You served. The VA owes you a debt it does not volunteer to pay. Everything here is free. When you need an accredited agent in your corner, we are right here.
Crisis Line: 988702-992-4883Description
We decode the evidence rules, exam traps, and rating tricks the VA won’t spell out, then fight to win what you earned.
Notes
Information here is free. Optional accredited representation, no fees unless you win.
Albert Thombs
Founder & VA-Accredited Claims Agent · #45147
The VA does not add your ratings. It uses "whole person" math that quietly costs veterans percentage points. Here is how it really works.
This is the single most misunderstood part of the whole system. Veterans call me furious: "I have a 50% and a 50%, where is my 100%?" The answer is buried in 38 CFR § 4.25, the combined ratings table.
The VA treats you as 100% healthy to start. Your first (highest) rating comes off that. The next rating is applied only to what is left. So a 50% rating leaves you "50% efficient," and the next 50% is taken from that remaining 50, giving 75%, then rounded, not 100%.
Because of this math, small ratings stacked on top of large ones add very little. That is why we prioritize raising your biggest condition and pursuing TDIU when your service-connected conditions keep you from working, often a faster route to the 100% benefit level than chasing small add-ons.
Always check your combined rating against the table. Rounding errors and math mistakes happen, and they cost real money.
The entire framework governing VA disability compensation is codified in Title 38 of the Code of Federal Regulations, with the rating schedule at 38 CFR Part 4 and the service-connection standards at §3.303 (direct), §3.310 (secondary), and §3.306 (aggravation). Raters adjudicate claims using the procedures in M21-1, the VA's internal manual that tells them exactly what evidence to develop, what exams to order, and how to apply the rating schedule. Under Gilbert v. Derwinski, when the evidence is in approximate balance, every doubt must be resolved in your favor. Under Caluza v. Brown, service connection requires three elements: a current disability, an in-service event, and a medical nexus linking the two, miss any one, and the claim fails.
I will be straight with you. No advocate on earth can win a claim for a veteran who will not do his or her part. The VA decides on the record, and you are the only person who can build the medical side of that record. We do the legal and forensic work. You do yours. Here is what that means, every single time:
You do your job and we will do ours. That is how claims get won.
We offer three completely separate services, kept distinct on purpose so you know exactly what you are buying, what it costs, and how it is paid. These are not tiers of one agreement, you choose the single option that fits your situation.
Two are contingency representation with no cost up front; they differ by how hard the case is and how the fee gets paid. The third is a flat-fee forensic report for the veteran who wants to fight the claim himself.
20% of back pay
No cost up front, nothing out of pocket. The VA withholds our fee and pays us directly under §14.636(h). Best for cleaner, more recent, single-issue denials, routine higher-level reviews, supplemental claims, and rating increases, carried all the way to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals.
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30% of back pay
For high-complexity cases, long claim histories, prior Board denials, CUE, complex effective-date and TDIU fights, multi-issue toxic exposure. Still no cost up front. Because the VA pays a rep only up to 20% directly, the VA sends your full retro to you and we invoice you directly for the 30%. Lawful, but never entered into lightly.
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$750 flat
A standalone forensic file review and written road map, not representation. For the veteran with a tough, older case who wants to fight it himself and keep 100% of his back pay. We audit your file, show you every error, and hand you the plan. Available only to veterans who already have a VA decision.
See full detailsThe exact contingency percentage on your case is set in a written agreement by the complexity of the work, always within the maximum the law allows. Federal-court litigation, if it is ever needed, is a separate, pre-agreed arrangement.
Albert L. Thombs Jr. is a US Army veteran, VA-Accredited Claims Agent #45147, and 100% service-connected himself. He personally reviews every request. Fees are capped by 38 CFR §14.636, and there are no fees on representation unless you win.
Mon–Fri, 11AM–6PM Pacific
Questions are always free. The Mission 5 Brief is $750 flat.
