1. Preliminary physician screen
A law firm may ask Valor to evaluate the medical viability of a theory before requesting a signed report. The screen is designed to answer a practical question: should this issue proceed to an evidentiary opinion, be developed further, go to a specialist, or stop?
2. Counsel decides whether a signed opinion is requested
After screening, counsel decides whether the issue should proceed to a signed medical opinion, be developed further, be referred to a specialist, be narrowed, or stop. Valor does not characterize the legal privilege or work-product status of the consulting communication; that is counsel’s determination.
3. Complete-file review and source reconciliation
For a formal opinion, Valor reviews the complete available record relevant to the assignment, prioritizes original source documents, reconstructs the chronology, tests competing causes, and returns to the record for a second verification pass. If a rating summary, attorney chronology, or later note conflicts with the original DBQ, imaging report, laboratory result, or treatment note, the original source controls unless there is a documented reason otherwise.
4. Batch and recurring assignments
Valor can coordinate multiple cases with attorneys, paralegals, and case managers. The firm receives a realistic capacity and deadline before the batch is accepted. The point is predictable delivery, not an unlimited-volume promise.
5. Record transfer and firm workflow
The public website and ordinary email are for introductions, not case records. After professional contact, Valor ordinarily prefers PageAI or Dropbox for C-files and medical records. The firm’s own information-security, privacy, retention, and transfer requirements control, and another agreed method can be used when firm policy requires it. Naming conventions, batch structure, and transfer method can be standardized for recurring work.
6. Physician-directed use of electronic tools
Large records can be organized and queried electronically so important dates, tests, procedures, medications, examinations, and conflicting summaries can be retrieved without relying on memory alone. Those tools assist with record organization. They do not make the medical judgment. Dr. Townsend remains responsible for the causal analysis, evidence weighting, limitations, and signed conclusion.
7. Specialist boundary
Valor's Internal Medicine breadth is particularly useful for multisystem records, chronic disease, medication effects, complex causation, C&P rebuttal, and integration of multiple service-connected conditions. When a disputed diagnosis or mechanism depends on specialty testing or expertise that would materially change the answer, the appropriate recommendation is targeted specialty review.
8. Final opinion and revisions
The signed opinion answers the questions counsel actually asked, identifies the evidence carrying the conclusion, addresses material contrary evidence, states medical limitations, and keeps adjudicative decisions separate from medical findings. Clarifications or corrections are handled directly with counsel; a change in medical conclusion requires a medical basis, not a preferred litigation outcome.
9. Fees and turnaround
Fee, billing terms, record completeness, file complexity, expected turnaround, and current capacity are confirmed before a formal assignment proceeds. For a defined, complete, straightforward evaluation, approximately three business days is often realistic after acceptance. Larger, incomplete, multi-condition, or specialty-dependent files are scoped separately before a deadline is promised.