EchoPoint: veterans benefits law you can hear, search and understand on your own

Who it's for

Your claim, read aloud

• Decision-letter reader. Open a VA decision letter and hear every rule it cites, then jump straight to each one. Building
• Rating lookup. Find a condition's diagnostic code and the criteria for each percentage. Building
• Combined-rating calculator. Uses the VA's combined ratings table and reads the working aloud, step by step, so you can check it. Building
• Vision-loss guide. Eye ratings, special monthly compensation and blind-specific benefits gathered in one place. Building
• Appeal-window reminders. Enter a decision date and get reminders before each deadline, with no internet needed. Building
• Evidence checklist. Track what each claim needs. Every change is added to the history, never overwritten. Building
• Copy a citation in standard form for letters and briefs. Building

The law behind it, searchable in milliseconds

Libraries

• Title 38 of the U.S. Code, Veterans' Benefits. Building
• 38 CFR, especially Part 3 (adjudication), Part 4 (the rating schedule) and Part 14 (representation). Building
• Each library shows its version date and what changed since the last update, so you never rely on old text. Building

Search

• Results in milliseconds, tested on 100 million index entries. Ready
• AND, OR, NOT and exact-phrase search. Ready
• Optional word forms, so "rating" also finds "ratings" and "rated". Ready
• Suggestions as you type, and "did you mean" for misspellings. Ready
• Cross-references, including citations written out in plain words. Ready
• Notes and a scratchpad tied to the sections you're working on. Ready
• Veteran vocabulary: searching "PTSD" also finds "posttraumatic stress disorder", and "TDIU" finds its full name. Building

Built for voice and screen readers

• Designed around VoiceOver on iPhone, iPad and Mac, JAWS and NVDA on Windows, and TalkBack on Android.
• Counts first, then detail: "23 results in 38 CFR Part 4", before the first result is read.
• A short home screen with three clear choices: Look up a rule, My claims, My business.
• The same words, in the same order, on every device, so what you learn on one carries over to the next.
• Every action works from the keyboard alone on desktop.
• Large text and high-contrast settings that don't break the layout, for veterans with low vision.
• A short sound or vibration confirms a save, and a different one tells you it did not save.
• Spoken "where am I" at any point: which library, which section, which result.
• No time limits, and nothing shown by color alone.

Your records stay yours

• Your claims, conditions and notes are kept on your own device, not on our servers.
• The libraries work offline, so you can look up a rule with no signal.
• No ads, ever. We never sell or share claim data.
• Blind users never pay more for accessibility.

Information, not legal advice. EchoPoint helps you read and understand the law. It does not give legal advice or represent you. Only VA-accredited representatives, agents and attorneys can do that.

On the devices veterans already use

• iPhone and iPad, because most veterans at VA Blind Rehabilitation Centers are trained on iPhone. Building
• Android with TalkBack. Our engine already runs here in the Daftari pilot. Building
• Windows with JAWS or NVDA. Our engine already runs here in our desktop products. Building
• Mac with VoiceOver. Our engine already runs here in our desktop products. Building

One engine runs on every device, and the same tests check it everywhere.

Coming later

• A business record book for blind veteran business owners and Randolph-Sheppard vendors: sales, expenses, stock and programme reports by voice, based on our Daftari app now in pilot.
• A medical reference linking conditions to their place in the VA rating schedule, with eye and vision-loss terms explained in plain words.
• The VA claims manual (M21-1) and appeals decisions, where their terms allow.
• Braille display support confirmed in testing.

Get in touch

Are you a blinded veteran, a service officer or a VIST coordinator? We are looking for people to test EchoPoint and tell us what works.