How We Work
Agency Work
We help veterans win claims before the VA and other agencies.
Department of Veterans Affairs
We have helped thousands of veterans with claims before the VA. Claim types include:
- Toxic exposure (including to Agent Orange, radiation, mustard gas, and burn pits)
- Increased rating percentages
- Earlier effective dates
- Unemployability
- Blue Water claims
- VA Constitutional rights violations
- Surviving spouse benefits, including proving a widow was a spouse
- Debt relief
- Camp Lejeune water contamination
- VA fraud
- Denials for reimbursement for medical services
- Female Issues
- Clear and Unmistakable Errors
- VA motions to dismiss cases because of a post-deadline appeal
- VA medical malpractice (§ 1151)
- Education benefits
Department of Defense (Discharge Review Boards)
We help veterans for free before discharge review or military record correction boards. A discharge upgrade to General (under Honorable Conditions) or higher enables a veteran to become eligible for most VA benefits.
Social Security Administration
We help veterans appeal denied social security claims.
Legislative Work
We engage the U.S. Congress and state legislatures for veterans.
Court Work
We appeal denied claims and advocate for veterans’ interests in federal courts.
Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims
At the CAVC, we mostly help veterans appeal final VA decisions.
In rarer cases, VetLAG petitions the CAVC to force the VA to take or speed up an action. Those petitions have caused the VA to:
- stop conducting rating reduction exams nationwide during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Forgive $100,000 the VA claimed from a widow of a veteran left in a service-connected vegetative state.
- Reimburse medical bills paid to third parties and terminate bill collector activities.
Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
When the VA makes a mistake the CAVC should have corrected, VetLAG will appeal it to the Federal Circuit.
The Supreme Court
If the Federal Circuit overlooks a mistake the CAVC should have corrected, we will petition the Supreme Court for review. We also file “friend of the court” briefs when the Supreme Court grants review of a case vital to veterans’ interests.