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The VA DisabilityADVOCATE

What The VA Won’t Put In Writing

Declassified

Description

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.

Free Consultation702-992-4883
VA-ACCREDITED CLAIMS AGENT #45147DENIALS REOPENEDLOW RATINGS CHALLENGEDC&P EXAMS AUDITEDEFFECTIVE-DATE & CUE HUNTSTDIU · SMC · PACT ACTNO WIN, NO FEE ON 20% OR 30% REPRESENTATION · $750 FLAT MISSION 5 BRIEFGOVERNED BY 38 CFR §14.636SECONDARY CONDITIONS LINKEDTERA & TOXIC-EXPOSURE CLAIMSBOARD & HIGHER-LEVEL APPEALSFREE CASE REVIEW, ASK A QUESTIONVA-ACCREDITED CLAIMS AGENT #45147DENIALS REOPENEDLOW RATINGS CHALLENGEDC&P EXAMS AUDITEDEFFECTIVE-DATE & CUE HUNTSTDIU · SMC · PACT ACTNO WIN, NO FEE ON 20% OR 30% REPRESENTATION · $750 FLAT MISSION 5 BRIEFGOVERNED BY 38 CFR §14.636SECONDARY CONDITIONS LINKEDTERA & TOXIC-EXPOSURE CLAIMSBOARD & HIGHER-LEVEL APPEALSFREE CASE REVIEW, ASK A QUESTION
Original Visual Intelligence, Built In-House

The VA Claims System, Decoded Your Way

Same battle-tested intelligence, two ways to explore it. Take the guided walkthrough one step at a time, or scroll the full story top to bottom. Pick whichever fits how you think. Both cover the same ground: how service connection works, how the VA rates you, and where claims fall apart. Nothing is held back in either version. Your part is to work through it with your own file next to you, so you can see where your claim stands.

Guided Journey, one concept at a time, with progress and Next/Back.

Step 1 of 6
The Foundation of Every Claim

The 3-Prong Service Connection Test

All three must be present. Miss one and the claim collapses, no matter how severe the condition.

Foundation 1

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.

Foundation 2

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.

Foundation 3

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.

Diagnosis+Service Event+NexusSERVICE CONNECTED
Run your real numbers, Combined Rating Calculator Upload your denial letter, AI Denial Decoder
The Veterans We Fight For

Real Veterans. Real Claims. Real Outcomes.

Every case on this desk belongs to someone who served. These are the veterans this practice represents, across every era, branch, and condition: the Vietnam vet who was told it was too late, the Gulf War vet the system called a mystery, the young veteran who walked out of a five minute exam with a zero. Different stories, same fight. The record decides the claim, so we build the record.

A veteran in a wheelchair outdoors in a park
Veteran Representation
A veteran working with her physical therapist during a rehabilitation session
Veteran Representation
A young veteran waiting for his VA clinic appointment
Veteran Representation
Official VA Video Library · Government Produced

Understand Your Claim Exam

These training modules pair with the official VA guides. Watch them, then work the interactive breakdowns above. The single event you control most in a claim is your exam, so treat it like a mission brief. Know your diagnoses, bring notes on your symptoms and flare-ups, and describe your worst days honestly. Afterward, request your exam report and read it.

VA Claim Exams: Psychological

VA Claim Exams: Psychological

VA Claim Exams: Neurological

VA Claim Exams: Neurological

A woman veteran handing a folder of medical records to a receptionist
Your responsibility as a veteran

Your Part in This Is Not Optional

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:

  • See a doctor and get every symptom written into your medical record. If it is not on paper, the VA treats it as if it never happened.
  • Keep a symptom journal. Dates, flare-ups, missed work, the nights you did not sleep. That is the evidence of how this condition actually runs your life.
  • Answer every VA letter and every request for evidence before the deadline. Silence gets claims denied.
  • Show up to your C&P exam and describe your worst days honestly. Do not tough it out in that room. Do not exaggerate either.

You do your job and we will do ours. That is how claims get won.

Choose Your Service

The Three Services

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.

An accredited claims agent and a veteran reviewing a clean, single-issue appeal together
Option 1

Standard Direct-Pay Representation

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.

See full details
An advocate reviewing a veteran's decade-deep claims file
Option 2

High-Complexity Representation

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.

See full details
A forensic file audit in progress
Option 3

Mission 5 Intelligence Brief

$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 details

The 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.

A veteran shaking hands with his VA-accredited claims agent after reviewing his claim
Denied or under-rated?

Talk to a VA-accredited claims agent about your claim

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.

702-992-4883

Mon–Fri, 11AM–6PM Pacific

Questions are always free. The Mission 5 Brief is $750 flat.