Claims Wingman organizes your VA disability claim: it reads your VA letters and medical records, builds a board of your conditions, spots problems in the paperwork, and helps you assemble claim packets. It is free, it runs entirely in your browser, and your records never touch anyone’s server — everything stays on this computer. The AI work runs on your own Claude API key, which talks only to Anthropic (the AI company), under your account, at your control.

One principle runs the whole app: it reads your records — it does not assume. Like a calculator, it’s only as good as what you put in. If a fact isn’t in an uploaded document, the app treats it as unproven until the paper shows up — because that’s exactly how the VA rater will treat it.

Know another veteran fighting a claim? Point them to claimswingman.com — this app is free for every veteran, always.

Want the big picture? Curious how your county compares to the rest of the country? The free VA Data Dashboard → Get Help tab shows every county’s ratings, age groups, and top conditions — built from the VA’s own published data.

Need the law behind the ratings? The free VA Ratings Guide → Ratings Guide tab links to the full VASRD browser — every one of the 722 diagnostic codes in 38 CFR Part 4, with a body map and plain-language tier breakdowns.

This app is free and it comes with zero promised support. There is no help line, no support team, nobody who owes you a reply. (Found a bug? The Get Help tab has a bug-report email — one real veteran reads it, when he can, with no promise of a fix or a timeline. App problems only.) That means the deal is simple:

1. This tab is the manual. Read it once, all the way through. Everything you need to know is here or explained right next to the button that does it.
2. The app only knows what you feed it. Upload every VA decision letter, treatment note, C&P exam, and private-doctor record as you get them. If you stop uploading, the app goes blind and its warnings mean nothing — it cannot help you if you don’t help yourself.
3. You use current forms and you verify everything. Download the latest official form from VA.gov before filling it, and read every field before anything gets filed. This tool organizes and drafts; you are the inspector who signs off.
4. Your VSO is your human support. For questions this app can’t answer, and for actually submitting claims, take your organized packet to your local Veterans Service Officer — county VSO, DAV, VFW, American Legion. They’re free, they’re accredited, and a vet who walks in with a Claims Wingman packet is the easiest client they’ll see all week.
5. Check back for updates. Stop by claimswingman.com every month or two and compare the version number at the top of this app. An updated download never touches your saved work — your case lives in the case files you save, and any newer version loads them right where you left off.

Follow the directions and this app will carry real weight for you. Skip them and you’re on your own — that’s the trade for free.

One more rule, from one builder to you: don’t modify this file. The safety systems in here interlock (the SSN protection, the evidence budgets, the confirmation gates), and a change in one place can silently break a protection somewhere else. In aviation terms: modify a certificated aircraft and it doesn’t fly under the type certificate anymore — it flies EXPERIMENTAL, at your own risk. Same deal here, except the thing at risk is your claim. Want a feature? Keep the tested build and send the idea our way instead. Fresh official versions live at claimswingman.com.

NEW CLAIM — DIRECT. Something happened in service — an injury, an event, or symptoms that started while you were in. Winning one takes three things: (1) that in-service event or onset, (2) a current diagnosis, (3) a link between the two. If you have never been rated for anything, this is your door — every first claim is a direct claim. (Tip: an Intent to File, VA Form 21-0966, locks today as your effective date while you gather evidence.)

NEW CLAIM — SECONDARY. No service event needed. Instead, a condition VA already service-connected caused this one or made it permanently worse. Classic example: service-connected knees change how you walk, and years of that wrecked gait ruin your back — the back can be claimed secondary to the knees. The catch, and it is absolute: secondary does not exist for you until VA has service-connected at least one condition. Nothing rated yet = no secondary, no matter how real the connection is.

INCREASE. Already rated, but the records show it is worse now. No nexus fight — the connection was already won. All that matters is current severity, which is why fresh treatment records decide these.

ALREADY DENIED? Then a fresh claim is not the move — denials get reopened through a review lane: Supplemental Claim (you have new & relevant evidence), Higher-Level Review (VA erred on the record it already had), or Board Appeal. The Claim Builder roadmap walks whichever one you pick.

Not sure which door your evidence opens? Pick the condition in the Claim Builder — it looks at your case and tells you which lanes are open, which are locked, and can read your records to recommend one.

1. Go to console.anthropic.com and create a free account.
2. Add a small amount of credit under Billing — $5 goes a long way; a typical document costs a few cents to process.
3. Open API Keys → Create Key → copy the key (it starts with sk-ant-).
4. Come back here, open the Settings tab, paste the key, and click Test key.

Your key is stored only in this browser and is sent only to api.anthropic.com. Nobody else ever sees it — not even the person who gave you this app.

① Start Here — this page. You’re doing it. Read this page top to bottom so you know what to expect and what the deal is. And make this a habit from day one: at the end of every session, click Save case in the top bar and keep the .json file somewhere safe. The app autosaves to this browser, but browsers clear their storage — an update, a cleanup, a new computer — and when that happens the case file is the only copy. Load case puts everything back exactly as it was, documents included. Then do the one piece of setup that everything else depends on: create your Claude API key at console.anthropic.com and paste it into the Settings tab. That key is the brains of this whole app — it is what reads your records, reviews your board, and drafts your statements. Until it’s in, every AI button in here is dead weight. The step-by-step guide is in the Step 0 card below on this page; it takes about three minutes and the key is the only setup step ② needs — the rest of Settings waits for step ④.

② Feed it — Documents tab. Drag in all your records: VA decision letters, C&P exams, doctor notes, and your imaging findings — the written radiology report where the findings live, not the X-ray picture itself. You don’t rate images; you rate findings, and that’s what the rater reads too. Click Process queue. Each document gets read once and its findings merged onto your board. Decision letters do the bookkeeping for you: the board’s rating %, decision date, and effective date update automatically from the newest decision letter — newest decision date wins, so an older letter can never overwrite a newer one or your own manual edit. What changed (or why it didn’t) is written into the condition’s evidence notes. The same letters also keep the case-level numbers honest: every payment-table row a letter prints lands in the Case File’s pay history, the newest one drives the Monthly chip up top, and each adjudicated decision becomes a Claim history timeline event — all copied from the letters themselves, never computed from rate tables. If the Monthly chip looks dim, it’s telling you it predates your newest decision: upload the award letter with the new payment table. When processing finishes, a banner offers Run cleanup ①+② — run it: step ① judges every condition (real claim / secondary / not ratable, junk dismissed with written reasons, reversible), step ② sorts every red flag.

③ Work it — Condition Board tab. Every condition found in your records, with its status, rating, evidence, and where each fact came from (click any citation to jump to the source document). The same ① and ② cleanup buttons live here, and after your first full cleanup, new uploads offer Review new only so you never pay to re-review the whole case.

④ Fill it in — Settings tab. Now that your records are read, press AUTO-FILL FROM MY RECORDS on My Info — your name, branch, service dates, representative, and more get offered straight from what your documents say, each value waiting for your approval. Costs nothing: the reading already happened in step ②. Then type the fields the app never auto-fills on purpose — your SSN, date of birth, and contact info (never sent to the AI; stamped onto documents locally). Do this before step ⑤ and every worksheet and form comes out pre-filled.

⑤ File it — Claim Builder tab. Pick a condition, choose what you’re filing (new claim, secondary, increase, appeal…), describe your current symptoms in your own words, let it draft your personal statement, edit it until it’s yours, check ADOPT, add witness statements if you have people who saw what you went through, and download the packet — statement, form worksheet, evidence extracts, and gap checklist in one zip. The VA form auto-fill at the bottom of that tab can also fill the official PDF itself: download the latest form from va.gov/find-forms, upload it, and verify every field it fills.

⑥ Ask Wingman — the chat button, bottom-left. It knows your whole case: every document, every condition, every flag. Ask it anything — “what supports my knee claim,” “what am I missing for this filing,” “explain this decision letter.” When you’re inside a condition in the Claim Builder, the chat locks onto that condition. Fair warning: the Wingman is not a yes-man. If your memory and your records disagree, it sides with the records and shows you exactly where — that honesty is the whole point. A chatbot that just agrees with you would help you build a claim the VA rater’s copy of your file contradicts.

⑦ Keep it — Keep Ratings tab. After you win, play defense: every service-connected condition’s care-continuity status and rating-protection countdowns, so a quiet medical record never costs you a rating. Upload each new treatment note as you get it and the clocks reset.

The app autosaves to this browser continuously. For a portable backup — or to move to another computer — click Save case (top bar) to download a .json case file containing everything, documents included. Load case brings it back. Save a case file after any big session; browsers can lose local data when cleared.

It does not file claims, it is not a VSO, and nothing here is legal or medical advice. It gets your evidence organized and your story straight so that when you sit down with your VSO or file on VA.gov, you show up loaded. Verify everything before you sign anything. Free, accredited help exists: your county VSO, DAV, VFW, American Legion.

How it works: download the latest official fillable PDF of the form you need from va.gov/find-forms, upload it here, and the app fills every field it confidently can from My Info and the condition selected above. You are responsible for using the current form revision — VA changes its forms and can reject filings made on outdated versions; this tool fills whatever PDF you give it and does not check the revision date. Your SSN and VA file number are inserted on this computer only — they are never sent to the AI.

Before you file: open the filled PDF and verify every single field. Fields the app could not confidently map are left blank on purpose, and signature / date-signed fields are never touched — those are yours alone. If the upload reports zero fillable fields, that copy is a flat, scanned, or XFA-style PDF this tool cannot fill — get the current fillable version from va.gov, or use the form worksheet above and fill by hand.

Your form library. Save blank official forms here once and reuse them for every claim — no re-downloading. The library lives in this browser only (it is not part of your case file, and it stays out of the Documents evidence pile on purpose). VA revises its forms: View a saved copy and look at the bottom-left corner of page 1 — every VA form prints its revision there (e.g. “VA FORM 21-526EZ, FEB 2024”). Compare that against the current one on va.gov; if yours is older, Delete it and save the fresh download. Each saved copy shows its age below, and once a copy is over six months old the app will ask at every single Fill — no form gets filled until you answer YES that it is the current revision — it cannot check va.gov for you, so an old copy is your cue to check va.gov/find-forms for the current revision before filing.

Every date below comes from documents in this case — so upload new medical evidence as you get it: VA treatment notes, C&P exams, and records from private doctors too (private care absolutely counts as continuity of treatment, and it’s evidence VA may not have on its own). Each upload resets the clocks below and keeps the reminders truthful.

Why it matters: a service-connected condition that goes quiet in the medical record can read as “improved” if VA reexamines — and staying current with treatment is your responsibility under your rating, not just good health sense. The routine that protects you: see your providers, mention each rated condition by name so it lands in the note, then drop the note in here. Green checkmarks below mean the paper trail agrees you’re doing exactly that. An amber or red row is this app reminding you before VA does.

This tab covers the codes that matter to your case. The full VA Ratings Guide covers the entire schedule — all 722 diagnostic codes in 38 CFR Part 4, with an interactive body map, plain-language tier breakdowns, a search across every code, and read-aloud narration built in. Built by the same shop as this app. Nothing is tracked and nothing about your case is sent anywhere — it’s a separate read-only reference page that knows nothing about you.

Veterans Crisis Line — Dial 988, then Press 1
Text 838255 · Chat at VeteransCrisisLine.net/chat · TTY: dial 711 then 988

Responders are trained in military culture — many are veterans themselves. You do not need to be enrolled in VA health care or benefits, and you decide how much to share. It also serves family members and friends who are worried about a vet.

A rating decision, a denial letter, a fight with the VA — none of it is worth your life. The claim can wait. Make the call first.

A Veterans Service Officer will review your evidence, file claims and appeals on your behalf, and talk to the VA for you — free, by law. This is the human support this app keeps pointing you to. Walk in with your Claims Wingman packet and you’re their easiest client of the week.

Find one: official VA accredited-representative search at va.gov/get-help-from-accredited-representative/find-rep (VSOs, claims agents, and attorneys, searchable by zip code), or call your county Veterans Service Office — search your county name + “veterans service office.”

Major organizations (all free): DAV · VFW · American Legion · AMVETS · Paralyzed Veterans of America

Only VA-accredited attorneys and claims agents may ever charge a fee, and only after an initial decision. Anyone charging you to file an initial claim is breaking the rules — walk away.

A free interactive dashboard of the VA’s own FY 2025 Disability Compensation data — all 3,148 counties, 6.33 million veterans, plus every table from the official Annual Benefits Report: rating percentages, age groups, top conditions, body systems, and DIC survivor benefits. Look up your county, see how your state compares, or find the national numbers behind your rating — without digging through a 200-page PDF. Built by the same shop as this app, from public government data only. Nothing is tracked and nothing about you is sent anywhere — it’s a read-only page of public statistics.

MyVA411 — 800-698-2411 · 24/7. The VA’s one front door: any question, any benefit; they route you or hand you to a live agent (press 0).

Benefits hotline — 800-827-1000 · claims, appeals status, payments, back pay. Mon–Fri, 8am–9pm ET.

Health care — 877-222-8387 · enrollment, eligibility, billing. Mon–Fri.

White House VA Hotline — 855-948-2311 · 24/7. For complaints and problems the normal channels haven’t fixed.

GI Bill — 888-442-4551 · education benefits.   VA debt — 800-827-0648 · overpayment letters, repayment plans.

TTY for any VA line: dial 711 first. If a number here ever stops working, call MyVA411 — it can reach everything.

VA.gov — file claims, upload evidence, manage everything.

va.gov/claim-or-appeal-status — check where your claim or appeal sits right now.

va.gov/find-forms — the only place to download forms. Always grab the current revision (the form auto-fill in Claim Builder depends on it).

va.gov/health-care/get-medical-records — Blue Button: download your VA treatment records, then feed them to the Documents tab. This is how you keep this app — and the Keep Ratings tab — honest.

va.gov/decision-reviews — the three appeal lanes explained: supplemental claim, higher-level review, Board appeal.

Homeless or about to be — 877-424-3838 · 24/7. National Call Center for Homeless Veterans: housing, shelter, and community resources. Call before you lose the roof, not after.

Women veterans — 855-829-6636 · Women Veterans Call Center, staffed by women, for any VA question.

Caregivers — 855-260-3274 · Caregiver Support Line for the spouse or family member carrying the load.

Vet Centers — 877-927-8387 (877-WAR-VETS) · free readjustment counseling for combat veterans and survivors of military sexual trauma — separate from VA medical records, off to the side, confidential. vetcenter.va.gov

Mental health (not in crisis, just need care) — mentalhealth.va.gov, or ask for a mental-health referral through any VA clinic or MyVA411.

Something broken? Claims Wingman is free and built by one person, so there’s no support team and no promise of a reply — but there’s a real veteran on the other end who wants it to work for you. If something isn’t working right, email support@claimswingman.com and tell me what happened and what you expected. I can’t promise a fix or a timeline, but if it’s something I can address, I will. This is for app problems only — for help with your actual VA claim, use the free VSO or accredited rep above.

Numbers and links verified July 2026. Government contact info occasionally changes; if something here fails, MyVA411 (800-698-2411) is the self-healing fallback — it can route you anywhere in the VA. Same rule as the rest of the app: verify before you rely.