I have been on a Profile for about 9 months and will be looking to go before a MEB in Dec. I have never been through an MEB so I don't know how things work. I have been reading up on what goes on and was just wondering, should I get my own lawyer or should I go with the person they appoint, to represent me? And what should I expect out of an MEB?
Needs some Advice
- Thread starter MinotAirman
- Start date
You shouldn't need a lawyer unless you go to the Formal PEB (after your IPEB if you don't agree with the decision).
There is no telling what to expect out of the MEB process, you just have to read up and get smart on the process...it all depends on your conditions and how they affect you doing your job. Good luck!
There is no telling what to expect out of the MEB process, you just have to read up and get smart on the process...it all depends on your conditions and how they affect you doing your job. Good luck!
Jason Perry
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In favor of full disclosure, my law practice is focused on military disability law, so I do have an interest in the answer.
I favor early representation in many cases, because having your condition fully documented by the MEB can result in a good Informal PEB (IPEB) finding. That would make the Formal PEB (FPEB) unnecessary. Also, it can be hard to gather some evidence in a short period of time between IPEB and FPEB (and sometimes the Formal PEB will give more weight to the MEB documentation especially if it conflicts with the evidence gathered later; I do not think this is how it should be, but it does happen sometimes).
Am I saying that everyone should get a lawyer early? No. In some simple cases (like cases with only one condition that is clearly unfitting and a clear objective standard for the ratings for retirement) having an attorney early will not make much of a difference. It is hard to say when is the right time to have legal representation. It really depends on each case. I will say that after the case is forwarded to the IPEB, it may make sense to wait until the findings are back (but, again, in some cases, you would want the advice on gathering evidence as early as possible).
(I also focused on the early parts of the case in my above comments. I would term this as the evidence gathering phase of the case. However, most members who get a bad outcome fail to have good representation after the FPEB. If there are significant legal issues in the case, it is important to have good representation in the later phases of the case. Otherwise, it is like going to the World Series and only fielding your best team for innings 3-7 and then replacing the whole line-up with members of the farm team. But again, some cases are so clear, it won't matter what the lawyer does...the case is either a clear "winner" or "loser.").
As far as what to expect out of MEB process, generally, you want full documentation of all of your conditions. Read my link on Overview of MEB/PEB Process, linked below.
I hope you get a great result in your case. Good luck!
I favor early representation in many cases, because having your condition fully documented by the MEB can result in a good Informal PEB (IPEB) finding. That would make the Formal PEB (FPEB) unnecessary. Also, it can be hard to gather some evidence in a short period of time between IPEB and FPEB (and sometimes the Formal PEB will give more weight to the MEB documentation especially if it conflicts with the evidence gathered later; I do not think this is how it should be, but it does happen sometimes).
Am I saying that everyone should get a lawyer early? No. In some simple cases (like cases with only one condition that is clearly unfitting and a clear objective standard for the ratings for retirement) having an attorney early will not make much of a difference. It is hard to say when is the right time to have legal representation. It really depends on each case. I will say that after the case is forwarded to the IPEB, it may make sense to wait until the findings are back (but, again, in some cases, you would want the advice on gathering evidence as early as possible).
(I also focused on the early parts of the case in my above comments. I would term this as the evidence gathering phase of the case. However, most members who get a bad outcome fail to have good representation after the FPEB. If there are significant legal issues in the case, it is important to have good representation in the later phases of the case. Otherwise, it is like going to the World Series and only fielding your best team for innings 3-7 and then replacing the whole line-up with members of the farm team. But again, some cases are so clear, it won't matter what the lawyer does...the case is either a clear "winner" or "loser.").
As far as what to expect out of MEB process, generally, you want full documentation of all of your conditions. Read my link on Overview of MEB/PEB Process, linked below.
I hope you get a great result in your case. Good luck!