From first call to finished packet

Six stages. Most of the work is ours, but two stages need you — getting us your records, and being honest at the exam about your worst days rather than your best ones. Timing depends on how fast records come back and when the physician can see you; we will give you a real estimate on the call rather than a number designed to sound good.

1. 1. Discovery call

   Twenty minutes. You tell us what you're rated at and what VA said last time. We tell you which gap is holding the claim, what closing it would cost, and whether it is worth closing — including when the answer is that you should go to a free VSO instead.

2. 2. Records review and evidence map

   We read the service treatment records, C-file, treatment notes, and prior decisions, then write out which conditions the evidence can support, which secondaries were never claimed, and exactly what each one is missing.

3. 3. Physician review and examination

   When provider coordination is included and a qualified provider accepts the case, that provider determines the examination format and whether a DBQ or medical opinion is appropriate. Availability varies.

4. 4. Quality check

   We check the packet against the file: that the findings match the records, that the rationale is actually reasoned rather than asserted, and that nothing in it contradicts something else in your claim.

5. 5. Handoff

   You receive the finished, indexed packet and a filing checklist. You file it — yourself or through your VSO. We do not submit claims and we are not your representative.

6. 6. After handoff

   We answer questions about what is in the packet and how to file it. From there it is VA's process: the decision, the timeline, and whether another exam gets ordered are all theirs, not ours.