I’m often inspired to write a blog because of something I hear from a coworker talking to one of our Veterans. For instance, I just overheard Rhonda, our VA Team Leader/Appeals Clerk, explaining to someone that his back
pay is not a settlement. This reminded me that not everyone uses legal terms correctly. I thought I’d shed a little light on the difference between back pay, and a settlement.
When we think of the term attorney, most of us will think of a lawsuit. In fact, a lot of people might conjure up images of Saul from “Breaking Bad.” In reality, what we do has nothing in common with filing a law suit. It’s like we explained before; we don’t file suits.
According to law.com, a settlement is the resolution of a lawsuit (or of a legal dispute prior to filing a complaint or petition) without going forward to a final court judgment. Once again, since we are not filing suit against someone we are not going to court, and we are not going to get a settlement.
Instead, individuals who are granted VA Disability Benefits are receiving monetary compensation that they should have been receiving anyway. If you file for benefits in December of 2012, and are approved in January of 2014, then what you receive is back pay for the 12 months you should have been receiving your benefits. That is how VA back pay works. Also, a settlement by definition means that you are accepting less. We won’t do that. We fight for everything that our clients are entitled to.
Granted, we do go to hearings, present evidence, and deal with judges, but it’s not a lawsuit. What we do is argue on your behalf that you should be receiving the benefits that you are entitled to. No need to call Saul. If you would however like to learn more about what we do for our clients, call me today for a free phone consultation: 1-877-526-3457 or, fill out this form, and I will call you.
