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Legal/Military question: WHY?


Widder, SASS #59054

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Why does a Marine with health issues possibly caused by contaminated water at Camp Lejeune, need any

legal representation to obtain medical care and/or compensation?

 

Why should a service member share what may be due them to anyone in the legal profession?

 

EDIT:  Can't the service member just go thru the VA and receive what they might be eligible without going thru some

lengthy legal system?

 

..........Widder

 

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Just go to the VA.  If  there's a denial, that's another subject.

 

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Depends on SM's medical condition some may warrant a larger then offered settlement . The VA isnt our friend  .  Just wait until the USS Nimitz and Lincoln water issues with fuel in it for 10 days  come to court, Or part of the  reason MCAS ElToro was shut down and nothing built  with leaking agent orange  that was buried there . 
 then Lets see the Hawaiian Red hill fuel that was made with pcv sewer pipe that busted into Hawaiis water , 

 

Thirsty anyone   ? 

EB6F1008-3F0A-4710-924D-A99C78080408.jpeg

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to make it short , the VA is NOT your friend , 

 

 I have been going around with them for almost 40 years , I have proven their errors , 

 

 BUT , I am still getting jacked around , reckon , I riled up , some self important peon 

 

 just proves they can NOT be trusted , 

 

  Chickasaw Bill 

 

  if they can live with what they do , I will find a way to live without em 

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I succeeded in my claim against the VA even though I waited 19 years to make it (like an idiot).  Many "advocates" exist out there to try to help you with a claim.  I didn't use any of them but many offered to help.  I am a lawyer in real life, but I know zilch about the VA other than my own experience.  I'm sure there are people who have complicated cases who would want to have an attorney.

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Like Lawman Mark said, the ads are not about getting you medical care. It's the cash settlement they are after so they can get a big chunk of it.

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I have a question. How many of these attorney firms advertising on TV are accepting their services "pro bono"?   I would be willing to bet - NONE

 so I will not disparage the whole class of attorneys, but they only go for the money as a group.

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6 minutes ago, Muleshoe Bill SASS #67022 said:

I have a question. How many of these attorney firms advertising on TV are accepting their services "pro bono"?   I would be willing to bet - NONE

 so I will not disparage the whole class of attorneys, but they only go for the money as a group.

 

I practiced law for 44 years, much of it on the defense side of claims. I loved the profession, and I helped a lot of people, and I charged fees for it. It's how I made my living. Similar to many other trades and professions. Physicians, for instance, make money on the injuries, sicknesses, and miseries of people. How can they do that with a clear conscience?

 

(I know nothing of LeJune except what I see in my spam.)

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15 hours ago, Widder, SASS #59054 said:

Why does a Marine with health issues possibly caused by contaminated water at Camp Lejeune, need any

legal representation to obtain medical care and/or compensation?

 

Why should a service member share what may be due them to anyone in the legal profession?

 

EDIT:  Can't the service member just go thru the VA and receive what they might be eligible without going thru some

lengthy legal system?

 

..........Widder

 

 

Perhaps I can offer some insight. While I am still licensed as an attorney in the State of Ohio, I am not practicing law. Instead, I work as a County Veteran Service Officer. To answer your first question, VA healthcare and VA compensation are two different things. Literally, they are two different parts of the VA. VHA (Healthcare) and VBA (Benefits). Benefits is what service connected disability compensation falls under.

 

A veteran can file for healthcare without receiving service connected disability, and it is rated on a tiered system, depending on a number of factors including income, type of service, and other things.

 

In regard to service connected disability, there is no need to utilize an attorney to file a claim. There are Veteran Service Offices in every state. Most states have them in every county. We are trained and accredited to file claims with the VA, and we do not charge for the service. If a veteran, or soon to be veteran has a disability (that is, an existing injury or illness that was caused or aggravated by service), we file the claim, and follow up with appeals to a certain level, before passing it off.

Are there reasons to go to an attorney, as in the case of the Camp Lejeune issue? Well, IF the veteran has one of the presumptive illnesses, and believes he doesn't have a lot of time left before passing, then he might want to play the odds and go with the class action, which is what I understand these cases to be. For a veteran who does have years ahead, the VA claim seems the wiser choice. If a payout is made through the courts, even if the veteran is rated for a disability, the veteran is likely not going to receive any compensation payment until the amount of the award is paid back. For example, using round numbers, if the veteran were to be due $1000 per month for disability and got a $50,000 award, the VA is not paying the veteran the $1000 for 51 months, the amount of time it takes to pay back the payout. Oh, that's despite the attorney taking 1/3 of the $50K.

 

Finally, families who were at Lejeune who suffer specific health issues are eligible for free healthcare (not monetary compensation). So, while this can be done through a VSO for free, doing so through an attorney would cost money.

 

It's late and I'm tired, but I think I got that all correct. If I see errors tomorrow, I will make sure to make appropriate corrections.

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Up until recently the parties that caused the problem and failed to fix it could not be sued. This is because it was our own government that was at fault and it is shielded by tort laws.

 

It took an act of congress and a class action lawsuit to finally get the law changed so that those harmed by the contamination could receive compensation from the government. Until the law was changed the government was under no obligation to treat those harmed and couldn't be sued for the harm they caused.

 

The lawsuit covers much more than the marines stationed there, It covers their families, contractors and civilians living in the area. The short story is this is no different than the Love Canal, Times Beach, the Hinkley California Contamination that the movie Erin Brokovich was about, and many others where an entity knowingly contaminated the environment and then failed to accept responsibility for their actions.

 

Consider that the time frame covers 34 years from 1953 to 1987. Through government negligence untold numbers of people have suffered from debilitating illness including many forms of cancer, birth defects, and other chronic illnesses.

How many families lost their husband, wife or children because of government negligence. Having the tab for your cancer treatment covered by the VA doesn't begin to address the pain and suffering you and your family had to endure. How would you feel if your child was born with a congenital birth defect that they likely wouldn't have had if the government had built the water supply system correctly. The VA is not going to pick up the tab for the hundreds of thousands of dollars that will come out of your families pocket to cover the costs that come along with having to raise a child that may never play catch, attend prom, walk down the isle or give you grandchildren to spoil.. 

 

Like it or not lawsuits like this are the only way to hold entities accountable for negligence. Yes the lawyers are going to get a lot of money but if it hadn't been for those same lawyers spending vast amounts of their own money the government would never have been held accountable for their actions.

 

Yes I am fully aware that millions of veterans have been exposed to harmful environments with no compensation other than having to suffer treatment by the VA. And that treatment only comes long after the fact because the de-facto stance of the government is they did nothing wrong. That doesn't make it right and it doesn't mean that the government shouldn't be held accountable.

 

My late wife's first husband was stationed at MCAS Cherry Point. Due to complications during pregnancy she and her first daughter temporarily lived for several months at Camp Legeune because that was the nearest Naval Hospital. (MCAS Cherry Point only has a small clinic.) You can't imagine how hard it is to prove where you lived 40 years ago. Especially when both of your parents are dead and record keeping for military dependents leaves a lot to be desired.

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9 hours ago, Red Gauntlet , SASS 60619 said:

 

I practiced law for 44 years, much of it on the defense side of claims. I loved the profession, and I helped a lot of people, and I charged fees for it. It's how I made my living. Similar to many other trades and professions. Physicians, for instance, make money on the injuries, sicknesses, and miseries of people. How can they do that with a clear conscience?

 

(I know nothing of LeJune except what I see in my spam.)

I was referring specifically to the law firms trolling tv for class action lawsuits about Le June. 

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I have no skin in the Camp Lejeune issue, but want to share my own experience with the VA to counter some of what has been shared in this thread.

 

I spent several years trying to file my own claims with the VA, all to no success.  It was actually sone body here in the Saloon who suggested I reach out to my county’s veteran service officer.  It turns out their office is only three blocks from my house, but I never knew what they were.

 

They walked me through the correct process and helped me with paperwork.

 

I am now a service disabled veteran, and everyone I have met through the VA medical care system has been top-notch caring professionals, and very responsive.

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My dad died from exposure to Agent Orange while serving in Special Forces in Vietnam. He was skull capped and had his pituatary gland removed. Between VA and DAV he was constantly refused a raise in disability beyond 20 %. He served 29 years in the service and still got screwed over. The government doesn’t want to support their heroes and most lawyers just want a big payout. 

 

Sorry if if it offends anyone, but after that and my own service related disabilities from 20 years of service I’m pretty protective of those that serve the public, fireman, police, military and all first responders. 

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On 1/6/2023 at 10:43 PM, Red Gauntlet , SASS 60619 said:

... Physicians, for instance, make money on the injuries, sicknesses, and miseries of people. How can they do that with a clear conscience? ....

 

Who says I have a clear conscience? :lol:

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Back in January of 1974, when i Rotated back to the World.

I still had a 1 1/2 year to serve. My orders were for Camp Lejeune.

When i was signing i got a drink of water from the water fountain.

I said this water tastes funny. Someone said that you will get used to it.

It isn't so much for me. My daughter also drank that water.

She has health problems. She was three at the time.

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21 hours ago, Charlie Harley, #14153 said:

I have no skin in the Camp Lejeune issue, but want to share my own experience with the VA to counter some of what has been shared in this thread.

 

I spent several years trying to file my own claims with the VA, all to no success.  It was actually sone body here in the Saloon who suggested I reach out to my county’s veteran service officer.  It turns out their office is only three blocks from my house, but I never knew what they were.

 

They walked me through the correct process and helped me with paperwork.

 

I am now a service disabled veteran, and everyone I have met through the VA medical care system has been top-notch caring professionals, and very responsive.

 

Charlie,

that was probably me.   I've given such advise/info to a few folks over the years hoping it might help them.

 

DOC WARD:   That was VERY informative and I appreciate your input.   Others have shared good info also.

 

Thanks everyone.

 

..........Widder

 

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6 hours ago, Bailey Creek,5759 said:

Back in January of 1974, when i Rotated back to the World.

I still had a 1 1/2 year to serve. My orders were for Camp Lejeune.

When i was signing i got a drink of water from the water fountain.

I said this water tastes funny. Someone said that you will get used to it.

It isn't so much for me. My daughter also drank that water.

She has health problems. She was three at the time.

 

Get in to your nearest Veteran Service Office and determine if any of her health issues are on the presumptive list, and if she is eligible for any type of health care assistance from the VA.

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