If VA got your decision wrong, a VA-accredited attorney can take it from here.

ClaimScopeLaw PLLC is run by two infantry combat Veterans who've been through VA's claims process themselves. Gabe Haugland, a VA-accredited attorney and retired Army JAG officer, represents Veterans after a decision: denials, low ratings, wrong effective dates and missed benefits. You pay nothing up front. The fee comes only from back pay VA awards, and if VA grants nothing, you owe nothing.

Begin my free consult How the free consult works

Free, at any stage, whether or not you hire the firm. No Social Security number needed to start.

Gabe Haugland & Erick Anderson
Clear Lake, Iowa

Attorney advertising. ClaimScopeLaw PLLC, Clear Lake, Iowa.

Your free consult

Not sure VA got it right? Send Gabe your decision letter and your questions. He reads them first, then talks it through with you on a free 30-minute call.

Quick conflict check. Your name and email, so the firm can confirm it's free to help you.
One consent. Lets Gabe read what you send. It doesn't hire the firm.
Your letter and questions. Upload the letter on the firm's secure page and tell Gabe what you want to know.
Pick a time. Book the call. Gabe will have read your letter before you talk.

It takes about five minutes. Please don't email your letter, Social Security number or VA file number; the secure page is safer, and the firm only asks for your Social Security number if you decide to hire it. The consult is free and isn't representation. The firm represents you only if you hire it in writing and sign VA Form 21-22a.

Begin my free consult Just book a call

How fees work

No fee until VA decides, and only if VA pays you back pay.

When you sign

No retainer, no hourly charges, no advance fee.

20%

Higher-Level Review or Supplemental Claim

Of the back pay VA awards on that matter. VA pays the firm directly out of the back pay and sends you the rest.

⅓

Board appeal, clear and unmistakable error, or earlier effective date

Of the back pay VA awards on that matter. You pay the firm after you receive it, in one payment within 30 days.

No fee on future monthly payments. The fee applies only to back pay (past-due benefits), never to your ongoing monthly check.
No fee before VA's first decision on a claim. Federal rules don't allow it (38 C.F.R. 14.636(c)).
No expense charges. The firm doesn't bill for copies, postage or records requests. If you choose to get an outside medical opinion, you arrange and pay for it directly, and the firm receives nothing from it.
VA's processing charge comes out of the firm's fee, not yours. VA keeps 5% of a direct-pay fee, up to VA's cap.
Your agreement is filed with VA, as federal rules require.

An example, not a promise. Say a Higher-Level Review leads VA to award $10,000 in back pay. VA would pay the firm $2,000 and pay you $8,000. Your new monthly rate would be yours in full. Every case is different, and VA may grant less, or nothing.

What the firm handles

The firm files Higher-Level Reviews, Supplemental Claims and Board appeals. It can also file a new claim or an intent to file. Court appeals are not included.

Denied issuesService connection VA turned down.
Ratings that are too lowThe rating doesn't match the evidence or VA's own rating criteria.
Wrong effective datesPayments should have started earlier, for example from an intent to file or the day after discharge.
Appeals that may still be openOlder appeals VA never finished can still be pending years later.
Temporary 100%After surgery or hospitalization. Often owed but never claimed.
Special monthly compensationExtra monthly payments VA must consider on its own and sometimes misses.
Individual unemployability (TDIU)When service-connected conditions keep you from working.
Clear and unmistakable errorIn older, final decisions.

Before recommending a route, the attorney checks whether winning would actually change your pay. Sometimes it won't, and you'll hear that up front.

Your first week

Begin your free consult
Start online in about five minutes: a quick conflict check, one consent, then your letter and questions. Prefer to talk first? Call (515) 344-4234 or email intake@claimscopelaw.com.
Free 30-minute call
Gabe reads your letter first, then talks through your decision and your options. The call is free and doesn't make the firm your representative.
Written terms
If you hire the firm, you'll add a few details on the secure page and sign a fee agreement and VA Form 21-22a electronically. The 21-22a lets the attorney act for you on all your VA matters.
Protect your date
When it helps your case, the attorney files an intent to file with VA right away. That can lock in an earlier start date for payments.
Get your file
The firm asks VA for your full claims file and service records, so you don't have to chase them.
Your evidence checklist
A short, plain list of what only you can supply: a timeline, a statement, your doctors' names. Most of it takes a few minutes.

After that: the firm sends you an update within 2 business days of any VA action, and at least every 30 days.

What to have ready

Your VA decision letters (the letter and the rating decision pages)
Your DD-214
Names of the doctors and hospitals that treated the conditions involved
Your VA file number. For most Veterans it's the same as the Social Security number. Use the C-number only if your VA letters show a different one. You'll enter it on the firm's secure page only if you hire the firm, never by email.

Who you'll work with

Two infantry combat Veterans from Clear Lake, Iowa, who've both filed their own VA claims.

Gabe Haugland

Attorney and owner

Gabe commissioned through Army ROTC at Drake University, through Iowa State's program, and went to Afghanistan as an infantry platoon leader. He came home and, like most Veterans, faced the VA claims process alone. He learned it the hard way: the forms, the deadlines, and the letters that never quite explain why VA decided what it did.

He went on to serve as an Army JAG officer and retired from the Army. For years he has helped fellow Veterans make sense of their VA decisions, first informally, and since VA accredited him in September 2026, as their attorney. He reads every file himself, and he'll tell you plainly when a review won't change your pay.

Licensed in Iowa. Accredited by VA's Office of General Counsel (POA code LC0, VA accreditation record), which lets him represent Veterans before VA in any state.

Erick Anderson

Director of Operations

Erick led an infantry rifle platoon in combat in Sadr City, Iraq, then served as a battalion logistics officer. After the Army he spent more than 20 years in engineering and business leadership, negotiating commercial agreements for energy, industrial, defense and infrastructure projects. He's an engineer by training, with a law degree and an MBA.

Erick has been through the VA claims process himself. At the firm he runs the operations side: getting your records requested, your deadlines tracked, and your updates sent on time.

He has applied for VA accreditation. Until VA grants it, he is not a licensed attorney or an accredited representative, and he works under Gabe's supervision, making no legal decisions.

Why that matters for your case: you're working with people who've stood where you're standing. They'll treat your file the way they wanted theirs treated: read carefully, explained plainly, and kept moving.

Questions

Who can contact the firm?

Any Veteran, survivor or family member with a VA benefits question, in any state.

Do I need a lawyer? Isn't free help available?

Veterans Service Organizations and county Veteran service officers help for free, and many Veterans do well with them. An attorney can make sense for complex cases, older appeals, effective-date disputes, or when a free option has already been tried.

I already have a representative.

Tell us on the first contact. VA recognizes one representative at a time. The firm can talk with you, but it won't step into a matter until you've decided, in writing, to change representation.

What if winning wouldn't change my pay?

Sometimes a higher rating on one condition doesn't change your combined rating. The attorney runs that math before recommending anything, and will tell you if a review isn't worth filing.

Does contacting the firm stop VA's deadlines?

No. VA's deadlines keep running until something is filed. Most review options must be filed within one year of the decision letter's date.

How is this related to ClaimScope?

ClaimScope LLC is a separate software company that Gabe Haugland and Erick Anderson own. ClaimScopeLaw PLLC is Gabe's separate law firm. You don't need to use ClaimScope to hire the firm. The firm's fee is for legal representation only and never includes ClaimScope products. If you've used ClaimScope and want the attorney to look at it, he'll tell you about his ownership first.

How is my information used?

Only to evaluate and handle your matter. See the privacy notice.

Ask about representation

Email intake@claimscopelaw.com or call (515) 344-4234. Include your name, your state, how and when to reach you, and a sentence about your decision.

Please don't send your SSN, VA file number or medical records until we confirm we can take your matter.

ClaimScopeLaw PLLC · 1116 N Shore Drive, Clear Lake, IA 50428

Begin my free consult