, and then train them to provide pro bono help in preparing and submitting claims.
The firm will offer the free clinic for veterans from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 18, at 1401 Eye St. NW, 7th Floor, in Washington, D.C. For more information, call (202) 467-6900.
Ellie