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 newest generation of veterans has the best documentation in history, and the most to gain by claiming while the record is fresh.
If you served after 9/11, you have an advantage older veterans would envy: your records are digital, detailed, and recent. The mistake is waiting until they are not.
Memories fade, providers move, and paper gets lost. The best time to document a condition is while you still have the treatment records, the buddy contacts, and the clear timeline. Waiting a decade only makes the nexus harder to prove.
Burn pits, blast exposure, and repetitive-strain injuries from modern gear are all in play, many now covered under the PACT Act. Claim the mental health and TBI components too; they are frequently underrated in younger veterans who "tough it out."
Do not wait for the condition to get worse to be taken seriously. Establish service connection now and pursue increases as things change.
The regulatory authority behind toxic-exposure claims lives in M21-1, Part IV, Subpart ii, Chapter 2, Section C (Service Connection for Disabilities Resulting from Exposure to Environmental Hazards). This section governs how raters develop and adjudicate toxic-exposure claims, including burn-pit, Agent Orange, contaminated-water, and radiation claims, and cross-references the PACT Act's conceded-exposure framework under 38 U.S.C. §1168 (TERA). When a C&P examiner renders a negative nexus opinion without addressing the documented exposure pathway, that opinion is inadequate under Barr v. Nicholson, and raters are required to return it for a supplemental opinion. Veterans who receive a denial after a cursory exam should cite the specific M21-1 development procedures the rater failed to follow.
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.
