Do You Need an EEOICPA Attorney?
You May Qualify for EEOICPA Compensation
Do you need an EEOICPA Attorney to help you file a claim? Perhaps you or someone you love has been diagnosed with cancer or another illness after working at a Department of Energy (DOE) or an Atomic Weapons Employer (AWE) facility. Did someone work in manufacturing or testing of nuclear weapons and become ill later on?
You may have recently learned about the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program (EEOICPA) and are trying to determine whether you have a valid claim. Or maybe you recently learned of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) and are trying to understand the difference between RECA and EEOICPA.
Perhaps you filed a claim under EEOICPA or RECA and it has been denied or if you filed an EEOICPA claim that’s been accepted and you’re trying to understand the impairment rating or the wage loss process. Or your EEOICPA claim has been accepted and you want to learn about health-care coverage or reimbursement of expenses or travel and the available health-care and home-care benefits.
Call or email us at the numbers and addresses below as we can help you resolve your issues and understand your claims.
Advantages of Having an EEOICPA Attorney
As EEOICPA attorneys, we can address the other issues that accompany these claims. We can make sure you learn about your rights under the State and Federal Workers Compensation law, Social Security Disability (SSD), and Supplemental Security Insurance (SSI) programs.
State Workers Compensation statutes have deadlines after which a claim cannot be filed. Similarly, Social Security Disability (SSD) rights are extinguished after periods of unemployment. EEOICPA compensation has special status and is exempt from certain types of taxation. It should be segregated from other funds and not considered “resources” for purposes of certain housing assistance or other government programs.
Medical bills and insurance can prove overwhelming, especially for those already struggling with an illness or that of a spouse or parent. While there are some people who think a lawyer is not necessary in the EEOICPA or RECA claim-filing-process, a lawyer can often be helpful. It’s hard to know in advance whether a lawyer would have helped with your claim or in some other capacity.
We believe these claims represent a significant financial event in the life of a claimant and should be handled by a licensed professional. Sometimes mistakes in the claim process can be fixed after the fact and sometimes they cannot. For example, a claimant who qualifies for both RECA and EEOICPA benefits loses the right to claim the more advantageous EEOICPA benefits if he or she accepts RECA benefits. These are sad situations that cannot be repaired after the fact.
Some claimants spend the compensation on medical bills—old and new—until they have nothing left. But there may be alternatives worth exploring. Certain insurance policies have limits, deductibles, or “holes” that can be managed after an EEOICPA claim has been accepted.
Finally, the Dose Reconstruction Process is almost incomprehensible for even the more educated among us. We have studied that process and have successfully overturned poorly prepared Dose Reconstructions.
While there are some people who would suggest that lawyers are expensive and charge more than so-called “professional” advocates or representatives, that is simply not true. The fees charged by lawyers are limited by the EEOICPA and RECA statutes themselves. Lawyers are bound by the same limits on fees that bind unlicensed advocates and representatives. EEOICPA Attorneys are also held to a higher ethical standard imposed by the state bar and licensing authority. Generally good ones carry professional liability insurance for the protection of their clients.
There are unlicensed advocates and representatives who practice in the EEOICPA program under the Federal Employees Compensation Act (FECA). FECA provides compensation to federal workers and is administered together with the Longshore and Harbor Workers Compensation Act (LHWCA) and Black Lung Compensation Act (BLCA). These acts are administerd by the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Workers Compensation Programs (OWCP). RECA claims administered by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) cannot be handled by unlicensed advocates or representatives.
Stephens & Stephens EEOICPA Law Firm
To keep you up to date with developments in the program, we can put you on our mailing list. You can also reach us at (800) 548-4494 or at Hugh Stephens.