Archives for April 2017

What kind of compensation can a veteran expect to receive? (Video)

April 28, 2017 by

Transcript:

The compensation goes anywhere from $0 to about $3,000 a month. It depends on the degree of the injury the veteran had or the illness the veteran had which is related to his service. The key is to connect the condition, whatever medical condition it is, whether it’s physical or mental, to service. It’s called service connection. A veteran who is unable to work can obtain the maximum benefit because of his inability to work. The benefit will vary anywhere from, as I said $0. A minor condition, for example, could be approximately $300 a month, or it could be $500 – $600. Sometimes it’s between $1,000 and $2,000 a month. Again, it depends on the amount or the degree of the injury or the medical condition that’s involved. I recently settled a claim that brought the veteran $140,000 in back pay. He also is getting approximately $3,000 a month, every month, probably for the rest of his life. That’s because of a condition that we were finally able to connect it to service, causing the veteran to be unable to work. Don’t give up on your claim. The claims are valuable and it could mean the difference between living a good life and living a less than desirable condition.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

At what point should a veteran apply for benefits? (Video)

April 21, 2017 by

Transcript:

A simple answer to that is right away because a veteran cannot obtain benefits until he applies. The application itself has to be filed and has to be recorded by the Veteran’s Administration as having been filed. A veteran should make sure his application is filed as soon as possible. The best thing to do is to one of the Veteran Service Organizations, Disabled Veterans of America, and they will help a veteran file. They will also help the veteran to determine what conditions to file for. If the claim is denied, that’s the time a veteran should be seeking professional advice. For the initial application the veteran should, in my opinion, go to one of the Veteran Service Organizations and get their application on file as soon as possible.

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How Much Will a Houston Social Security Disability Lawyer Charge?

April 19, 2017 by

Getting Social Security disability benefits is more than just filing paperwork; you’ll need to file a claim proving to the Social Security Administration (SSA) that you should be getting benefits. While an attorney is not mandatory, whether to help you file the claim or represent an appeal at a hearing, getting an experienced and professional Social Security disability attorney in Houston can provide many benefits.

How Much Will a Houston Social Security Disability Lawyer Charge? | Herren Law

From making sure that you understand the SSA’s processes to having a leading attorney who’ll diligently fight for your benefits, Houston Social Security disability attorney William Herren will carefully listen to your case and, if we take you on as a client, we’ll work with you, one-on-one, until you’re able to receive your SSD benefits. In fact, all work is done on a contingency basis, and we don’t get paid unless we win your case. For a free, no-obligation consultation regarding your SSD claim, call Herren Law in Houston today at (713) 682-8194.

In the meantime, continue reading to learn more about how much a Social Security disability lawyer might charge.

What is a Contingency Fee Agreement

Social Security attorneys, including us at Herren Law in Houston, work “on contingency.” This means that we’ll only collect a fee if we win your disability claim. No matter if you are applying for SSDI benefits or SSI disability benefits, the fee for legal representation is regulated by the Social Security Administration and by Congress.

In essence, once you hire a Social Security disability attorney, you will sign a fee agreement that allows the Social Security Administration (SSA) to pay your attorney if your claim is approved. Therefore, if you and your SSD lawyer win your case, the SSA will pay your attorney (with money taken from your benefits) based on the specifics detailed in the fee agreement.

Fee Agreements and Fee Petitions

Remember, fees for Social Security disability attorneys are set by the government, and you do not pay attorney fees unless we recover compensation for you. By law, the Social Security disability fees are limited to 25% of the past-due benefits you are awarded, up to a maximum of $6,000. Whether before filing the claim or after getting benefits, your Social Security lawyer must submit the attorney fees and costs to the SSA for approval. When you choose an attorney, you may be asked to sign an SSA-1696 form, which designates the attorney as your chosen representative. You may also be asked to sign a medical release form and a fee agreement.

After the case, you don’t have to worry about paying the attorney, as in most cases, the SSA takes the entire lawyer’s fee (up to $6,000) from your first disability check before the agency sends the check to you.

How is Disability Backpay Calculated

The fees paid to the attorney come out of the applicant’s past-due benefits, also known as “backpay.” The SSA calculates the actual amount of backpay awarded after you are approved for benefits, and this backpay includes retroactive benefits owed from the date you were approved back to the month after you applied for benefits (for a maximum of 12 months back from the date of your application).

For instance, imagine the SSA calculates a backpay of $10,000. Now, remember, the maximum your attorney can receive is 25% up to $6,000. In this example, your attorney will be paid $2,500 and you will receive $7,500 of backpay.

It is important to also note that, during the course of representation, there may be some out-of-pocket costs. For example, to win your case, the attorney may need to acquire the claimant’s medical, school, work records, and occasionally medical or psychological examinations; these can be expensive. The client may have to pay these costs out-of-pocket (i.e., separate from the attorney’s fee), but it would be unusual in most instances for these costs to exceed two hundred dollars per case.

Contact SSD Attorney William Herren Today

When injured or suffering an illness that prevents you from working, the Social Security Administration’s disability benefits can be critical to keeping your bills paid and keeping your health maintained. As such, when considering disability benefits with the SSA, you can highly benefit from having an experienced and expert SSD and SSI attorney at your side. For a free, no-obligation consultation with attorney William Herren in Houston, call Herren Law today at (713) 682-8194.

Filed Under: Social Security Disability Tagged With: , ,

What advice can you give to someone applying for long term disability? (Video)

April 14, 2017 by

Transcript:

Long term disability is insurance which is usually obtained through the employer. The best advice for a person applying for long term disability is to obtain help as soon as possible. The reason is that the insurance adjustors, even though they appear to be friendly, they are not your friend. Don’t deal with them on your own.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

How a Veterans Disability Lawyer in Houston Can Help

April 12, 2017 by

When filing a claim with the Veteran’s Affairs, we at Herren Law advise the benefits of having an experienced and professional veterans disability lawyer who’s mission is to help disabled veterans win maximum benefits for their total disability claim. As an experienced veterans disability lawyer in Houston, attorney William Herren has helped numerous veterans, just like you, win disability benefits from an injury or illness acquired while in active duty with the U.S. military, whether Army, Navy, Coast Guard, Marines, or Air Force.

How a Veterans Disability Lawyer in Houston Can Help | Herren Law

We work on a contingency basis, meaning that you won’t pay a thing unless we win your case. Although a disability lawyer isn’t mandatory when filing a claim, appealing a denial, or representing your case in front of the VA, there are many fundamental benefits that your attorney can offer. Below, you’ll discover some of the ways that a veterans disability lawyer in Houston can help, but in the meantime, you can speak directly with our Houston veterans disability law firm by calling (800) 529-7707 for a free consultation.

Why Success Rates Improve With a Veterans Disability Lawyer in Houston

Remember, having an experienced veterans disability lawyer is not mandatory, but keeping a leading attorney on your side who can help you traverse the claim filing and hearing process can be crucial to getting you the benefits you deserve.

In general, when filing with or without an attorney, an applicant must wait about 6 months before receiving a decision from a VA Regional Office (VARO) in Houston regarding a claim for service-connected compensation. If the claim is denied, the appeals process at the local VARO level can take another six months to two years before the case moves to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (BVA) in Washington, DC. Once there, the process can take another two years, while delays at the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims can take yet another two years. In some cases, the veteran can spend 10 years or more waiting for VA to make the right decision.

This is definitely an extremely long time to wait, and for this reason alone, it can be helpful to get an attorney on your side to streamline the process while giving you the most benefit and legal counsel before appeals and hearings. Furthermore, the average denial rate in front of the BVA is about 24 percent, while veterans represented by an attorney have an average denial rate of about 17.7 percent. Also, veterans with representation are among the most likely to have their appeals allowed with a 30 percent success rate.

What a Veterans Disability Lawyer Will Do For You

The success rate for your claim can improve by having an experienced and knowledgeable (and VA-certified!) attorney at your side. But what exactly will a veterans disability attorney do for you? Well, that answer is simple: your attorney will zealously advocate on your behalf. Your attorney will also answer any claim-related questions you may have and help you understand and obtain the evidence you need to support your claim.

How a Veterans Disability Lawyer in Houston Can Help | Herren LawFurthermore, with extensive experience helping veterans just like you, we at Herren Law in Houston can analyze your entire VA claim history while assessing the best and most efficient path to getting the disability benefits you deserve, including both the benefits you know about as well as those you don’t.

Your attorney will also assist you during sworn testimonies in front of the VA, whether at the VARO level or even the BVA level. Among other things, your attorney can also help seeking out vocational experts to provide expert opinions while setting up independent medical exams in support of your case.

Your Attorney and Contesting VA Findings

In addition to the above elements, your veterans disability benefits attorney will also be essential in contesting the Veteran’s Affairs findings. Without an attorney, it becomes incrementally more complex to contest the VA findings without an expert. According to the law, your local VA office (whether VARO or BVA) must treat the veteran without an attorney just as they would treat a veteran with an attorney, but in practice, it makes sense to have an attorney who can scrutinize the VA’s decisions and litigate a vigorous appeal. For instance, the veteran can submit written questions to the VA’s physicians to obtain information about their findings and assessments, and VA medical examiners must consider presumptive and direct theories of service connection.

Contact Veterans Disability Attorney William Herren in Houston Today!

The veterans disability process can be quite complex, although it can be sympathetic to claimants. For the most part, it’s absolutely essential to include all of the necessary information and documents in your claim; without a full and comprehensive claim, there’s a higher chance of a denial and increased waiting to possibly receive your disability benefits later on.

To get a complete picture about how Houston veterans disability attorney William Herren can help, you can take advantage of our free consultations and call us today! Call now at (800) 529-7707 or (713) 682-8194.

Filed Under: Veterans Disability Tagged With: , ,

Hiring a VA-Certified Veterans Disability Lawyer

April 5, 2017 by

When applying for disability benefits through the Department of Veteran’s Affairs (VA), it’s important to be prepared for a long and frustrating process. For this reason alone, you should highly consider having an experienced veterans disability lawyer in Houston to help you navigate the VA disability claims processes so that you can reduce the number of headaches and complications.

Although a veterans disability lawyer cannot speed up the process, the legal assistance you’d receive from an attorney can help ease the process while fighting to get you more of the benefits that you’re entitled to.

Hiring a VA-Certified Veterans Disability Lawyer in Houston TX

At Herren Law, Houston veterans disability lawyer William Herren is VA-certified, and whether you applied for disability benefits and received a denial letter and intend to file an appeal, or you need a discharge upgrade to qualify for VA benefits, we at Herren Law have the experience and legal know-how to diligently represent your claim and vigorously fight for the benefits you deserve.

For a free, no-obligation consultation with attorney Herren, call our Houston law firm today at (800) 529-7707.

How to Find the Right Veterans Disability Lawyer for Your Case

As a general piece of advice, you should only choose a VA-certified veterans disability lawyer who can provide you with top-level legal representation. At the same time, you should always consider the benefits of acquiring an attorney who will fully represent your interests. To better help in your search finding a veterans disability lawyer, there are two questions you should always ask, including:

  1. Is the veterans disability attorney VA-certified?

⁃ At Herren Law, Houston veterans disability attorney Bill Herren is VA-accredited with accreditation number 9806 and POA Code 48G. Attorney Herren is also admitted to practice before the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC).

2. How long has the attorney been practicing veterans law?

⁃ Attorney William Herren has over 30 years of experience, and we’ve helped over 4000 people with their disability claims, including veterans disability claims.

In addition to these questions, you should make sure that your attorney will help you get the earliest effective date possible for benefits. Your attorney should also help you get the highest possible rating for your disability. Lastly, veterans disability law is quite broad, and it’s important to have an attorney experienced in a wide variety of claims. For instance, at Herren Law, we can help veterans with the following military-related injuries, including but not limited to:

This list is not all-inclusive, and keep in mind that if you don’t see your condition here, you may still qualify for benefits. Call Herren Law in Houston to see if you have a case.

When to Call Your VA-Certified Veterans Disability Lawyer

You can acquire a veterans disability lawyer at any point in the claims process, whether you’re organizing the documentation or appealing a denial. On average, about 70% of veterans disability claims are denied, and so it’s likely that you may need to appeal that denial with an experienced attorney at your side (not mandatory, but highly advised). Furthermore, although we at Herren Law are located right in Houston, we work at a federal level and can represent clients from all over the United States.

Hiring a VA-Certified Veterans Disability Lawyer in Houston TX

How Much Might a Veterans Disability Lawyer Cost

One of the first questions that we hear from potential clients is, “How much will a veterans disability lawyer cost me to represent my case.” Well, attorney William Herren works on a contingency basis, meaning that you won’t owe a thing unless we win your case. Furthermore, attorney fees for representing a veteran before VA, the Board of Veterans Appeals, and Court are determined by law (see 38 U.S.C. § 5904 and 38 C.F.R. § 14.636). Additionally, all agreements for the payment of fees for attorneys must be in writing and signed by both the claimant and the attorney.

Contact Herren Law in Houston TX

At Herren Law, our mission is to help you obtain your veterans disability benefits in a timely, stress-free manner. As such, when taking on your case, we’ll work closely with you, one-on-one, and carefully listen to your case, your service in the military, and the disability you obtained due to that service. Afterward, we will thoroughly investigate the details of the case and your claim with the VA, and represent those interests at every stage of the VA disability benefits process. For a free, no-obligation consultation with attorney Herren, call our Houston law firm today at (800) 529-7707.

Filed Under: Veterans Disability Tagged With: , ,
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