Transcript 0:00 [instrumental music] Hello, and welcome to another Hill & Ponton VA Q&A live. 0:24 I'm here, but not with Carol, but with Carol. She is in a different location. How are you doing today, Carol? I am great. How are you? Great. Looks a little chilly where you are. It is. It is. It's really nice. 0:38 But not freezing. I hope all of y'all out there, um, made it okay through the, the crazy freeze we just had. Um, all right, let's jump right in. 0:50 Living with Russ: "I am one hundred percent P&T, forty percent lower back, forty per- excuse me, twenty percent bilateral radiculopathy with mild paralysis and weakness in left leg. 1:02 X-X, uh, at what point of paralysis would you suggest apply for A&A or caregiver?" Hmm. Carol? Well, it sounds like if-- [chuckles] 1:12 okay, so remember, aid and attendance, aid, A&A, is when you need help with the activities of daily living because of a service-connected problem, and it looks like you're not walking very well. 1:23 I mean, if there's partial paralysis and weakness, sounds like you're dragging your leg. Makes me think you may need higher than the twenty percent rating, by the way. 1:32 For, um, [clears throat] you may have foot drop, or you may have loss of use of feet. I mean, there are a lot of things I'd be interested in about what you could do. 1:40 Uh, so if you need help with activities of daily living, you can't stand in the shower, uh, you have difficulty with your balance, if you need somebody to help you putting on shoes, bending over, any of those things. 1:53 Just sit down and think about what help you get or need, even if you're not getting it. Mm. And if you need that, then I would apply definitely for aid and attendance and a caregiver. 2:03 So it looks like you may have care-- somebody helping you already. So remember, caregiver is money that's paid to the person that's giving you the care through the VA health system. 2:14 Aid and attendance is money the veteran gets because he needs aid and attendance, and that's through the VA benefits section. So you file for both of those. But I-- it sounds like you may be there. Yeah. 2:26 A coup- [clears throat] couple thoughts on that. When I see the VA admit mild-- the word paralysis is in, is it basically something they're admitting? They say mild. I, I kinda cross out the mild and say, "What's..." 2:38 You know. Yeah. "This looks serious to me." This is-as Carol said, this does not look like a twenty percent rating. 2:42 In addition to you thinking about what you need help with, whoever is helping you in any way, I wanna know what they think. 2:48 Because as Carol said, there's the help you get, help you ask for, and there's the help you need. A lot of times with our veterans, we, we, um, they're stubborn folks. 2:58 They wanna do stuff theirselves, they wanna be independent, but if you were to ask their caregiver, they'd say, "Well, I'd really like to be able to help him do this 'cause I'm afraid he's gonna fall, I'm afraid he's gonna hurt himself, but he rejects help." 3:08 So, you know, make sure you involve your caregiver in this when you're developing the evidence. And I... You know, so, 3:14 so to put that into action, I'd want a statement from you on a forty-one thirty-eight, and then a statement from your caregiver. Obviously, talk about what you both see and, and get that in there. But I, I'm with Carol. 3:25 Um, the least you would get for this if you have loss of use of one leg, it would be SMCK, which is like a hundred and twenty, a hundred and thirty dollars a month. 3:33 I'd be with Carol, kind of skipping that, trying to get right to A&A, um, slash caregiver. Well, not only A&A, I would have a, do you have foot drop? Are-- do you have loss of use of foot because you can't balance? 3:46 And maybe it's on both feet. Maybe it's not just on the left. So I would like to look-- know a lot more, but it sounds like you should consider A&A caregiver, maybe loss of use of feet, maybe drop foot. 3:57 Um, and one of the things that I find that people, even my staff, I have to remind over and over again, when you're talking about the symptoms that you have, you want to say when they started. 4:08 When did they become this severe? Because otherwise, the VA, because it's a vet-friendly system, is gonna pick the date you file that instead of going back, thinking maybe you had this a little before today. 4:22 So it's really, really important that you put for the last year, for the last three years, I've needed help for four years, uh, starting this year. 4:29 Whatever it is, you need to be as accurate as you can as to how long that's been going on. Agreed. Oops, I just lost my screen. Got it back? All right. Here we go. Colette fifty-two ninety-six C one oh three. 4:47 Back migraines were on same appeal twenty-twenty. Back appeal still pending for increased rating higher than ten percent. Migraines claims decided with ten percent. 4:58 HLR increased to fifty, effective date twenty-twenty in November twenty-five. Submitted SMC for A&A back and migraines October twenty-five. 5:08 Should my effective date go back to twenty-twenty instead of twenty-twenty five since both were still active? Carol? Yes. 5:13 If you needed aid and attendance back then, yes, it would, because remember, you just got this grant. So this grant helps you tag the aid and attendance along to it. My question is, I'm concerned about that. 5:25 What's been pending at the very first one? Nate, if you could put that back. Since twenty-twenty, that's a long time for something to be pending. Migraines- No, no, no, no. She's- Oh, okay. Yeah. I'm sorry. 5:39 I missed that. So the, the, the nuance here is, let's say you're-- it sounds like you just got a decision on the migraines. 5:47 If you got a decision a while ago on the backs and didn't appeal, they could try to use that against you saying, "Oh, well, you know, if it's based on both of these, you know, there's only one under appeal, so we're only gonna go from the day you said aid and attendance." 5:59 But I, I think that's part and parcel of the migraines claim, even if it does involve the back. So it needs to go all the way back then. Chances of them screwing that up? [laughs] Either, either very likely. Woo. 6:16 Sherri Stanford, good to see you. "I just wanna thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thanks to you both, I'm now 100% P&T. Now it's time for [laughs] SMC and comp too." [laughs] Oh, Sherri, you and... 6:26 Carol, you missed it the last time you weren't here, they had all new shirts for you, all new this and- Oh, no, I had the flu. Darn it. It was aw- it was awful. 6:33 I mean, they, they just can't stop but finding terrible- I... Matt, I think we need the shirts. Glad to hear that, Sherri. Who is- So excited for you. That is, you deserve every bit of that. 6:43 And then make sh- I, I like it, make them pay. Y- you, you made them pay what they want to, probably not what they want to, but now you're gonna make them pay more, we love that. I... Every nickel. 6:56 Lou M9M, "Vet is P&T 70%, PTSD 40%, prostate 10, hearing 10, tinnitus, now applying for hypertension, vascular dementia, stroke, residuals of ANA. Could one Nexus letter cover all three claims?" Yes. Why is that, Carol? 7:13 Because I think they all kind of sound like they go together. Um, you know, vascular dementia, stroke, uh, residuals, and aid and attendance, it sounds like they may all be related to each other. I, I agree with that. 7:27 Right. And, and, and it's, you know, it's the areas of competence of your doctor. So- Right... 7:33 if, just, just to contrast that, if, if a doc- if you were to go to a doctor and say, "Hey, will you give me the, the, the rate of disability on my PTSD and prostate?" I'd be circumspect to that. 7:44 I'd, I'd be a little worried- Right... that the VA's not gonna accept that, but all of those issues come to one. All right, Carol, let's play your favorite game, SMC. So what happens if Lou gets SMC for those three? 7:56 All right, so let's see. If you get aid and attendance, well, it depends on what they get aid and attendance for. So what do you wanna pick? PTSD? Let's pick the stroke. Okay, pick the stroke. 8:06 Does the stroke cause vascular dementia? I don't know. 'Cause that could be, vascular dementia alone could be a, a need for aid and attendance. 8:15 So it's kinda hard to really say, but remember, if you get aid and attendance for, let's say, just one of these, then you can use all of the others to go higher up the SMC. 8:25 So you already have, with TDIU, you, you already have 70% for the PTSD, so that's a half step above, so that would be L. Remember, aid and attendance is L. So the 70% gives you L and a half. 8:38 You have prostate plus 10 plus 10, that's gonna give you to M. That, not even counting, so what you get for dementia, stroke, aid and attendance. 8:47 So if you get, let's see, aid and attendance for the stroke, but vascular dementia is considered to be something separate, then you can also use whatever that rating is to go even higher up the SMC chain. 9:00 I'm looking at vascular dementia and PTSD. What happens if we can get aid and attendance for the stroke, and then you look at those two, and those, those rise to the level of aid and attendance, where are we then? 9:11 Well, I don't know what, how far they rise. Well, let's say vascular dementia and PTSD together getting- Probably will give him 100%. Say again? Knowing the VA, they're probably gonna try to find, to join them together. 9:26 She said, "Oh, she's claiming aid and attendance for dementia. Wow, that's what they wrote in the form." So that's great. So that means whatever ratings, remember, the stroke can give you a number of different ratings. 9:37 So say the stroke has affected your arms, your feet, your speech. Mm-hmm. So all of those ratings you can use to get higher up the SMC chain. 9:45 So remember, when they give you a rating for your stroke, make sure they've covered everything, and not relate it to, have it relate to the dementia if you can. That's great, 'cause, boy, we're moving up. 9:56 We've got PTSD, so we're already up to M. Let's see, and then if he can use that stroke, you, you may be able to get to R1 with those. Yeah, 'cause that's what I'm saying, Carol. 10:06 So let's say they get aid, aid and attendance for the dementia, but the stroke residuals are so devastating, that causes aid and attendance. What do we have when we have two of those? 10:16 We have two Ls, which give you an O, which give you an R1. Yay! She was a cheerleader, folks, back in her early days. That's because I didn't win anything else. 10:24 [laughs] She doesn't like to admit it, but you can see that energy. All right. Lou, let us know how that goes. That's a- Yeah... 10:33 that's a good case, and, and again, VA could very likely screw that up, but, you know, work with us here. Well, thank- Let's all kind of put our heads together, and, uh, and you need to get higher. 10:43 You need to get aid and attendance, but- You need R1... look at it, Carol. Should be, should be higher. Yolanda First Adams, good to see you. "104, high-level review. 10:51 VA increased my ITP from zero to 70, lumbar to 20, shin splints to 10, and continued bilateral psy- sciatica to 20, but effective dates are 2/25 and 1/26, when it should be, uh, 2022. Received SMCS, 11:08 PTSD effective date 12/25, but should be '22. I will appeal these dates, but are, but are they trying to not give me SMC back pay?" Yeah. Yep. 11:17 Uh, "Do I accept 70 for ITP or go to the board since it should be 100% and sciatica should be 40 to 60? Uh, since ITP granted through HLR, sciatica granted through, by BVA. 11:31 VA again denied cervical degenerative disc disease and bilateral radiculopathy, saying not TERA, no basis in evidence of record establishing in the, uh, federal code there. Favorable 11:44 diagnosis with disability, dis- disability presumptively linked to service, but not medically diagnosed within one year. Issue manifested to a degree of 10% after service, but ex- expiration of, uh, presumptive period. 11:57 Two, PTSD versus back." All right, let's go back to the very first section here. Is there a question yet? No. Second?Okay. We agree the effective date should be back to twenty twenty-two. 12:13 Um- You have nothing to lose going to the BVA. You only have something to win. Right. Remember, they're not gonna overturn what you've been granted. 12:21 They're just gonna look at as to whether or not you should be granted the things that you're appealing about, okay? So you have nothing to lose. Definitely go to the board. 12:29 So go to the board on that, and then accepting the seventy percent versus a hundred percent. You know, my thought is once you're going to the board, let's go with everything. Yeah. 12:36 So, so go for that, go for- You have, you have nothing to lose. Go for the sciatica and go for the cervical disc. Uh, next, next one I think talks about that. Uh, yeah. 12:45 Go for the cervical, uh, disc and bilateral upper radiculopathy as well. So I would do all of that. 12:51 The fact that it's not TERA, that's just weird that they're gonna try to deny you due to orthopedic claim, due to no exposure. Um, it can- No, it's not weird. It's their latest thing. 13:02 Well, right, but it's, to me, not- That's, it makes no sense, but it's the VA. Right. Right, right. Um, 13:09 just all, all I would say on cervical spine is it's not gonna be secondary to the lumbar spine, so you have to have some kind of independent... 13:16 Or if there was an injury in service that caused both, great, but, um, don't try to link it just to, to the And remember saying, not TERA, that's, that's a duty to assist, 'cause that clearly has nothing to do with your claim. 13:28 You're not claiming that that was the cause of it. So you have a duty to assist era to the VA right there, and I would go back and tell them, "This is the basis, not that." 13:37 And I would do that at the regional office if you can. Mm. Why would you do that at regional office? 13:42 Because otherwise, I'm afraid that you go to the board and the board's gonna send it back down to ask the regional office to do that. So it's just delaying your case. So, okay, so let's break this apart. 13:53 You would, you would go for a higher level review for, uh, duty to assist for just the cervical spine. Right. Everything else you'd take to the board. Right. Okay. What, uh, talk about- Yes. 14:05 They're saying that's, the only thing they said was not related to TERA was the cervical spine, right? Correct. So- That's the only thing denied service connection, that and the bilateral, uh, upper radiculopathy. 14:16 What would you, what lane would you like to do at the board? Direct. And why is that? Because all the evidence is already in. 14:24 Now, I'm assuming that all the evidence was in there before the rating decision was made, not after the rating decision and, uh, before the higher level review was done. Okay? 14:34 Remember, there's, you have to have everything in before the rating decision was done to go to a direct board appeal. Okay? If you put in really good evidence after that, the board doesn't consider it. So Carol, what... 14:49 And I just wanna walk everybody through here. You do direct, and then what do you do immediately after that? What do you file? File a mo- a motion to advance in the docket if you can- And-... 14:58 depending on the age, if there's anything terminal. What about the year waiting period? 15:03 Oh, also, well, we have on all of our forms when we go direct, we, we look at the, we list the statute saying, "We hereby waive the right to appeal for any other lane and ask that a decision be made right away." 15:16 So we're waiving the one-year right to appeal, otherwise they're gonna hold your direct for one year to make sure you don't exercise your right to appeal. [laughs] VA at its finest. Huh? 15:29 I said, VA at its finest, but, but so, you know, if- Let me see how I can delay this. Yeah. 15:33 So just, you know, when you're thinking about which way to do this, make sure you're following all those steps so that they- Yeah... don't delay it more than they're already gonna delay it. 15:40 So that's all part of our cover letter that we have when we go to a direct appeal. We have right on there, "We are hereby waiving," in bold, okay? So that they don't miss that. 15:50 Sometimes they miss it and hold it for a year anyway. 15:52 So if you have a direct appeal that's been sitting there more than four months, you may wanna send this back in saying, "I just wanna make sure the board knows that I have waived my right to appeal." Okay? 16:03 'Cause we have found that sometimes they hold ours, even though we've got that in their letter. They don't read it, or they d- it gets overlooked. Great question. Let's see. Uh, A- No, after that. Alicia Haney. 16:21 Alicia. Oh, there's an A at the beginning. Ah, that's tricky. That's tricky. Got past me. Uh, "06, VA denied service-connection migraine, cervical, neck, low back. 16:31 No chronicity, continuate, continuity, continuity," excuse me. "Missed exam. VA conceded in-service rollover motor vehicle accident, '98. C file shows LIMDU, back meningitis, yet neck, back denied. 16:49 VA also noticed in-service migraines treatment plus October '98 meningitis ICU. Post-discharge, I had dependent MTF care, '01 to '06, not cited. Twenty twenty-five, VHA diagnosed TBI with LOC. 17:05 Um, '98 motor vehicle accident, migraines, chronic neck, back pain, meningitis history. Best route." Go back to the first one if you can, 'cause that... Would this reopen the original claim? 17:16 "Denied service connection," da, da, da, da, "missed exam." Did they concede, when they concede the in-service rollover, was that something that wasn't in the file before? Mm. 17:26 Why did they not do that back then, I'd like to know. Okay. Next. "Noted in-service migraines." 17:42 I'm really not sure what they've approved and what they haven't. Are you, Matt? N- no, I mean, I mean, I think you just need to reopen this. 17:48 Um, I'd reopen it with a supplemental claim, with a, a letter basically saying, "Hey, here's all the evidence on this, and it was not considered at the same time," or something to that effect. 17:58 They, they need to, they, they need to parse this out more. Um, I, I don't think we have enough info to kind of give you a perfect start here, but I think the start is a supplemental claim noting these things. 18:08 And, and what I would note is, "Hey, look, I had a TBI diagnosed back to, um, you know, back, back to this '98 automobile accident."Um, and I think you should consider that and all these other disabilities related to it and just see what they say because this is, this is a mess and what you, you- It really is...best can do here is get a copy of your claims file, see what was put in when. 18:31 I would, honestly, I would get this after the rating decision that you get for this next case because, or sorry, this case, because they will put in new evidence, and I'd wanna see what new evidence they put in. 18:42 So can't give you a kinda exact, uh, follow-through here. You have a very complicated case. Yeah. And it's, uh, I don't like to give you an idea when I have really no idea what's going on for sure. 18:54 You need to get this back in the system is all I'm saying. Yeah. That's, you, you have a good case. Terrence Brown, "Car twenty back, back L. 19:09 My rating was 100 per- or 100% PTSD, fifty migraine, fifty SA." All right, so it's 100% PTSD, 50% migraines, 50% sleep apnea, three 30s, twenty back, left leg, right leg twenty, four 10s. "Have A&A. 19:26 What should my SMC be for A&A for PTSD?" S- okay. So- It's close to P, I mean to O. Well, so I mean, look at the back of your- What is car twenty? I'm not sure what that- Yeah. Car twenty back L. 19:44 I'm not sure what that means. I don't think that's a rating, so it doesn't matter at this point. 19:48 What I would wanna know and what I bet they did to you is gave you just A&A, you know, that, that they didn't specify- Well, it said, "What should my SMC be A&A for PTSD?" 19:58 So if you take that, then you've got fifty and fifty get you to N, three of these, N, let's see, N and a half, O. Isn't it? I think he's, he's right there. You stop at M. It's fifty- Huh? Fifty, fifty- M... 20:13 gets you to M. Fifty gets you to M. S, N and a, N, N, N and a half, N. And that's, I'm not sure, but it looks like that would get him to O, which is R1. Which is R1. Yeah. 20:26 Uh, the other way to look at this, first, and again, Carol cut me off. She likes to do that. She's one of the few people in my life that I allow that to. 20:34 Um, I would, I would first make sure the VA has rated you SMCA just for PTSD because they're lazy and they wanna save money, so they probably just said, "Oh, we're giving you A&A, how, how generous we are" and they've lumped all that stuff together. 20:48 Do not let them do that, okay? So you want that just for the PTSD, the A&A, memory problems, leave the house, don't take medicine, the, there's all kinds of issues that PTSD causes that would give you that. 21:01 I, I would look at this a different route. You got all those things you could add up. Hopefully, they get you to O, but the other thing I'd do is you have some severe back problems, the back and the legs. 21:11 Do you need help on your activities of daily living for that? Because that could get you another A&A. Two A&As, as Carol said, gets you O, and then the automatic bump up to R1. 21:20 So you've got a couple different avenues here. 21:22 Um, first thing you need to do though is make sure that A&A is just for the PTSD because I think, I think they're trying to get you to leave money on the table by combining all that. But it looks like you should have R1. 21:36 Too bad they don't let us do the ratings. [laughs] John, part one, was a firefighter in the Air Force and on noise exposure list. When I separated in '14, I claimed hearing loss and was denied. 21:47 Fast-forward to last year, I claimed tinnitus that started in service, going back to being around high-pitch fire alarms on call. The C&P examiner stated that in '14, my DBQ stated I was denied tinnitus. 22:01 I did not claim tinnitus at the time because I did not know what it was. I certainly never denied ringing in the ears or question of tinnitus never happened at the C&P exam. Is there anything I can do to fight this? 22:16 I, I, I mean, if you have a copy of the C&P exam from 2014 and it does not mention tinnitus, it did not ask you the question, I would file HLR for duty to assist on this saying that he made this up. If it did say that 22:30 and you weren't asked, I, I think I'd be filing supplemental claim saying, "I was never asked this. The, I don't know where the examiner got this information." Carol? I agree. 22:42 But once, once again, that's only gonna give you ten percent. What else do you have going on? I mean, firefighters were exposed to that horrible foam. Mm-hmm. 22:51 Uh, is there anything else going on that you need to file for? If it is, start working on that. Lonnie, what's the latest update on BVA hearing appeals this year? Four plus years? God, is that a hearing? 23:09 Did you ask for a hearing? Uh, I'm slowly getting ones from twenty twenty-two. Um, the direct are going back very quickly. I usually only file evidence if I can do a motion to advance in the docket. 23:24 So there are some that I have, I've nev- I don't have any hearing ones, but there are some that I have from years ago that I'm getting little by little, but they seem to be up to twenty twenty-two, twenty twenty-three. 23:37 Uh, I would- Remember, they have no, no obligation, if you will, and, and no frankly timeframe for hearings. If, 23:47 if, if everybody can take one thing away today is never file for a hearing for BVA because they just throw you in this dark room where the mold grows and your- [laughs]... your appeal goes to rot. Please- Yeah... 23:59 don't do that. Please do not do it. If you have your VSO saying you need a hearing- Get another VSO... go get a, [laughs] another VSO because that, uh, that, that is, uh, the biggest delay possible in, in- Right... 24:11 seeing that because the VA has no, uh, motivation to move on that.Gerald, one of three love these Q&As. I'm at forty percent. [clears throat] For osculo... Mom, say that word. I don't know that word. 24:27 Atherosclerotic- That one... heart disease. Heart disease. Ten percent s- so service connection for hearing loss, hypertension, back, SMC-K. 24:39 "I'm in appeal with the VA for degenerative disc disease, left and right lumbar radiculopathy, left and right cervical radiculopathy, thoracolumbar disc degenerative arthritis. 24:50 Do I need a rep when I speak to the VA judge? Hopefully this year. Been on appeal since August '24." First of all, just as Carol said, um, this is not gonna be resolved this year. 25:02 Um, if y- if you asked for a hearing, I think we're hoping twenty twenty-eight, probably twenty twenty-nine before you actually get a hearing. Um- Well, he said he's, uh... 25:13 So when I sp- when you have the hearing, it's not when you get the decision. That's what- That's true... even more misleading. You can get a hearing, and it can be three years later that you get a deci- decision. Um, 25:25 yeah, I'd definitely have somebody speak for you if you can. Um, and, and do know that even if you have a attorney come in or a rep come in, this is not gonna speed up. 25:36 Nobody can speed up, unless you have a, um, AOD, um, basis. A, a basis for advancing on the docket. Right. That can be homelessness. That can be, uh, terminal illness. That can be age, seventy-five or older. 25:50 Um, just think about anything that may show any need for moving your case expeditiously. Um, but I, I agree with Carol. I mean, if you look at the overall statistics for claims, 26:04 veterans who have representation, and by representation I mean either a, an attorney or an accredited agent, are much more likely to win. Your case, 26:13 I don't know that it's complicated, but it looks like there's enough going on for the VA to screw it up, frankly. Uh, so, so yeah, if you can get somebody who represents you, I, I definitely would do that. 26:22 And I'll tell you what we would do if you come to us. We would waive your hearing and ask that it be put on the evidence review instead. Um, and once... Well, actually, we would look at that. 26:34 You have ninety days from when you move it from the hearing level to the evidence review to put in additional evidence. 26:40 So we would look at the evidence that's in there, and then we would decide, wait until we got that so that we could put it in within the time period and waive the hearing. Um, that may move it up. I don't know. 26:52 Uh- That's not guaranteed, though. No, it's not. They do not have to do that. So, you know, you might be waiting for this hearing. 26:57 And again, folks, hearings, I think five-year minimum from, from the day you ask for it, because they just don't care. They, they, they don't, they don't prioritize that, so. No. And they tell you that. 27:09 "Please don't file a request for a hearing." That's one I would, I would be... I would encourage you all to make a, a shirt for Carol on, 'cause this is something that frustrates us to no end. Ugh. 27:21 [clears throat] All right, Mark. "Separated from the Navy in '90, received severance pay, not retirement or disability. Activated '04, uh, Florida National Guard, deployed Afghanistan. 27:33 Received ten percent tinnitus in twenty twenty-three. VA withholding disability check until repay severance. 27:41 Read where if disability either due to later period of service or made worse by later period of service can't collect severance. Should I file an appeal with the board since tinnitus 27:52 was determined after A- Afghanistan service?" Yeah. If you were discharged and given severance pay for, let's say, your knee, and then you have tinnitus later, they, they can't withhold benefits on tinnitus. 28:03 That's, that's a completely separate claim. If, if you were discharged and then given benefits for your knee later, then, then yeah, they could withhold that. 28:13 However, if you get an increased claim, let's say you're given ten percent after Afghanistan for your knee and your knee was zero percent when you were discharged back from the Navy, um, if you get an ad- you know, if you get an increased rate of thirty percent, they can't offset that delta, that, that, that increase of twenty percent they have to pay you even if you're being, even if you're repaying for the severance of the ten percent. 28:40 Carol's quiet. Okay. F-G-N, uh, "Appealing thirty percent for Parkinson's. When does VA move from regular disability level to SMC?" 28:54 Uh, first of all, let me say this, thirty percent for Parkinson's means they gave you a thirty percent because you have the diagnosis of Parkinson's. So that is a rating for, uh, what I'd call a, the... 29:08 Parkinson's is never in remission, but that would be a non-symptomatic rating, okay? Yeah. You get that rating because you've got that diagnosis. Now they have to go rate every single problem that that causes, okay? 29:21 So let's forget about SMC first. You need to make sure that everything that the, the Parkinson's causes, and unfortunately that's one of those diseases that can devastate your whole body, you get ratings for all this. 29:32 And then, Carol, talk SMC with Parkinson's. Well, 29:36 well, the problem with SMC and Parkinson's is, remember, for aid and attendance, if that's what you're talking about, if Parkinson's is a basis, then in order to go up the SMC ladder, you're gonna have to show that the other ratings you got were not Parkinson's, okay? 29:52 But, um, Parkinson's, as you know, can cause devastating effects, such as loss of use of feet, loss of use of hands. So if you get aid and attendance for Parkinson's, that's an L. 30:04 But then if you also get loss of use of hands or feet, that gives you another higher rating that you can combine that hopefully you can get to RO and then R1, okay? 30:14 So I don't know how bad the Parkinson's is, but that's the route that you wanna take, showing the, uh, loss of use of feet, loss of use of hands, the way that it's really affected you, to get another basis for aid and attendance other than just the Parkinson's diagnosis alone.So you're using, you're using the, um, symptoms of Parkinson's individually. 30:36 So the feet you would use, even though it's caused by Parkinson's, you're saying this alone, um, makes it so I can't walk. Right. 30:43 If I have aid and attendance for Parkinson's, you can still get when you have loss of use of feet higher. 30:48 Parkinson's is one of the cases that I almost always take because it's so devastating and, um- We do always take those cases because- We always... 30:56 a lot of times we'll have somebody who's not that disabled, but they know they can come back to us to get higher ratings because unfortunately it's a degenerative disease. Well, I always take them. 31:05 I do too, and I'm pickier than you are. And the thing is, it's, it's so complicated that the VA constantly underrates you, and it just infuriates me. So those are the ones that are special to me, so. Yeah. 31:19 It's-- These are... Yeah. They don't get it. You know, they, they say, "Oh, look, we, we diagnosed you, and we gave you thirty percent," and that's to see- And veterans think that's what they're entitled to. 31:28 They don't understand that that's just... You get that for the diagnosis, not for the problems it's caused. MS, by the way, same thing. I think minimal, minimal rating is thirty percent. 31:40 If you have problems, then, then that needs to be upgraded. It's that time, folks. And it irritates the heck out of me that we're back to what we had before the Biden administration. 31:51 So the VA has this little procedure where the BVA, the Board of Veterans' Appeals, will give a grant, an incredible grant, a grant that the veteran finally is entitled to, and the board, the regional office says, "Ah, you know what? 32:05 I'm not really clear on what you're doing, so I'm gonna ask you a question." In other words, they're trying to get the board to back off. 32:12 But even if the board doesn't back off, it really usually means there's a delay of six months or more before those benefits are granted. 32:19 I have several clients right now, they were granted R one, and it's sitting there because they want clarification. Could the veteran also be entitled to SMCT? So it's already been a month, nothing's happened. 32:32 Of course, these veterans are usually the sickest veterans, terminally ill, and they figure, "Hey, if six months and he dies, well, that case goes away." 32:41 It is- What, what happens to that money they owed him if it goes away, if the vet dies? Well, if he has no dependents, then it's gone. And that's exactly what they're doing again. 32:50 They had stopped it during Biden, started it again. I've seen three cases just recently where they've started doing this. The-- Some of them they'll work right up to pay and they'll go non-actionable. 33:01 Never seen that before. So just want you to know what's going on with this, and it is so maddening. I mean, they-- it's not just I'm giving you ten percent. 33:10 It's always the cases where they're getting R one or aid and attendance that they've needed for twenty years or ten years. Uh, they're the big cases that they're targeting. And I... Just infuriates me, Matt. 33:25 What thoughts on, on what to do here, Carol? I've been writing to every... Well, you know, before it never worked. 33:31 I don't know if it's worked this time, but I write to everybody I can think of saying, "Why aren't you processing it?" 33:36 I got, my first email was back is, "Well, the regional office had a question, and when we get that question answered, then we will proceed." I mean, it's crazy. I mean, I'm granting you R one. What's the question? 33:49 I mean, they're all very clear. So it's just the administration, and you can like it or not, I'm telling you the truth. We did not have this problem for the last four years, and all of a sudden, here we are again. 34:02 Uh, it is-- it makes me so angry because these veterans have waited so long, they're so sick, and to pull this is just so unfair. So that's my... I'm not happy. 34:18 And if anybody figures, if you have this problem, and you figure out what to do, let me know because- Yeah... I've been shooting emails to everybody I can think of, writing letters. Nothing's happening. 34:29 You know, they have a system that, hey, I ask a question, when I get the answer, I'll let you know, and which is, you know. Anyway, we need to go on because I-- that makes me so mad. All right. That's the corner, folks. 34:48 Ace, what is a reasonable amount of time after C&P exam for them to upload the results before you start calling them to get the status? Three months is the most I would wait. Yeah. 34:59 After two months, I think I'd, I'd probably start calling. I mean, again, this is what does reasonable mean, right? 35:08 Uh- They're supposed to get them in right away, but, um, I was told by someone that works with the VA that near the end of the year, a lot of these companies hold off because they know they're gonna get a cost of living raise, so they hold off to give it in the new year, and then they get paid more. 35:23 And I have seen a number of them sitting there waiting November, December. You know, they've had the exam, why is it being held up? Um, so. That is frustrating. 35:34 And, and, you know, you have variance between all the different C&P exam providers too, so there's no uniform return date. 35:42 Well, I got so mad that I called the C&P examining company and told them that I was going to write a letter and report that they were holding this off on somebody who was terminally ill, and it was filed the next day. 35:54 So, you know. Who knows? Who knows? All right, Remy, good to see you. Oh. Hello there. Good to see you. I have SMCS put in for L. 36:08 My service connected, service-connected conditions are major depressive disorder alone one hundred percent, migraines at fifty. My PCP put these on my twenty-six eighty as needing aid and attendance for. 36:19 I just got granted a hundred percent for major depressive disorder an hour ago with SMCL denial. Well, great on the a hundred percent there. 36:30 Yet all the qualifying criteria was submitted to this aid and attendance claim a month ago. Seems like a lot of information wasn't considered. What's a good argument?Was that at the regional office or the board? 36:42 It had to be at the regional office. It had to be regional office. He just, he just put it in a month ago. Oh, okay. 36:49 You'd really like to somehow get that, um, headaches off and just go with aid and attendance for major depressive order. 36:56 I think that's what I would argue and have the evidence for, and then just remember, I really like the CAR, HLR. 37:03 So if you filed a, an initial claim and you got a initial rating decision that's within 30 days, if you have good evidence, go for the CAR. Uh, that's the claims accuracy review. 37:15 I am finding that those are the most beneficial for getting, uh, awards at the regional office. So I would do that depending on where you are. And showing that it's 100% now is, have... 37:27 gives you a much stronger basis for getting aid and attendance just for the major depressive disorder, I think, don't you, Matt? Oh, yeah. Yeah. Um, so I'm just trying to think of what, what in addition. 37:39 When you're arguing the CAR, I'd wanna see, I'd wanna pull up that 2680 and, uh, parse out the really relevant information. 37:49 If you have a doctor sign that, then, then they probably put strong evidence in favor of you, and then I'd want a copy of the C&P exam most likely that, that- Yeah... 37:57 either didn't address aid and attendance, which is what I'm guessing 'cause they, looks like they focused on the 100% PTSD. 38:04 And if they did address it, how did they refute or talk about the positive evidence your primary care provider gave? And they may have had two C&P exams, Matt. 38:13 They may have had one for the 100% for major depression and one for aid and attendance, and they could have been done by different people, or they could have been done in a different way. So I'm with Matt. 38:23 I pull out that C&P exam that gave you the 100% and point that out to, if they're showing continuous hallucinations, things like that, then that clearly shows your need for aid and attendance. 38:36 So I would pull that out and argue that C&P exam instead of... 38:41 and then I would look at what they have for the aid and attendance one, and you can just ignore that because if one examiner has said you have this, then you've got it. I wouldn't ignore it. 38:51 I, I, I'd, I'd try to refute it. What, what did your, um, you know, what did your doctor say versus what they said? That, that's my thought. Well, I'm thinking both of them were the, probably the examiners. Same. 39:05 You know he got, he just got 100% for major depressive disorder. I am guessing that that came from the C&P exam because- Right... regional office is not gonna listen to your doctor most of the time. 39:17 So if you have a C&P examiner who has said this, that's what I would emphasize. You know, here's the basis, here's the reason, uh, and I think that this should be followed. 39:26 And I think if you do a CAR, you have a really good chance of winning there. Okay. Let's hear from you after you get that. Yeah. Siri, what do you do when the VA denies claims from '58 as though these men never existed? 39:44 Agent Orange didn't exist, nor did burn pits. Wrong. Um, Carol? Okay. I found- Who's that? Sir- Siri wanted to answer. 39:55 [laughs] I, you need to tell me where exactly did they have Agent Orange in '58. That's, um- That's kinda hard. I mean, I- Yeah... either you were at the factory in, where was it? In Mississippi. 40:11 I, I don't know of any... I don't know where they were using it in '58. I don't- So that one, this would be on you. I mean, I'm not saying they didn't, but- Yeah... 40:20 you need to have evidence that, that it was used and that the vet was, uh, at that location. Another step, twenty-five. That's a name change. Uh, requested my C file over two hundred and twenty-five days ago. 40:38 Multiple calls and nothing. Sent a letter from me requesting an update. Help. One year mark's fast approaching. That's, something's wrong there. 40:44 I would file another request for the C file, and I would call also and say, "Can you tell me what's going on?" Because before they had to copy the whole page of everything. 40:54 Now, if they put it on a disk and send it to you, I mean, it's a download. We, as soon as we get access to the, the VBMS file, we just download it, so it shouldn't be taking this long. I think something got messed up. 41:08 Surprise, surprise. [laughs] Donovan Graham, twenty-eight seventy-nine. Can I withdraw or replace information on a VA claim that hasn't been completely, excuse me, pleaded or submitted yet? 41:23 Well, if it hasn't been submitted, obviously, yes, you can. You can withdraw the whole claim, um, if it was submitted. But I don't know that you wouldn't... Hmm, I don't know how to do that, actually. 41:36 Carol, what are, what are your thoughts? So they're not looking to withdraw the claim, just information submitted with the claim. Uh, I don't, I, I, withdraw or replace information. 41:47 You can file a clarification is what I do on a forty-one thirty-eight. Yeah, I think, I think that's probably the best option there. Pretty hair, Carol. How come I never get that? Unbelievable. 42:02 I was thinking of giving you a brush. [laughs] Wow. McDarwin. VA acknowledged that I'm exposed to toxic waste on an Air Force base site in Northern California in seventy-four, seventy-eight. 42:20 They acknowledged that I had nephropathy and cardiac SVT but refused to link to toxic exposure. Applied with Helen Ponton, but she turned down. What other possibilities, what other options are available? 42:36 Well, um, I would have hoped that we would have referred your case. Again, we can't take all cases-Um, and we try to refer to other, uh, other law firms whom we respect and they do a good job. 42:50 Um, otherwise I would apply directly to other case-- to other firms. 42:56 If you have information that you could present, um, you know, any kind of scientific articles, frankly, research you found on ChatGPT, um, linking the, the current problems you have with the exact exposure you had, I think that increases your chances of, of getting a case accepted as well. 43:16 That's why Matt won't let me review all the cases. I take too many. Well, she takes too many, and then we-- there's a level of service we have to provide. Uh, uh, uh. Yeah. I provide that. All right, Tank. 43:31 Rated combined one hundred percent seventy mental with A&A need to add fifty percent migraines A&A and forty percent lumbar plus four times twenty radiculopathy with A&A, ten percent tinnitus, bilateral knees, ten apiece. 43:46 What would I be at SMC8 plus SMCK? Well, first, what did you get the aid and attendance for? Was it only mental health? Well, he has A&A for each one of those things, so I don't quite understand that. 44:01 Well, if you have A&A for two separate th- if they're all included in that one A&A grant, then you can't use any of them to go up the SMC ladder. Um, if you had 44:15 A&A just for mental health, and then they found a separate need for A&A just for the migraines, those are two Ls, and you can go up to O, then R one. 44:23 But from here, I'm not really sure because it looks like all of these were included with the original A&A, which means 44:31 you can only go up for what's left that wasn't an A&A, which would be like ten percent for tinnitus, bilateral knees, and that's not fifty percent. So you'd still be at L. Mm-hmm. Feel like you're back in school. 44:52 Zero, Sir Gemini, zero. I think I'm gonna read that wrong. Hi, from Walla Walla. 44:58 Is a new service-connected disability of ten percent have records that should be rated thirty due a higher level of review or supplemental to not risk the new service connection being, uh, severed? 45:14 Is a new service connection is ten percent. I'd definitely do a higher-level review to ask for a higher rating. That's what I'd do. Yeah. I'm not worried here about being severed. 45:30 If this was your initial claim and it's an appeal on that claim, you know, it's one thing to like reopen something ten years down the road and then come back and evaluate and say, "No, this has actually gotten better," but this is, this is your-- this is part of the claims, uh, stream file here. 45:46 So I, I would definitely appeal that. Oops, you P. Enjoyer. I was diagnosed about seven months ago after discharge with sleep apnea, but never thought to file until now. 46:01 Does one-year rule still apply for me in this claim? It doesn't matter when you file, it matters when the disability manifests, and, and if this disability is with, uh, within three point three oh nine, um, 46:17 and it has that one-year period, all it has to do is manifest. You can claim it twenty years later. 46:22 You're gonna need evidence that it happened within that first year, but it doesn't, it doesn't matter when you claim it, it just matters when it popped up. TWSR, Nexus letter ignored. Surprise, surprise. 46:37 My form twenty one dash five twenty-six EZ app filing deadline for submitting evidence was twenty-five eight oh six. My main, uh, C&P exam was in May twenty-five. 46:52 I submitted three physician Nexus letters in August of twenty-five. VBA's rating decision, uh, in August of twenty-five did not take into account the Nexus letters. What's the best way to rectify this? 47:06 That's higher le- file, uh, the, the CAR claim. Why not? Why can't he file CAR? I don't know what-- Oh, this is... Oh, the rating decision was August fourteenth of twenty twenty-five. Ah. Well, 47:26 if the evidence-- here's the two-- the thing, you can file a higher-level review, which I probably would do to make sure, because if you go direct, 47:34 I don't know whether you could do it direct or evidence because I'm not really sure if the evidence was in there. You know, they didn't review it, but was it sitting in there? And I'm not sure. 47:43 I mean, I could look online if I had your case and see, but I'm-- what do you think, Matt? I think I'd do a higher-level review just to make su- find out where that evidence was. 47:53 Or we can do a supplemental and point out the evidence that was not considered. Maybe I'd do that. Yeah. 48:00 I, I mean, when you say considered, do you mean was it discussed, discussed in the narrative, or you specifically looked at the evidence section and it was not listed in the evidence? 48:10 A lot of times you'll see they'll list it, say, "Hey, yeah, we, we were-- we reviewed this 'cause it's listed here," and they just won't discuss it at all. If that's the case, then it makes it a lot easier. 48:20 You just go higher-level review and say, "Look, this was in the file, and they didn't give any weight to this because they didn't even discuss it compared to this one probably puny C&P exam they had." 48:30 So, um, that's what I would look for. Otherwise, you know, if you can get a copy- Matt, I would-- if the Nexus, if the good Nexus letters, they were in there, it's listed on there, I go to the board. Oh, okay. 48:41 Because, you know, you've got good evidence, why give them a chance to send you out for another C&P exam? If it isn't listed, I would file a supplemental.Saying this was not listed. 48:51 See, what happens is, i-if you, if you had access to online, you'd see they, they do their decision, they post a rating decision, and then after that, they post a notice of award or notice of action. 49:03 It could be a week, could be two weeks between those. 49:06 So if the notice of award came out just after you put the evidence in there, it's very, it's very possible that the rating decision did not consider that, because when the rating decision was posted, it wasn't in there. 49:19 So that's why I'm concerned about whether it really was in there or not. So if it's not listed, um, all the evidence they considered, then I would file a supplemental. If it is listed, I go to the board direct. 49:32 I like that. I like that a lot because if you're going to the board direct, again, that's the key, going direct, no new evidence by you or the VA can be put in that file. Right. 49:41 The BVA is much more likely to, to give you an up or down decision, meaning they'll grant you or deny you, whereas, as Carol said, if you go higher level review, they'll say, "Oh, there's a duty to assist error. 49:51 You, you, you're s- you need another C&P exam to say these, to say your doctors are wrong." And then all of a sudden you have negative evidence in the file against you. So I... You know, guys, this is what's so... 50:02 We've talked about this so many times. The Appeals Management Act, AMA, has been in effect now for, I don't know, six years, seven years, and it was supposed to make things easier and more streamlined. It's not. 50:14 You really gotta think about this. You gotta think about, "Okay, what's the state of my claim? Where am I? What's the most effective way to do this?" 50:21 Because what Carol said is, is so important there, because if you do it the wrong way, that gives them a chance to get negative evidence. 50:29 So, you know, you really gotta think about these things, unfortunately, because it, I, I think it's four times as confusing now, because, you know, there is a way to make it more favorable to you, but if you don't know the way, they sure as hell ain't gonna tell you. 50:40 Right. So great, great question, and again, this is why we love, um, doing this Q&A, because it makes us think and, and hopefully it gives you guys guidance on how to do it a way that's most favorable to you. 50:55 Statesmanship. 50:56 Matthew: Can I let Carol know that her twenty-third December twenty-five Christmas present complex case has just today signed to have her and Hill & Ponton represent me in my twenty-three years of morgue denials. 51:09 Uh- Wow... way to go, Carol, making the C&P company to act the next day. Wow. Wow. They, they, they're scared of her, I tell you what. Well, you didn't ask for a T-shirt, so yes, you can say that. 51:23 [laughs] Larry, peripheral neuropathy. Is peripheral neuropathy a secondary or residual? Can I claim and be compensated for peripheral neuropathy now, or do I need to wait for it to become a residual? 51:35 June twenty five claimed it's secondary to drug insert showing s- uh, showing as a side effect of multiple drugs that can be a symptom of multiple myeloma, I think. 51:48 Treating physician's notes says PN most likely caused by cancer treatment. VA denied claim. Not sure of next steps. So let's step back. Residual or secondary? I don't care. 51:58 You know, one time, uh, I was in, I was, I was in a, a backpacking trip up in, um, Alaska, and the, uh, the, the guide said, "What's the difference between a brown bear and a black bear?" 52:09 And, and I was like, "I don't know. One's black." He's like, "No." And he goes, "What's the difference between a black bear or brown bear and a moose?" And I looked at him and I was like, "One has horns?" 52:18 And he said, "No, it doesn't matter. What matters is you get the hell out of there." [laughs] And here, it doesn't matter if it's secondary or it's residual. You don't care about that. 52:27 That, that's not, you know, that's, in a way, that's out of your purview in that that's a medical finding, okay? 52:32 What you care about is that either something in service or something that was caused by service, here I believe the multiple myeloma caused it, okay? You just wanna apply now. 52:42 So I will say if you are at a hundred percent for multiple myeloma because you're receiving, uh, receiving treatment, they might not give you a rating for, for the peripheral neuropathy. 52:53 They might just give you the hundred percent and, and not... But once your hundred percent goes away, meaning it's no longer active, then they would, that would be a residual, and they'd have to rate you. 53:02 But Carol, I might be wrong about that, because if it's- I think they should give it to you in addition. Yeah, because- Because it-... because if it's secondary to the drugs, that's, that's, that's just another part. 53:13 And so I, I agree with Carol. I, I, I think- It's not the same symptom you get with multiple myeloma either. Yeah. So it's separate. Yeah. So I, who cares what they call it? Apply now. I- [laughs] 53:27 Tim's Real Time Fishing. HL officer told me that the C&P exam I had did me wrong and is going to schedule me for a new one. I stated not just the same person. Is this wrong? No, this is right. 53:40 That's what I tell my clients. If you get a bad C&P exam, you never go back to that person, and you have a right to a different one. 53:47 And you would tell that company, "Look, I've had this person before, and they were not, they were not legitimate. They didn't, they didn't put down what I said, and I'm not going back to them. 53:56 Give me somebody else," and they will do that. Or I will ask V- VA for a different C&P- Company... exam company. Yeah. They want your mo- They want the VA's money, so they're gonna do what they have to do to get that. 54:10 Mark. Uh, FYI, the Secretary Collins was being interviewed on Patriot Radio earlier today, and Secretary Collins said that the VA's cutting back C&P exams by seventy percent. Hey, that would make my day. 54:22 If veteran has the condition and service medical records, they won't need a C&P exam. Well, that- I'd, I'd love to see that, because that's what they're supposed to do. 54:31 If there's evidence in support of your claim, they shouldn't be sending you out. So, and I've been telling them, "You're wasting a lot of money doing this." So I would love to see that. That'd be amazing. Christopher. 54:44 If I've already spoken with a judge from the Board of Veterans' Appeals, can it take up to a year or even more if there's also a hearing? Carol? Yep. 54:51 It can take forever.This is one of those false hopes that, that the BVA hearing lane gives you. 54:59 You know, we- [chuckles] there, there was a while ago where we were seeing people file for a BVA hearing request and getting a hearing within six months, and they were all excited. Well, guess what? 55:09 They still waited four years. Yes. 55:11 So there is no correlation between when the hearing was held and when the decision will come out, and again, they don't have to give you that because the way the law's written, those, those are the redheaded stepchild. 55:24 Am I allowed to say that still, redheaded stepchild? Is that- [laughs] Get in trouble here, people. [clears throat] Joe Doe, "Hello. HL offered BAC increase, continued to twenty percent, but says duty to assist listing 55:39 z- exam rework. Ingram versus Collins. VADVBQ showed forward flex at thirty-five percent at flare-up. Will rating change? I am on many meds. Thank you." You may get a forty percent. 55:55 If they showed the flex as thirty-five, they should have given it to you already, but they probably just wanna make sure. Yeah. So- And then you say you're on many meds. 56:04 Think about secondary problems that causes, fogginess, um, you know, uh, not, you know, having your normal energy, forgetfulness. You know, look, look to see if there's a secondary claim to file there. 56:16 All right, let's do, uh, three more. [clicks tongue] TWSR, "I engaged a VSO. Can Hill & Pond review my case while VSO engagement is still in effect?" Yes. We cannot, 56:27 uh, review a case that, that is being handled by another attorney, but if it's a VSO, we, we will look at those all day. [clicks tongue] Ed, Ed V, [chuckles] "I have been diagnosed with PTSD by the VA. 56:40 I applied for a VA rating, was denied. I did not serve in a combat zone nor have a traumatic event. Have you been accessible-- successful with these kind of cases?" Yes. So, well, yeah. 56:51 What, what do you think on this, Carol? There are many things that happen in the military [chuckles] that don't have to do with combat that cause PTSD. 56:59 So if you've been diagnosed with it and it happened because of your service, I think you have a good case, and we've won many that have that. There's sexual trauma- But there's... This has to be a traumatic event. 57:10 Traumatic event doesn't have to be combat, doesn't have to be, you know, rape, doesn't have to be, you know, near-death experience, but there has to be something that triggered the PTSD. 57:19 Well, that's what he has, post-traumatic, so I would assume there was a traumatic incident. Well, you would assume that, but he said he hasn't had a traumatic event. I read better than she did. 57:30 [laughs] Read better than she does. So- Well, I guess I would like to know why he has PTSD, what's happening. Yeah. And, and, and I think you just need to realize traumatic event doesn't mean combat. 57:41 It doesn't mean you saw somebody die. It doesn't mean, you know, again, um, military sexual trauma. 57:47 A traumatic event is subjected to the person, so whomever you saw, whatever doctor diagnosed this, they identified something traumatic for you, and again, that's a subjective symptom. So identify what that is. 58:01 You need to have, uh, some kind of corroborating evidence showing that that happened in service, be it service records, buddy statements, you know, change in behavior. 58:10 Um, but, but don't write yourself off because you didn't, you weren't in a combat zone. They don't give that rating, that diagnosis for no reason. Yeah. Yeah. 58:20 [clicks tongue] All right, last one from Happiness, "Would back pay go back to '22, or when, uh, psych D marked total, even though C&P had plenty for 100%? 58:31 Can you get ANA back to '22 with continuous pursuit of evidence?" Well, you could go back depending on when the claim was. I don't know when you had the claim. 58:40 If you had it back in 2022 and you continuously appealed it, then yes, you can go back. Same with aid and attendance. Yeah. 58:47 One of the VA's favorite things to do is when they finally have to concede that your disability is rating the service, they say, "Okay, fine," and they give it the day of the, the rating decision. 58:56 Or when they're being really generous, they give it the day of the C&P exam. Yeah. N- neither of those is right. It goes back to as long as you've continuously applied for that and appealed for that claim. 59:07 So if 2022 is the date, great. Aid and attendance is just a further rating of that underlying disability. That should go all the way back too. So yeah, and again, this is the way the VA loves to keep your money. 59:19 They say, "Oh-" And you know why they do that? They do it because people don't wanna poke the bear, and- Right... you know, don't let them do that to you. Right. Again, knowledge is power here. Yep. 59:29 Knowing you are, you're gonna know better [chuckles] than the VA when you started and how long you've appealed the claim. VA's just gonna grant it and see if you go away. So make... 59:38 In, in, in three, what is that, four years now, benefits, um, at 100% or ANA, that's- That's a lot of money... that's over $100,000 at least, so yeah, y- you, you need to fight for that. Okay. All right, folks. 59:53 Thanks again for all the great questions, and I gotta say, I appreciate the fact that nobody came up with new slogans for Carol to say and- [laughs]... all that nonsense. Um, and I guess I need to go bike home. 1:00:03 [laughs] All right. So we appreciate it. Look forward to seeing you all again next week, uh, same place, same time. [outro music]
