By now, most veterans have probably encountered a for-profit company that promises VA disability compensation or a VA disability rating increase. Some charge a flat fee, others charge a percentage of your compensation back pay, and still others might charge a percentage of disability pay for an undetermined amount of time.
Related: The early projections for the VA’s 2026 disability COLA increase
The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) calls them “claim sharks.” Disabled American Veterans (DAV) calls them “predatory.” An NPR investigation uncovered a pattern of questionable behavior by one of these claim sharks, operating in a legal gray area, that should serve as a warning to any veteran looking for disability claim assistance: go to the experts.
NPR’s investigation centered on an Army Ranger and Afghanistan war veteran named “Dustin.” Dustin enlisted the help of Trajector Medical, a for-profit disability claim assistance company. He says the company didn’t really do much, and when he got tired of waiting for them, he decided to go with an accredited VA representative for help. When the accredited VA rep helped him secure a 70% rating, Trajector Medical presented him with a $4,500 bill for their services.
“I got this bill out of nowhere, when I got my VA rating, which just blew me away,” he told NPR’s investigators.
The services Trajector Medical rendered in trying to assist Dustin aren’t entirely clear, but NPR reporters Chris Arnold, Caley Fox Shannon, and Quil Lawrence discovered that the company’s primary methods aren’t entirely ethical. According to NPR, Trajector Medical uses a robot phone dialer called “Callbot” to inundate the VA disability line, using its clients’ birthdates and social security numbers to get information about their disability pay. When the bot detects an increase, that veteran automatically receives a bill.
This method, the investigators say, is prevalent among claim sharks. The personal data they collect about veterans is used to monitor the veteran’s disability claim, not necessarily to help the veteran obtain it. Legally, federal law prohibits organizations without VA accreditation from representing clients. They are even legally barred from assisting with disability paperwork. Still, they attract veterans with claims of guaranteed disability outcomes and increases.
Some of the veterans NPR spoke to were just happy to be receiving help with their claim, but some felt claim sharks like Trajector Medical don’t really do anything to help and still charge them for services. Dustin, for example, was bound by a contract, despite his claim that the company did not fulfill its part of the contract.
It turns out that many of the veterans NPR spoke to didn’t know that free help with disability paperwork and the VA claims process is available through Veteran Service Organizations like The American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars. They don’t even have to be members of these organizations to get the help.
While some veterans are happy to be able to pay for the “help” they receive, all veterans should be warned that the cost can be pretty high. NPR’s reporting found that, upon receiving a disability rating, Trajector charges veterans a fee that is 5 times their monthly disability check. It’s a one-time fee, but it’s still five months’ pay for what appears to be very little work. Federal law prohibits anyone from charging a fee for preparing disability paperwork. So what do claim sharks like Trajector Medical actually do?
“We don’t fill out your forms ourselves. We don’t file your claims. We don’t do any of that,” company founder Jim Hill said in an interview posted on the company’s website in July. “You do it yourself, and we give you a medical evidence packet to attach when you file for claims.”
Read the full story, along with other veteran testimonials about claim sharks, by checking out NPR’s investigation. If you’re concerned you might be with a predatory company, read this red flag list to identify claim sharks. For free help from an accredited VA representative, contact a veteran service officer at the Veterans of Foreign Wars or the American Legion—it could potentially save you tens of thousands of dollars.
