I Fought the VA for a Decade to Get What I Earned. Now I Do It for You.
For more than twenty years, most people in my life had no idea I was a veteran. I was medically discharged after twelve years, and honestly, that left a bad taste, like I got pulled out of the game before I was finished. It took me a decade of fighting the VA, getting denied, sitting through bad C&P exams, and reading decision letters that made it obvious nobody had actually opened my file, before I finally reached 100%.
That rating didn't make me rich. What it gave me back was the feeling that my service mattered and my sacrifice wasn't in vain. That is exactly what I want for you, and it is the whole reason this firm exists. We are not a call center, not a coaching program, and not unaccredited consultants who hand you a checklist and disappear.
Before You Hire Anyone, Know Who You're Dealing With
I'm Albert Thombs, a 100% service-connected disabled veteran, and I built this firm because I lived every part of what you're going through, the denials, the low-ball ratings, the exams that felt rigged before I ever walked in the door, and the decision letters that read like the VA never opened my file. I spent 20+ years in this industry learning exactly how the system works and, more important, where it breaks. I don't guess at this. I've sat on your side of the desk, and I've spent two decades on the other side of it fighting back.
Here is how I work, and I'll tell you up front so there are no surprises. Before I take your case I look at your actual file, not a sales pitch, your file, and I tell you honestly whether I can help. If I can't move your claim, I'll say so to your face. If I can, I'll show you exactly where the VA went wrong and what it is going to take to fix it. We don't chase a magic number and we don't throw ten conditions at the wall to see what sticks. We work one condition at a time, get each one rated as high as the evidence honestly supports, and route it to the right lane, Supplemental Claim, Higher-Level Review, the Board, or a CUE motion. And on representation, you don't pay me a dime unless I win. No win, no fee.
But understand this, because it matters: I am not here to hold your hand and do the living for you. This is a partnership, and you have a job in it too. You have to go to the doctor. You have to show up to your appointments. You have to tell the truth about how these conditions affect your daily life, and you have to build the treatment record that proves it. I will fight the VA with everything I have, but I cannot fight for a claim you won't participate in. The veterans who win are the ones who take responsibility for their own health and their own record and let me handle the battle.
And while we're at it, think about your family. Too many veterans get a rating, stop there, and never tell their spouse what it means. A rating doesn't just change your monthly check, it can unlock healthcare for your whole family, education benefits, state property-tax relief, and protection for your spouse after you're gone. You're asking the government for a lifetime of benefits for you and the people who depend on you. Do your part, and I give you my word I'll do mine.
Albert L. Thombs Jr.
VA Accredited Claims Agent #45147
U.S. Army veteran, 100% service-connected disabled, and founder of The VA Disability Advocate, LLC. He spent a decade fighting the VA for his own benefits, now he and a team of 8 advocates do it for veterans and families nationwide.
He knows the denial letters, the inadequate exams and the years of waiting because he lived them. That is why he personally reviews every request, reads the file line by line before anyone files anything, and tells each veteran the truth about the claim, even when the answer is not the one they hoped to hear.
Why Families Trust This Help
Real credentials. Real accountability. No sales pitch.
There is a lot of noise out there, unaccredited “consultants” who charge illegal fees and disappear. Here is the difference, in facts you can verify yourself. Accreditation is public. You can look any agent up on the VA's own accreditation search before you sign a thing. If someone will not give you their accreditation number, walk away. Your part is to check, and to never pay anyone to help with an initial claim.
VA-accredited, and you can check
Albert L. Thombs Jr. is a VA Accredited Claims Agent, accreditation #45147, a number you can look up yourself in the VA Office of General Counsel database. Accreditation is not a marketing badge; it is federal authorization to represent veterans.
Federally accountable
Accredited agents answer to the VA General Counsel and are bound by 38 CFR standards of conduct. That is a level of oversight the “claim sharks” who cold-call veterans simply do not have.
No upfront fees for representation
By law, no one may charge you to file an initial claim, and we never do. Optional representation on an appeal is contingency-based under 38 CFR 14.636: you pay nothing unless you win, and every fee is disclosed in writing first.
Free tools, no sign-up wall
Every calculator, worksheet, and benefit guide on this site is free and open, no account, no email harvesting, no paywall. The information belongs to you because you earned it.
An Accredited Agent, a VSO, and an Attorney Are Not the Same Thing
People assume a law license is the gold standard for a VA claim. It is not. VA disability law is its own body of federal law, Title 38 of the U.S. Code, 38 CFR, the M21-1 manual, and the case law out of the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. Here is the honest difference between the three kinds of people who can stand between you and the VA, so you can decide who you actually want in the fight.
Accredited VA Claims Agent
What we are, Albert, Agent #45147
- Passed the rigorous multi-hour federal VA-law exam administered by the VA Office of General Counsel, tested directly on Title 38 USC, 38 CFR, M21-1, and CAVC precedent.
- Required to complete federal VA-law continuing education every three years to stay accredited.
- 100% dedicated to VA disability law. No personal injury, no criminal, no divorce, no estates, this is the only thing we do.
- Direct access to your C-file and an exhaustive forensic review of every page, not a form hand-off.
- Federally accountable for our conduct and our fees under 38 CFR §14.636.
Veterans Service Officer (VSO)
Free, and worth using early
- No federal VA-law exam is required to serve as a VSO.
- Free of charge and genuinely useful for filing an initial claim.
- Typically high-volume, form-filing work with limited capacity for a complex, contested appeal.
- Cannot chase every angle the way a dedicated, accredited advocate can when the VA gets it wrong.
General-Practice Attorney
A law license is not a VA-law license
- Passed a state bar exam in general law, not a VA-law exam.
- Can become VA-accredited by simply submitting bar credentials, with no VA test to pass.
- VA claims are often secondary to a practice built on PI, criminal, divorce, or estate work.
- Your file is frequently handed to paralegals or non-veteran staff, often at a higher fee.
Here is the part nobody tells you: very few firms are truly dedicated solely to veterans. For most, VA claims are volume, a side line handed off to non-veteran admin staff while the real attention goes to the higher-margin work. A law license and a bigger fee do not guarantee you the representation you earned. What matters is whether the person on your file passed the federal VA-law exam, keeps up the required VA-law training, and does nothing but this. That is exactly what you get here.
What Two Decades of Fighting the VA Looks Like
I don't deal in promises and I won't quote you a rating I can't guarantee, nobody honest can. What I can show you is the shape of this practice: how long we've been doing this, how many people are on your side, and what it costs you to find out whether we can help. It costs you nothing to start, and you talk to real people, not a phone tree.
The Team That Fights Your Claim
We are veterans and military family members, and we've walked the same claims, the same denials, and the same frustration you're living right now. We do this because we've lived it. When you work with us you get a real person who knows your file, not a different voice on the line every time you call. One team, one fight, start to finish.
Albert L. Thombs Jr.
CEO / VA-Accredited Claims Agent #45147
Army veteran, medically discharged after 12 years, and 100% service-connected disabled. He spent a decade fighting the VA for his own rating and built this firm so no veteran has to do it alone. 20+ years in the claims industry.
Rufus Pittman
Disability Advocate
Army Retired. Rufus brings decades of service and a firsthand understanding of the conditions and exposures that lead to service-connected disability. He knows what the DD-214 does not say.
Alyssa Valkanas
Disability Advocate
Army veteran. Alyssa is your first point of contact. She runs intake, secures your records, and makes sure your file is squared away before it ever reaches an advocate for the fight.
Toni Crawley
Disability Advocate
Toni takes on denied claims through Supplemental Claims, Higher-Level Reviews, and Board appeals, building precision evidence packages the VA cannot wave off.
Shawnda Fischer
Disability Advocate
Shawnda hunts down the overlooked secondary conditions and builds the nexus evidence the VA requires under 38 CFR §3.310, the claims most veterans never knew they had.
Vangie Thombs
CFO & Administrator
Vangie runs the firm’s operations and finances. Tagalog-speaking, veterans and families who prefer Tagalog can ask to work with Vangie directly.
Vickie Mohn
Disability Advocate
Vickie handles complex multi-condition cases: TDIU, CUE motions, and effective-date disputes that take real file archaeology to win.
Michael Watkins
Disability Advocate
Michael works toxic-exposure claims under the TERA framework, building the deployment and exposure record the VA now demands before it will move.
The Forensic Method We Use on Every Case
Service connection is the key that unlocks everything, and it is what we prove for a living. Every claim comes down to three things the VA requires: a current diagnosis, an in-service event or exposure, and a nexus that ties the two together at “at least as likely as not.” Miss one and the whole claim falls apart, and most denials fall apart right here. We trace all three, find the gap the VA is hiding behind, and build the evidence that closes it.
The Three Foundations of Direct Service Connection
For direct service connection, the record generally must establish all three. Presumptive, secondary, aggravation, increased-rating, TDIU, and SMC claims follow different or additional standards.
Current Diagnosis
A present, medically documented condition. In most cases a current diagnosis is the clearest foundation, the VA rarely rates a condition it has not confirmed. Narrow legal exceptions exist, but ‘I think I have it’ is not an evidence strategy.
In-Service Event or Exposure
An injury, illness, event, or toxic exposure that occurred (or was aggravated) during active service, shown in records, or presumed under the PACT Act.
The Connection (Nexus)
For direct service connection, the record generally must link the condition to service. Sometimes that requires a medical nexus stating it is “at least as likely as not” (50% or greater). In other cases, federal law supplies a presumption or another legal route.
Know the Exam. Read the Result.
The C&P exam is where cases are won or lost, and it's also where two weak links can sink you. The examiner is not your advocate, unless it's written on the DBQ, it doesn't exist, no matter how nice they were in the room. And the rater is moving through 10 to 15 files a day at a few minutes each. So don't read the room, read the result. Watch the official VA overviews below, then compare what they say is supposed to happen to what actually happened in yours.
Official VA Exam Overviews
These are the VA's own videos on how the compensation and pension exam is supposed to run. Watch them before your exam, not after. Then pull your exam report through a records request and compare it line by line against what you see here. Every gap between the VA's standard and your report is something you can raise, and nobody will raise it for you.
Your VA Claim Exam: What to Expect
Tips to Prepare for Your VA Claim Exam
