MARTINSBURG — Dave Sisler, a veteran of the Iraq war, is starting his own business to help his fellow veterans file claims with the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Calling it Dave’s Veteran Advocacy, he said the goal is to make sure no veteran is left behind.
In his business, Sisler works primarily with disability claims for any type of injury or disease that occurred in the military made to the VA. He offers personalized support and guidance through the claims process — from initial consultation to final resolution.
He’s working to help veterans all around the state, especially in areas where getting legal representation for claims with the VA isn’t so easy. He said there are entire counties in West Virginia where there’s no representation for veterans whose claims have been denied.
“We’ve got areas across the state that have zero to little representation for anybody from veteran organizations,” Sisler said. “There seems to be so many gaps across the state that nobody’s able to cover, so I’m trying to fill those gaps.”
Sisler started working toward where he is now when he joined the Veterans of Foreign Wars, volunteering as a service officer to help fellow veterans navigate the same claims process he’s working with now. Eventually, he ended up doing that same job for the State of West Virginia.
He said he remembers the first claim he every helped someone file.
“The first claim that I ever had to go through was for an 88-year-old World War II widow fixing to lose her house,” Sisler said. “Her family was helping her put the claim in, and it got all messed up. Then, we came through, and she ended up getting like $15,000 of backpay. She’s in the office crying, saying, ‘I don’t have to sell the house my husband built.’”
For Sisler, it was the gaps in coverage across the state that made him want to branch out and start his own business. Since much of his business is over the phone, he can help veterans who might otherwise have to make a long drive to somewhere they can get help with their claim.
Sisler said the process for filing a claim for the first time can be challenging, so helping people do that is an important part of his business
“A lot of people are scared that they’ll go out, and they’ll talk to somebody, and they’re going to have to pay all this money up front on that,” Sisler said. “If it’s a first-time claim, nobody can legally charge them for anything.”
Advocating for veterans with claims that have been denied is also a large part of what Sisler is doing. Every year, the VA denies around 30% of disability claims and 75% of all initial applications.
He hopes his business is a way that veterans can receive support year-round, rather than just on veterans holidays.
“West Virginia, per capita, has more veterans than any other state,” Sisler said. “It seems like we’re doing two or three major events every year when everybody’s thinking of veterans, when we need to keep them on our mind every day of the year.”
More information about Sisler and his business is available online at davesveteranadvoca.wixsite.com/daves-veteran-advoca.
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