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 has a duty to assist you, but you have duties too. Miss them and you can sink your own claim.
The VA has a legal duty to assist you in developing your claim. But that duty is a two-way street, and I have watched strong claims collapse because the veteran dropped their end.
Missing a scheduled examination without good cause can get your claim decided on the existing record, or denied outright. If you cannot make it, reschedule; do not simply skip it.
The VA will request federal records, but private treatment records, buddy statements, and your own account of symptoms are yours to supply. When the VA asks, respond inside the deadline.
Decisions, exam notices, and evidence requests go to the address on file. A missed letter can mean a missed deadline. Keep your mailing address, phone, and representative information up to date so nothing important lands in a dead mailbox.
Every VA disability claim is adjudicated under the procedures in M21-1, the VA's internal Adjudication Procedures Manual, and the regulatory standards in 38 CFR Parts 3 and 4. Raters are bound by these rules, and when they deviate, veterans have grounds to challenge the decision. Under Gilbert v. Derwinski, the benefit-of-the-doubt standard at §3.102 requires the VA to resolve every evidentiary tie in the veteran's favor. Under Esteban v. Brown, separate disabilities producing separate functional losses must be rated independently, even when they arise from the same injury, the VA cannot collapse distinct impairments into one rating.
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.
