I come from a family of Veterans. Both my grandparents served in WW-II. My father volunteered to serve 3 tours in Vietnam as a Green Beret in the Army. My mother served 5 years in the Army as a nurse during Vietnam and I was born on a US army base in Heidelberg Germany.

Father Volunteered for 3 Tours as a Green Beret in Vietnam

I never knew my father all that well because of his severe PTSD he left my mother and I. Unfortunately l was not able to search for him when I was an adult because he passed away in a motorcycle accident.

What I did find out about him was through various books and it turns out he was a remarkable soldier. I will post at some point more information about him but he served 3 tours in the Studies and Observation Group (SOG) which was a select group within the special forces made up mostly of Green Berets primarily focused on sabotaging the Ho Chi Minh trail in Laos and Cambodia.

I have posted pictures of my Father on this page. He may have not always been there for me but this does not quench my desire to have known him nor does it take away from his amazing service to this country for which I will always be grateful.

Mother Was Very First Veteran Client

I successfully attained 50% service connection for my mothers disabilities which included General Anxiety Disorder. Unfortunately after helping my mother attain 50% service connection my mother had a significant stroke as a result of her service connected General Anxiety Disorder.

If you have had any dealings with the V.A . or any government agency you know that patience is an important trait to possess. After my mothers stroke my office submitted applications for stroke residuals secondary to GAD, Aid and Attendance, and TDUI. After several months by Gods' grace my mother's service connection went from 50% to 90% with a 100% TDUI rating.

Nonetheless we are not done yet and there is still significant work to do on her file. For example we are still awaiting a decision on her Aid and Attendance application and are submitting a request for higher level review because the VA did not give her the correct service connection effective date. Nor did the VA rate all of her cognitive residuals which is the subject of an additional request for Higher Level Review. Additionally the rules require that the VA give 100% for stroke residuals for the first 6 months and then rate the residuals based on their present level of disability thereafter. In her case the VA rated her 90% for the first 6 months. The additional 10% (ie 100% rating) is important because it forms the foundation for her Aid and Attendance application.

My mother's stroke had a significant impact on my family and my practice. My family and I have gotten through this storm in our life through our Christian faith. My mother's stroke has forced me to reevaluate the importance of quality time with my family. So I have decided to devote less time in my practice on litigating in court and more time on helping Veterans which is more rewarding, less stressful, and allows more freedom to spend time with my family.

My litigation experience has come from my many years of representing people against governments and large corporations. Conversely my knowledge and experience of Veterans Disability Law started with my mothers first disability application and has been further refined in helping her attain Aid and Attendance and 100% TDUI rating. Before I helped my mother attain disability benefits I was just an attorney litigator from a military family but in helping my mother I acquired knowledge you just cannot acquire without being in the actual battle with the V.A.

When I represent a Veteran I know personally what it's like to be in the chaos that ensues when the Hospital or Rehab facility is uncertain about how long the VA will pay for medical care and what role Medicare will play and whether medicaid will cover long term care. I have had to think ahead and push the VA to get a stair lift installed, a hospital bed, a wheelchair, and hospital lift in a span of a few weeks. I have had to push to get the Veterans Directed Care program online to pay my sister as a caretaker as she needs 24hour care. I have dealt with a multitude of C&P exams and as a son attended several of them.

If you retain my firm to help you with your Veterans Benefits it's important to me that you know that representing Veterans is something more personal than just representing a client.

For more information on our practice at The Law Office of Patrick Sorsby, please contact our offices to schedule a free consultation and case evaluation. Call our New York office at (518) 456-4529.