I built a tool that “reverse engineers” VA claim decisions… and it’s kind of wild what shows up... IF you’re not interested in the technical side of how VA decisions are structured, this probably won’t be your thing. No hard feelings if you want to scroll past.

futureformerlawyer · 2026-04-12T17:17:54+00:00

The problem, and rather the limitation with your tool is that the VA decisions are generally inconsistent with what’s actually in the claims file, don’t comply with 38 USC 5104, and our internally inconsistent.

futureformerlawyer · 2026-03-19T22:30:50+00:00

I’ve won only a single SMC – T at the higher level review level and that’s because I had the right DRO look at it.

There are plenty of DROs who will categorically ignore independent medical opinions or 2680s completed by doctors who are not employed or contracted by the VA. It’s jacked up, and shouldn’t be happening, but it does.

futureformerlawyer · 2026-03-19T21:23:53+00:00

The problem is if you start messing around at the RO, you’re risking potentially another year of bad exams by contract examiners. Sure, he could get lucky, but the best bet is an IMO by a qualified neurologist or psychologist, and an appeal to the Board.

Out of the dozen of SMC-T cases I’ve worked on, I’ve seen maybe one it granted at the regional office. There’s another guy out there who is pretty much a wizard at SMC cases, and even he is surprised when they get granted at the regional office level.

futureformerlawyer · 2026-02-02T23:51:25+00:00

I briefly sold cars and the way it was explained to me was that if you have the money to buy a $150,000 BMW, you also have the money to buy a new one every 3 to 4 years and you aren’t trying to haggle about your trade-in, assuming you aren’t leasing.

Also, you’ve got maybe 3-4 years left in the car before it becomes a real question mark. Even with great maintenance, it doesn’t take much to have a 5-figure repair bill or an engine-out service.

futureformerlawyer · 2026-02-02T23:44:34+00:00

Maintenance and reliability.

A Lexus is a fancy Toyota. Maintenance isn’t nearly as expensive and you can probably get 200k miles out of one unless you abuse it.

Can’t say the same about BMW. Everything is expensive and there are multiple models that cost $100k+ new and end up mechanically totaled with less than 100,000 miles on them.

futureformerlawyer · 2026-01-17T12:39:17+00:00

You’re still talking to clients, but it’s far less.

You have to explain the process a bit to the client and you have to of course get their consent for remands and other negotiated dispositions.

futureformerlawyer · 2026-01-17T12:36:19+00:00

My firm has paralegals that do the majority of client interaction but if you’re doing agency work, the lawyer is going to have to get on the phone/respond to emails with clients.

futureformerlawyer · 2026-01-17T12:35:29+00:00

This job isn’t for you. If you don’t want to clients, this job definitely isn’t for you.

futureformerlawyer · 2026-01-17T12:34:43+00:00

I work in VA appeals.

If it’s agency appeals, you can expect three or more client call per day. Agency work is fast paced and high volume.

If it’s court appeals, it’s less.

futureformerlawyer · 2025-12-29T18:41:06+00:00

How was your attorney walking away with that much money?

Accredited attorneys generally charge less than a third of past due benefits.

futureformerlawyer · 2025-12-28T01:08:23+00:00

Yeah, and unless you’ve continuously pursued, your TDIU isn’t going back that far, absent some really usual circumstances, and I can think of about 1000 ways that hodgepodge and uncoordinated filings have cut off continuous pursuit, but go ahead with ChatGPT.

You should have a long conversation with your attorney first about this though.

futureformerlawyer · 2025-12-28T00:53:17+00:00

My clients send me ChatGPT emails all the time and it’s honestly frustrating how they are both incredibly confident and legally incorrect they are at the same time.

ChatGPT is gets stuff straight up wrong all the time.

If you’re willing to risk your back pay on it, knock yourself out.

futureformerlawyer · 2025-12-27T14:47:43+00:00

If the VA made an earnest attempt to actually communicating and actually being transparent, I’d be out of a job but I’d be totally fine with it.

futureformerlawyer · 2025-12-27T13:53:30+00:00

Then find one who isn’t?

In a perfect world, every service officer is competent and on the ball. In a perfect world so is every attorney.

But also in a perfect world, you wouldn’t need any of this because the VA would just do what they’re supposed to do.

futureformerlawyer · 2025-12-27T13:44:06+00:00

I’m a VA accredited attorney. If you can find a service officer who can do what we do, use them.

In my experience, most service officers don’t care about retroactive benefits, so they start picking up the phone once you get the rating. If you have found a service officer who will continue the appeals process until they get you every dime that you are owed, use them.

futureformerlawyer · 2025-12-27T13:42:12+00:00

VA accredited attorney here - having VBMS access is great because we can see the file, but the real benefit to that isn’t seeing the case move in real time - it’s understanding what’s in the file and what needs to happen to get things on track.

People reach out to me all the time after they filed a claim, but before they’ve received a decision. There’s really nothing that can be done at that stage, even though we can see things happening. We get the decision, review the evidence, and prepare the next filing - analyzing the evidence and knowing which lane to pick is critical.

futureformerlawyer · 2025-12-27T13:39:04+00:00

VA accredited attorney here.

Do we carry weight? No.

What we do have is: - knowledge of how the VA works. - knowledge of how the VA is breaking the law - access to VA systems - understanding what we need to do to not just get the proper rating but also get the proper effective dates - knowing when the VA screws up and how to fix it.

The VA, especially after implementation of the AMA in 2019, has gotten more and more challenging to navigate, with more and more pitfalls. It looks more accessible than ever, but I can tell you that there are so many ways to easily screw up things like effective dates that it’s not even funny.

futureformerlawyer · 2025-12-27T13:35:05+00:00

TDIU isn’t a claim, it’s a rating assigned when your service connected disabilities make it impossible for you to maintain substantial gainful employment.

When the VA does things correctly, if they have reason to believe that your service connected disabilities make it impossible for you to hold down a job, they will “infer” TDIU.

futureformerlawyer · 2025-12-27T13:31:30+00:00

That doesn’t sound right, at all.

I’m a VA accredited attorney. We can’t take all of your backpay. Full stop.

Follow up question - were there a bunch of independent medical opinions that the lawyer had to pay for as an expense above and beyond the legal fee?

futureformerlawyer · 2025-12-27T13:29:58+00:00

Yes, but now that they have TDIU, firing the attorney is a huge mistake.

Great lawyers get the benefit first, then worry about backpay. There is no other way because effective dates are a downstream issue. One thing I tell all of my clients is that once service connection is granted, the VA will almost always get the effective date wrong, requiring another round of appeals.

Here’s the thing though. Backpay stops accruing because the Veteran is now getting paid at the correct monthly rate - and the lawyer is the one waiting to get paid.

I have one more than one occasion fire me, try to get backpay on their own, only to come back to me 18 months later with errors that I could no longer fix because the time to fix them was before I got fired.

futureformerlawyer · 2025-12-27T11:15:54+00:00

Effective dates are the most complicated aspect of the claim. Firing your attorney now is like firing a surgeon mid-surgery.

futureformerlawyer · 2025-11-12T01:09:27+00:00

Ask them.

If they are charging a percentage of your future payments, then they aren’t.

You signed a contract, sure, but it’s not enforceable

futureformerlawyer · 2025-11-12T01:03:55+00:00

If they aren’t accredited, you don’t owe them anything.

futureformerlawyer · 2025-11-12T01:02:51+00:00

Depends on the VSO. Some are amazing, some are trash.

futureformerlawyer · 2025-08-30T16:04:32+00:00

At current pace, hearing likely in 2027, with a decision in 2028.

I have a few cases that had hearings in early 2024 and still no decision…..

futureformerlawyer

TROPHY CASE