A discussion on claim sharks – The American Legion

A discussion on claim sharks  The American Legion

A discussion on claim sharks – specifically, on a lawsuit filed against one in North Carolina – a was a topic of a briefing provided by Bergmann and Moore attorney James Ridgway on Oct. 29 during The American Legion’s third Department Service Officer Symposium in Washington, D.C. Ridgway, Bergmann and Moore’s Director of Training and Programs and a former judge on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ Board of Veterans’ Appeals, shared his information with the 62 American Legion department service officers, county service officers and representatives from state agencies undergoing the annual training. He focused on the class-action lawsuit Ford v. Veterans Guardian VA Claim Consulting LLC. Plaintiffs Jennifer Ford, Eric Beard and Brian Otters are disabled military veterans who retained the defendant, Veterans Guardian VA Claim Consulting LLC, to assist them in obtaining or increasing their disability compensation.

Federal law restricts those who may assist veterans in preparing, presenting, and prosecuting claims for benefits before the U.S. Veterans Benefits Administration to persons or entities meeting specific qualifications and accreditation requirements. The plaintiffs contend that Guardian violates federal law by offering these services without accreditation and that it charges illegal fees in violation of the North Carolina Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act and the North Carolina Debt Collection Act. “Ford is the most advanced of a lot of