Transcript 0:00 [on-hold music] Happy Tuesday, everybody. 0:18 It's Carol Ponton with Kerry Baker here today at the Hill & Ponton Podcast, uh, re-regarding veterans law. How you doing, Kerry? I'm doing good. How are you, Carol? Great. It's always great to see you. 0:30 What's going on in Tennessee? Tennessee, it's raining. Uh, [laughs] and it's raining. [laughs] Uh, and, and, and, and, and fighting VA. Oh, that's, uh- Fighting VA. I know that. 0:48 Not, not a whole lot else going on. That's, uh, that's, that's pretty much it. Same with me. Same with me. Okay, Nate, let's see if there are questions we can answer for the people. Angel Marrero, "Greetings. 1:01 Can the VA deny SMCS based on the veteran's TDIU was granted on mult-multiple service conditions with a separate service connection rating at sixty percent? If not, what can be done?" 1:12 You know the answer to this one, Kerry. Yep, uh, I'm afraid they can. Uh, the TDIU has to be based on a single service-connected condition, uh, and then with other conditions rated at sixty or more. Right. 1:27 Uh, if it's not, then it's not. You know, if it's based on multiple, it just doesn't count. And that's, uh, well, that's solid case law, and I don't think it's going anywhere. No. And the second part of his question was, 1:43 "What are the steps to claim aid and attendance? Uh, intent to file twenty-six eighty. Thank you for all you do." Kerry, what would you tell him? What are the steps to claim aid and attendance? Well, I mean, 1:57 I think you got it there. Intent to file on twenty-six eighty. Right. 2:01 On, you know- The twenty-six eighty is the form that's completed by a doctor that shows that the veteran is disabled, the causes and the reasons, right? Yeah. If you've got that, you've got the claim pending. 2:14 The VA will then immediately order their own C&P exam to see if they can discredit that, but you've got it started. So I think that's a good job. 2:22 And you can, you know, I, I would say on top of that, if you've got a recent decision that's appealable, let's say granted a, a high rating, uh, you can always appeal that for a higher rating to include SMC based on the aid and attendance. 2:39 Um, you know, you're probably gonna get some pushback from the VA saying, "Oh, you... That's a new claim." It's not. 2:47 Uh, but you do have to show that aid and attendance would be supported by those service-connected conditions or else, you know, you're probably not gonna get it. But you can do it in the context of an appeal. Right. 2:59 You know. And if they've just denied the SMCS or just [clears throat] granted TDIU, I would also appeal that and say that they have a duty to assist to see if... And I would take the highest rating you have. 3:12 Sometimes people have a seventy percent for PTSD or a mental claim. They have a duty to see if that alone could cause the need for unemployability. So I would definitely appeal that as well. Mm-hmm. Nate. "I ser..." 3:27 My favorite person, I served, I deserve. One of three. "Hello, I'm scheduled for a C&P in a few weeks for urinary frequency. 3:36 My military records reflect an entry of UF, and I have mentioned this to the VA as well, but haven't been..." That went to two. Is there a number two? "I have PTSD to MST. 3:52 I also had a back incident during my lumbar, in injuring my lumbar, documented and treated in the military and the VA. Should I bring this all up with the examiner if I'm not asked?" Absolutely. 4:03 The back injury can definitely cause a urinary frequency. "Sorry, I forgot to mention that my research shows that sleep apnea, lumbar stenosis, and PTSD show strong relations with urinary frequency." 4:15 Uh, I think that you wanna make sure that the examiner gives an opinion that says whether or not these could cause the urinary frequency. 4:23 We find that back frequently, back problems frequently cause the urinary frequency. Uh, but make sure that you get the... 4:31 A lot of times what will happen is the C&P examiner will only give an opinion based on one thing, sleep apnea. It does not cause it or whatever they're gonna say. 4:39 They have to address every single possible basis for service connection. Kerry, you wanna add to that? Well, I just, I'm not certain that the sleep apnea and the PTSD is gonna support urinary frequency. Uh- Mm-hmm... 4:52 lumbar spine, yeah. I, and I might stick to that just to make the claim more sort of stronger and more credible. You know, you start claiming things that are, 5:04 you know, that just, uh, you know, VA's gonna look at it and go, "Well, all right, you're claiming it due to sleep apnea." Sleep apnea is not gonna cause urinary frequency. 5:13 And they're gonna, they could end up developing that same opinion across the board, even for the lumbar spine, which could- Right... yeah. 5:22 So I would stick to the, the one that you've got the best shot on, which would be the lumbar spine. 5:27 I agree with Kerry here, and that's why lumbar, uh, we have gotten service connection, um, many ti- many times for the lumbar problem causing urinary frequency. 5:36 So I think I would get medical articles and opinions and submit them in, in support of that. I agree with Kerry. 5:44 [on-hold music] Nate. Oh, "I was denied for bilateral upper extremity in March, but never received the decision. 6:01 Have called several times for the letter, but still no receipt. What can I do to get that letter and..."Since the years passed, what can be done if I disagree with the rating or I have additional information? 6:12 Also have been approved for another hundred percent for the heart, wearing left ventricular device. I 6:19 filed twenty-six eighty, that's for aid and attendance, in relation to cardi- cardiomyopathy, and rater did not address it and did not increase my SMC. Should I file a CAR HLR or should I go straight to the board? 6:31 Please start back again with that, Nate. All right. Kerry, you wanna address that? Denied for bilateral upper extremity in March of twenty twenty-four. 6:42 So have called several times, requested a letter, but still no receipt. Uh, wow, that's, uh... So if you didn't get a copy of the rating decision, um, I guess one, I'd ask, how do you know you were denied? Yeah. 6:55 That's what- Um, you know, and, and let's just look at it from the worst scenario as far as getting a copy. So you can't get the copy. But if you know you were denied- Yeah... 7:05 and know when the decision was, uh, then you can still appeal it, still reopen it. 7:12 Uh, if you're past your one year, you can't appeal it, uh, in most circumstances, uh, but you can reopen it, uh, with a oh nine nine five, particularly if you've got new evidence. Um, but it also sounds like you've got 7:28 a- another a hundred percent already and maybe some SMC. So I would just, 7:35 I, I won't say I would be cautious because I don't know what the up, bi- upper extremity disability is or what it's related to, so I might be speaking out of turn here, but, you know, is that a claim that's gonna benefit you in getting that SMC, um, or is it not? 7:50 Um, 'cause once you're up at that level, you know, some things are gonna benefit you, and other things won't make a difference if they do service-connected. 7:56 So, um, I would, you know, I, I'd need to know more about the case in order to- I, I think, Kerry, that, that they're saying that they could get a hundred percent for aid and attendance under cardiomyopathy. Mm-hmm. 8:08 And then I assume what they're doing is they wanna use this bilateral upper extremity problem to move farther up the SMC chain. Right. Or have some additional full steps, yeah. What's the next question? I think 8:21 since the years passed, if I disagree with the rating, um, also have been approved for another hundred percent for the heart, wearing left ventricular device. I... Next one, Nate. 8:34 Filed the twenty-six eighty in relation to the cardiomyopathy only it looks like, and the rater did not address it and didn't increase SMC. Should I file a CAR, HLR, or go straight to the board? 8:45 I always-- The CAR has been coming out so quickly, and we've been winning on a lot of these CARs that, Kerry, I, I will file. 8:52 In this case, I would file the CAR, uh, the thirty-day notice, and ask them to at least look at that and see if you can get the, the aid and attendance based on cardiomyopathy and then go to the board. What do you think? 9:03 Yeah. I-- You could try it either way, I think. I, 9:08 my fear on doing the CAR, and you, and you're very, you're probably right, Carol, that would probably be the easiest and quickest, and you could still come back and do the HLR, I, I think. Maybe. I think. 9:18 I might be wrong on that. Um, but my worry is that if they didn't address the SMC and you file a, a, well, any kind of an HLR, especially a CAR, 9:32 are they going to s- come back and say, "Well, we, you can't have a HLR on that because SMC wasn't addressed in the previous decision." 9:42 [laughs] You know, that's kind of a catch twenty-two with the AMA these days is if they don't address something they were supposed to, you'll file an HLR. 9:50 What I see a lot is them rejecting the HLR because it wasn't addressed, when the whole point of the HLR is try to get them to address it in the first place. It, it can be difficult. 10:00 Uh, in our experience, when they reject something and, and they're just not reading everything, they don't realize, "Hey, there was a claim here that you just completely missed." 10:09 Um- But I think that's what I would point out in the CAR HLR- Yeah... to them. Um, I think that's the best way to get the quickest response. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. 10:21 I, I-- And if you end up having to do the HLR, if the CAR didn't work, then you could point that out with a c-- in a conference to the DRO, a- and they could look at it and go, "Oh yeah, we see we missed it." 10:34 But I, I agree with you, Carol, if you pointed that out in the CAR, "Hey, you missed, you missed a claim here," like, that should be fixable with a CAR. Right. You know? 10:45 Uh, so I just, just be prepared for some, somebody to get it that doesn't wanna read. [laughs] You know, "Oh, well, we didn't address it, so it's rejected." 10:54 Uh, you know, they, they do that stupid crap all the time lately. They do. But I am finding that if you write it out and it's- Right... very simple and very short, uh, they are reading it. 11:06 I'm getting a lot of, um, positive responses on CAR HLRs. Good. Yeah. I think that's my favorite thing lately. 11:12 And then it seems like if they give you the service connection or give you something, and then you go to the board, it's much easier to get more from the board- Yeah... honestly. So good luck. 11:24 And the board, board's a little faster these days. I don't know. Yes. Okay, Timothy, part one, the gold standard. 11:31 Currently have appealed, have appeal at the BVA since February of twenty twenty-five for Barry, and also waived my right to have the appeal adjudicated in any different lane besides the direct review lane. 11:43 It's been cricket since I submitted. What are you seeing as turnaround on these half-step increases? Can anyone confirm or deny the regional office now adjudicating Barry SMC? 11:53 The regional-- I-- Mine are coming out much quicker than that, although that isn't too long for a BVA appeal. These SMC half-steps I'm finding, Kerry, are coming out really quickly. 12:04 I am finding that the regional office, it's hit or miss. It seems that some of them are definitely addressing Barry. Some of them seem to be ignorant of it. 12:12 And it just seems, I don't even know which offices are because now we really don't know who's making a lot of these decisions. 12:19 I am seeing Barry addressed at the regional office, and I guess-You know, I guess it's not too late for a direct appeal. Um, it's not been a year yet. Yeah. What do you think? 12:30 Well, they've, they've, they've centralized the Berry cases. Um, I- At the regional office? I, yeah, I, I think it's Seattle. 12:39 I, I could be wrong on that, but I think that's the RO- That's where I'm getting some of them, I know. Yeah. Seattle. But they have centralized them, so if you do an appeal, say an HLR, and it goes to, say, St. 12:51 Pete, I've had this happen before, uh, they come up, you know, while I'll ask for a conference. At the time of the conference, the DRO will realize, "Oh, this is Berry." 13:02 Well, then they can't make a decision on it, 'cause it's been centralized and only one office is allowed to decide them. So then they have to send it over to that office and reschedule another HLR with me. 13:13 So that's happened a couple of times. Um, but i- i- just in my experience, anytime they centralize something like that, and it's up to the RO, if you're a local RO, not a DROT, to decide that, "Hey, this is a Berry. 13:30 We need to send it off," I find that they just don't do it. Right. Um, and they just deny 'cause they don't get it, like the, you know, uh... I don't really agree with that. 13:40 I think you should teach across the board people how to apply Berry rather than just one office, uh, but that's, that's what they've been doing. [notification sound] Oh. That was weird. 13:50 So I think, I think, Kerry, then what's happening is the Seattle office knows what they're doing and does Berry- Yeah... but I think the regional office don't, like you say, they don't even know it's a Berry case. Right. 13:59 So they just deny. Right. Exactly. But I have had some good, really good decisions from the centralized office. I have too. Uh. St. Pete or the Seattle? What's that? From the St. Pete office or the Seattle? 14:11 No, from s- Seattle or the, whoever's doing the centralized ones. Like I said, I think it's Seattle. Could be wrong. I have too. Yeah. 14:17 And that's why I'm doing these CARs, because I'm really getting a great response from them. But that explains, but to me, that's why sometimes you don't get a response, because they don't even recognize that it's Berry. 14:28 So I think maybe I should start putting that in my appeal, "It's Berry." I just assumed they'd recognize that, but- Yeah... that's something I'm gonna start doing. Yeah, I don't, I don't think the ROs will. 14:36 [laughs] They don't, uh, they don't recognize- Okay... they don't recognize, you know, much these days. [laughs] Okay, Marty11. "Currently I have 20% for clavicle scapular impairment with bilateral AC joint strain. 14:52 Is the bilateral a medical term, or is it acknowledging both shoulders? Both shoulders evacuated, uh, evaluated for service connection, but left... Both shoulders evaluated for service connection, but left..." 15:06 Is there another? Both, both shoulders evaluated for left. Oh, maybe they mean that they did an exam for both shoulders and, but only the left is service connected? I don't know. I'm not... 15:19 Can, uh, Marty11, can you clarify this? If you send an, uh, something in, maybe Nate can go down and find it, uh, and bring it up so we can answer. Okay? Yeah. But bilateral does mean both sides, so. Yes. Mr. Ray, 504. 15:37 "Good afternoon. Part one: Does a veteran with residuals of TBI apply for SMCL first and then apply for SMCT, or does he file all at once?" Kerry, what do you think? Let's do that one first. Well, 15:52 so I, I see a lot of these cases. You can file for it all at once, for sure, but here's the rub, is if you can't qualify for regular aid and attendance, you're not gonna qualify for SMCT. Right. 16:07 Which, which is a higher level of aid and attendance, a much, much higher level. Um, I get a lot of intake cases where people with, with TBIs think they qualify for T. 16:19 You know, maybe just they're rated 100% and they, and they think they qualify for T. T is not easy to get. Uh, and if they've denied A&A, a regular A&A, 16:30 then I would, I would say, yeah, you've gotta fight for that regular A&A, 'cause if you can't get that, you're not gonna get T. But if you haven't filed for any and you think you qualify, yeah, you can do it all at once. 16:43 But I just see in the appeals most of the time, unless a vet comes to us and they've already got A&A, uh, and they, they've expressly denied SMCT, uh, then you kinda, you know, that kinda narrows it down. 16:57 Um, but if they're 100% and they're, they're fighting for something higher and they don't have A&A, uh, then I see, yeah, you usually have to get A&A, 'cause if they don't grant that, you're not gonna get the SMCT. 17:09 Right, and that's what I do, Kerry. I, I wanna get the A&A. I worry about whether VA thinks they're giving away money or whatever their thought process is. So I wanna get that A&A first, and then I go for the SMCT. Yeah. 17:23 I'm with you. I think that's a b- much easier way to get what, what the veteran deserves. 17:27 Yeah, a- and you've gotta, you know, if, depending on who's arguing the case or if anybody's arguing the case for you, I mean, you, the, if they grant regular A&A y- and it's for a TBI- Yes... 17:39 then you already have a str- a much stronger argument for T, just because you no longer have to show that the, that the, that the care you need has to come from a, a medical expert, like a nurse or something, which they, since the courts removed that criteria. 17:57 But it also blurred the line a little bit between, well, where does regular A&A stop and SMCT start? You know, I, it, it, 18:12 the language is so close there that as long as you've got the aid and attendance, a regular aid and attendance, you've, you've, you've got an argument at least for the A&A, but- Exactly... 18:23 one doesn't automatically mean you're gonna get the other, and you shouldn't go forth thinking that, 'cause VA's not gonna give 10 grand a month easily.Right. [laughs] They don't wanna give $123 a month easily. 18:36 Yeah, yeah. Okay, and it's part two. The VA's known to try to combine PTS- PTSD with TBI instead of keeping it separate. How do I help this? How do I help this veteran eliminate this obstacle? That's a tough one. 18:54 Uh, a lot of times you can't, because the, the symptoms are so overlapping. It's, it... What you have to look for are symptoms from the TBI that are not overlapping with the mental health. And, and every, uh... 19:09 Honestly, I, I don't know what you see, Carol, but e- every case I see is a little bit different. Exactly. Um, you know, because you have some re- some really severe TBIs where there are definite physical, 19:25 uh, residuals, all right, that go beyond just mental health, and in those circumstances y- you should have separate ratings. In other cases, you really can't discern 19:38 w- which, where one, where one starts and the other one starts. Start- Yeah... 19:41 where one stops and the other one starts, and on those cases it's much harder to get a separate rating, and you may never get a separate rating. So it, it- Right... every case is different on that. 19:52 So the, the physical ones that I see from TBIs, the ones that are much easier to get separate ratings are headaches- Right... migraines, or dizziness where you have Meniere's or some kind of, where- Right... 20:05 your balance has been affected, or sometimes because of a TBI you have some paral- paralysis, some type of- Right... permanent damage like that. 20:13 So any time you have any of those, you definitely want to file for those and get those serviced as a TBI-connected problem. Right. But mental is just very hard to separate one from the other. 20:26 I think I find the same problem that Kerry finds. But you need to establish all the problems that the TBI causes mentally so it's on the record. Yeah. 20:35 And, and you need to look at your, the, the ratings kinda like the way you just described. You know, if you've got, uh, a high rating, if they... 20:44 Just because it's worded together in the same diagnostic code, but yet you've got a separate 50% for headaches or 30% for headaches, then you have to realize there you, you are getting separate ratings for some of those residuals, uh, even though the PTSD and TBI might be under the same code. 21:03 So that- Right... that kinda grays the line as, as well a little bit. Wayne K.: What is the asset limitation for aid and attendance? That's the pension. There is no asset limitation for aid and attendance. 21:20 They're talk- I think they're talking about pension. Okay. We're... Pension is, uh, a totally different thing than what we usually talk about. 21:27 Pension is based on income that the veteran has, and if they're not, it's not a service-connected problem, then there is a limitation, and I really don't know those offhand. Uh, do you, Kerry? N- not, not offhand. 21:41 Y- y- if you're on pension or if you're talking about pension, you can go to VA's website and, and look up the income limits for- Right... 21:50 the various forms of pension, and there's, there's gonna be a limit at the, the basic level, uh, I think the SMTS level and the aid and attendance level. Certainly the aid and attendance level and the base level. 22:02 I'm not sure if S is in there. Um, and then it, that's gonna s- give you what you can make. If you make more than that, then y- you're really above the income thresholds for pension. 22:17 Um, i- if you've got medical expenses, that can bring your countable income down. So say if the income limit's 20 grand a year for, for aid and attendance on pension, 22:29 and you had 10 grand a year in medical expenses, you submit those, now your countable income is 10 grand, not 20, and VA will give you 10 grand a year to bring you back up to the limit. 22:41 Um, but like I said, we don't do pension. Uh, the rest of the question seemed like it was for service connection. Right. So I'm, I... They might just, they might just be confused thinking there's a limit for regular A&A. 22:54 I, I'm not sure. I'm not either. But there isn't. For regular A&A, there's not. Once you get A&A, you can go all the way up to R2 with, uh, the SMC, just depending on what your other disabilities are. Yeah. 23:07 And you would get a C&P either way. Yeah. 'Cause they, they still have to de- whether it's pension or compensation, they have to determine whether you're, you know, whether you meet the disability thresholds. Right. 23:20 RB: I put in for rhinitis increase, currently zero. Will they ask me about my sinusitis as well, currently 30%, during the C&P exam? They're on the same DBQ, and I don't want them to reevaluate it. 23:32 I think they will, don't you, Kerry? Absolutely. Yeah. That's, yeah, you're, yeah, you're talking, that's really- Yeah... the same system. Um, and if you're already at 30 for sinusitis- 23:45 Yeah, I might- You, yeah, you're, you're probably gonna, one, have a hard time getting an increase for the rhinitis, and, and two, uh, that's, you know, that's a, that's already a decent rating for sinusitis. 23:57 You just don't see that rated very high unless, unless you had multiple surgeries and, uh, you know, and all that. But, 24:04 yeah, you're, you're probably- I would look at the rating code and make sure that you think you're definitely qualified, because I, I'm with Kerry. 24:11 30% for sinusitis is really good compared to what the VA usually does, and rhini- or rhinitis is not something you usually get a very high r- maybe 10%. Yeah. 24:21 So make sure you're not taking a chance on something that, where you're not gonna get a benefit for. And expect, 24:29 g- go into it, if you've already filed a claim and they're developing it and they're gonna set you up with exams, expect to get one exam for both. Right. 24:38 So don't, when they ask questions about the sinusitis, don't blow it off thinking, "Well, you didn't file for an increase in that."Right... th-th-they're not gonna address it. If they examine it, you opened up the case. 24:50 Yeah. Uh, and if, and if you marginalize those symptoms, you know, uh, so I, I would make sure, in other words, that you, y-y-you portray the full set of symptoms, 25:01 uh, even if some have to do with sinusitis, just to protect your sinusitis rating. Exactly. 25:07 And I'm not one to usually withdraw or tell you, but if, if you think that you can't get a higher rating and you may be jeopardizing your sinusitis, just file a withdrawal of request for the increased rating for rhinitis, and say, "I'm not going to the C&P because I withdrew my claim." 25:23 And that'll keep your 30% for sinusitis. Okay? Um, I- I- I'm always, like Matt says, I'm going for it, but, um, when there are chances like this where you're gonna lose, I'm really... I'm with Kerry. Don't do that. 25:36 So we don't see the medical evidence. We don't really know what your problem is, but unless you are really sure you're not gonna lose that 30% and you can get an increase for rhinitis, I wouldn't do it. Yeah. Yeah. 25:49 On those, I'm, I'm the cautious one there. [laughs] Yeah. I thought men were supposed to be. You know, the- 'Cause, you know, fighting a reduction is, is no fun. Uh- No. [laughs]... 25:58 especially if you're the vet that's going through it. Uh-uh. Okay. Cardell Blevins. "Hello. I have MUCMI." Do you know what that is? That is medically unexplained chronic multi-symptom illness. Okay. 26:13 [laughs] "For the left thigh pain at 0%. I recently have experienced sciatica in my left leg. Could I use MUCMI as the source of my sciatica?" Ooh, this is a whole, this is a whole- Yeah... 26:26 this is a whole long conversation here. 26:28 [laughs] So what they're, what they're talking about are Gulf War-related claims, um, i- under 3.317, where you either have an undiagnosed illness or a multi-symptom illness of unknown etiology or pathophysiology. 26:44 Um, I'm sort of the Gulf War guy. Um, and the answer is yes, but understand that no one understands- Exactly... Gulf War claims. Um, it, the, the, because 27:01 VA thinks it's chronic fatigue syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome, and fibromyalgia. Right. Or now, now functional GI condition. And they're right. Those qualify. 27:12 Those are listed as presumptives in the reg, but those are really examples 27:18 of a medically unexplained chronic multi-symptom illness that is defined as a diagnosed illness of unknown etiology or pathophysiology, one or the other. 27:30 Rarely are you gonna find a condition with unknown pathophysiology, 'cause usually they can test for it and, and detect it and whatever. If not, then, 27:42 then that's, that's gonna fall in the realm of an undiagnosed illness or something like chronic fatigue syndrome, where there might not be a test for. 27:49 But if you've got a neuropathy, uh, in your lower extremities, for example, that they, that they can see on a test, 27:56 all right, yeah, that can still be a medically unexplained chronic multi-symptom illness as long as in your case, there's no known etiology for it. 28:06 So if they come out and say, "Well, your, your bad back is causing that pain in your legs," now you've got a problem. Right. 28:14 But if you've just got peripheral neuropathy and there's no reason for it, and they can't, in your case, figure out why, then now it could qualify as a MUCMI. 28:24 But getting the rater to understand that, it, you might as well go pull your own teeth. [laughs] You know? It, it's, it's difficult. And getting the board to understand it is difficult. Uh, I like those claims, 28:38 but at the same time, I don't like them because just teaching somebody how to argue this is, [laughs] is, is... 28:45 They, you get the deer in the headlights and, you know, um, but, you know, I, I, I think they make for good cases, uh, i- if you know what you're doing. 28:54 But so that's a long way to say, yes, you, you can do that, but just understand the rules that you're, that you're working within. Yes. 29:02 It's really hard, and no one understands it, and chief among those are the people at the VA. It is a mess. I think that's probably one of the worst set of rules I've ever seen so poorly effectuated by the VA. 29:15 I mean, they never seem to find anything that qualifies for that disability. Well, I'll tell on myself. In another life, uh- [laughs]... 29:24 someone may have written a training letter, uh, on how to adjudicate Gulf War-related cases that they thought was easy to understand, but no. [laughs] It's, no, still not easy to understand. Uh... 29:41 [laughs] So I c- I can expound if you want me to, but we, we have limited time. [laughs] Sherman Baker. 29:50 "Got service connection for sleep apnea, prostate cancer through Terra by way of the Superfund site El Toro, California. Thank you." Thank you, Kerry. 29:59 You have done so much for finding places that have the Superfund, finding just really work. So thank you, Kerry. I spent many a day on El Toro, California. [laughs] Okay. 30:16 This is the time, uh, when we get to talk to you about things that we think are really important, things we want you to know. 30:23 And the thing that I have been thinking about, uh, has since, as you know, at least twice I've been asked what I think about this Washington Post article that talked about the fraud that veterans are perpetrating on the system, and it has made me really angry, but it's made me think. 30:44 I think this is a planned, and I'm not paranoid, I think this is a planned attack on veterans getting their benefits. I did Social Security Disability for years, and I saw this exact same thing happen. 30:58 All of a sudden, these articles came out talking about all the fraudulent-... people who were getting Social Security disability, and they just had one article after another. 31:07 And I understand there are going to be more Washington Post articles or more articles about the fraudulent veterans. 31:14 And I can tell you by the time they finished these articles, it was almost impossible to get someone Social Security disability. 31:22 None of the judges wanted to be the one that paid the one person who was fraudulent, so they just denied everybody. It was awful, and I think this is the same attack about veterans. 31:35 Th- that all of you have gotta be asking yourself, the thing that we see is the fraud the VA is committing on veterans, and why is nobody talking about that? 31:45 And I think there is a power that is somewhere that does not want... They are upset about the veterans getting these benefits, and this is an action. 31:54 I think they are taking action against veterans, and I ask myself why the New- the Washington Post, it's in Washington, and where are all the BVA judges? In Washington, and all of them are reading this. 32:07 And as you know, the regional office, sometimes you get benefits, sometimes you don't, but the board is where we've gotten our best benefits. 32:15 And so if you wanna influence somebody to take down the VA benefits for veterans, that's where you start. 32:22 And I'm really upset about it, and I think you need to be thinking about it and you need to be contacting your congressman, anybody influence, because these are your benefits. 32:31 And I'm telling you, I have seen the entire Social Security Disability system taken down by these articles, and I'm afraid this is what's happening here. Kerry, am I paranoid, or what do you think? 32:44 No, uh, I don't think you're paranoid. Um, y- you know, it... The ironic thing is you see, uh, venues like this, i- include this one, you know, for years saying, well, y- you're f- you... 33:00 We're fighting our longest war ever. Yes. And it's doing an immense amount of damage to the troops that are fighting it, whether it's traumatic brain injuries or toxic exposures from the burn pits or anything in between, 33:17 and that you're gonna have to pay the piper at some point when veterans need taking care of. And now that it's time to do that, 33:27 you g- you get a reverse [laughs] and, "Oh, these guys are making out like bandits while everybody else is hurting." I- it just- Right... it- it, you know, when, when it's easy to, to, 33:40 to pick the low-hanging fruit or to simply embellish the stories that they had, which a lot of them were just that, embellishment, uh, y- you know, and I could, I could, 33:55 you know, I could talk about the individual, the cases that they went over and how they're embellishing it, you know, from now the time the sun sets. But it, you know, one, they should be ashamed of themselves. 34:07 They should. Uh, and two, they, they don't see the kind of fight that veterans, uh, uh, have put forth, but, oh, for, for decades to try to get benefits. Uh, so yeah, I... You know, what's the purpose here? 34:24 Wh- why would you come out and, and attack veterans after we've just finished the longest wars of our history? 34:32 Uh, you know, a lot of these guys have multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, and you've still got Vietnam veterans that are sick. 34:39 And then a, then a, you know, and VA's finally realizing, hey, some of these exposures that vets go through, they're actually legitimate. They're actually real, and they're actually dangerous, you know, and, and... 34:51 'Cause that's brand new in a lot of respects, you know? And now all of a sudden, they gotta walk that back? Give me a break. You know, I, I'd love to have a conversation with the people that wrote that article. 35:02 So would I. But I'm... We're telling you this because you have power. We're lawyers. Nobody cares if we're lawyers. We, you know, whatever it is, we're not reliable, whatever. You're veterans. 35:15 You have a right to be heard, and I think you need to be heard. 35:18 I am begging you, start talking to your congressman about where's the article about veterans being denied legitimate claims over and over again, being low-balled, being given benefits only as of the date the decision came over? 35:32 Where are the articles about that? Why are they picking on something that seems so minute to me? 35:38 So please get out there and fight, because I'm telling you, you're gonna fight whether you know it or not, and it's a bad fight. So that's all I'm saying, but please, please help us and help yourself. 35:51 Okay, Nate, I'm off my podium. [laughs] Carol, you can, you can get on that podium anytime you want. [laughs] You, you, you can stay on it. Uh, you've, you've ear- you've earned that. 36:03 [laughs] Terrence Brown: "I'm 100% PTSD and 70% of, which is TBI. Also have 50% migraines, 30% TMJ, and four 10%'s for jaw. Put in for aid and attendance. What should my SMC be? 36:21 Have SMCs been for PT... Have SMCs for PTSD right now?" SMCS, I think, is what they're- S-... trying to say. 100% for PTSD, 36:34 70% which is PTS- which is TBI, 50 for migraines, so I, I think probably the combined PTSD and, and TBI have been, uh, for the 100%, and the SMCS must be the migraines and the TMJ, don't you think? I... 36:51 Well, I think what they're saying there is, "I have SMCS." They just skipped a space for PTSD or- Oh, okay. Yeah, I put in for aid and attendance, but I think I... you wanna limit it to one thing. 37:03 If you can limit it to migraines, for instance, that would be great, because remember, whatever causes the S- the aid and attendance, the need for aid and attendance, you can't use to go up the SMC ladder. 37:14 What do you think, Kerry?Well, when he's asking, "So if I put in for A- A&A, what should my SMC be?" 37:25 So if you put in for A&A, your SMC would most likely be A&A, if, if, unless I'm reading that wrong. Right. Um, a- and so, uh, that, that would be your SMC if that's what you applied for and that's what they grant. 37:42 If they grant A&A, well then your SMC would be at the A&A rate, if that's what you're asking. Uh, but if you're asking should I get more than that, well then I'd have to r- refer back to what Car- Carol said. 37:55 It depends on what they grant the A&A based on. If it's for all service-connected conditions, then you'll j- you'll be A&A in Ohio. Yeah. And that's it. Yeah. 38:04 But if, if for example, they grant it based on, say, the, the PTSD and the, and the TBI, and then you have... What do you have? You have another 50, another 30 and four 10s, let's just call that two 50s. 38:21 That would go from L to L and a half to M. Right. That would be, you'd see M. Um- If they aren't related to the TBIs, and I worry the migraines and the TMJ may, but if they're not, then you're up to M, right? Yeah. 38:36 A- and that's y- that's a good point Car- Carol, 'cause we've seen... I don't know if you've seen this, Carol. 38:41 I've seen it, uh, um, at least a couple of times, and I know Jessica on, on our staff has seen it, 'cause she asked me about it. Um, 38:51 it- let's say your mi- let's say you got A&A in this scenario for your PTSD and your TBI, but you also have migraines rated at 50%. All right? That would take you from L to L and a half, if they're doing it right. 39:03 But I've seen them go, "Well, the, the migraines are a result of the TBI, and you're already getting, you already get A&A for the TBI, so you can't get another half step for the migraines 'cause that's part of the TBI." 39:18 And that's wrong. Okay? [laughs] It's secondary condition related to the TBI, it's still a separate disability. So if they're gonna start playing that- Thank you, Kerry. Yeah. If they're gonna start playing that game, 39:34 well, then it's like saying, "Well, we're pyramiding. You know, we're, we're giving you a separate 50% when it's really part of the TBI, so we're acknowledging we're pyramiding." 39:45 No, if you're not pyramiding, then what you have is a separate and disability, regardless of the cause, it's caused by the TBI, which maybe you're getting A&A attendance for, it's still separate from the TBI. 39:58 It's not overlapping. So on that notion, I- there, you know, a few people have gotten wrapped around the axle and go, "Oh, we can't grant a separate from that." No. Yeah, you can. 40:10 I, I had a case a couple of years back where the board tried that on SMCS, where the vet was 100% for one thing and had a separate rating over, uh, over 60. 40:22 Uh, well, that separate rating was secondary to this thing you're getting 100% for, and they tried to say, "No, you, you can't get SMCS." 40:30 And so we took it to court, and my court attorney was like, "What the hell are they doing?" Uh, and, and, you know, I think they're... I think personally they were either idiots or they were trying to establish- [laughs] 40:42 ... uh, you know, a, a new rule. You know- Mm-hmm... let, let's be conservative and do this and force them in the court and see if the court actually agrees with us. Well, the court did not agree with them. 40:52 The court said, "Cut that crap out and grant the SMCS." You know, and the case was settled. Um, so ju- just pay attention to that. If they pull that, I would appeal it, uh, 'cause it's not right. Uh. 41:06 This is why I love this, because this law is so hard, and I have just learned something, Kerry. I thought they could. I'm going back through all my cases. I get so excited about this, and I'm gonna redo all of them. 41:18 So all of you, this is one of the reasons that we do this, because we learn every day. This is so hard, and we need to all help each other learn. Kerry, that's great. You have made my day. 41:30 Well, then, then that makes my day, Carol. [laughs] TG, "Submitted supplemental for previously denied lumbar and new claim for bilateral radiculopathy secondary to service-connected broken legs and knees. 41:46 The VA continued the lumbar denial and granted radiculopathy 10% each leg. Please explain." Can you explain that? Uh, can you... I'd have to read that again. Let me see. 42:04 You want me to read that, Carol? Or- Well, first, can you answer the first? Uh, I submitted supplemental for lumbar. They gave him bilateral radiculopathy but didn't give him- One second. 42:15 Are they saying radiculopathy is related to the le- the leg and the knees? Yeah, lumbar and- And this is, right?... 10% for each leg. All right, so, all right, so first I would wanna... 42:28 All right, so you've got broken legs and knees. They granted 10% for each leg. W- did they grant 10% for radiculopathy of each leg or what? It said, "Granted radiculopathy 10% each leg." 42:44 Or did they, did they grant the knees and the broken leg at 10%? They were already, they were already service-connected. It says, "Service-connected broken leg and knees." So how could knees recall- cause radiculopathy? 42:58 Well, I think- And the broken leg is only one leg. Yeah. I, I mean, I could see if the knee injury, especially the broken leg, damaged nerves in the leg 43:09 to the point where you had, uh, you know, a type of radiculopathy that did not come from the spine. I've seen that stuff before. 43:16 So that might be why they granted radiculopathy But then why would they grant it for both legs if there was only one broken leg? I, that I don't know. [laughs] That's a, that's a good question. Uh, yeah, but I would... 43:31 Yeah, it's, they gotta be looking at the lumbar spine as something completely separate. Yeah. Um, I, I mean, it sounds like there's an appeal there. I- I, I agree. That sounds wrong... 43:40 I don't have enough information, but that's, that, that's not adding up. Uh, yeah, I would- Let's, let's go to the next one... I wanna know- See if that gives more... yeah, on what grounds did they deny the lumbar spine? 43:54 Okay. Next, the next part of that, Nate. Submitted, submitted s- supplemental for pre- We're still on the first one. We're still on the first one. Yeah, Nate, can we go to number two? 44:14 I hear somebody falling off in the background. I'm wondering if they got kicked out or... Let's see if we can find it. Oh, there we go. There you go. "VA sent me to two CMP exams within a month for lumbar supplement. 44:30 I submitted a FOIA and got the first medical opinion, which states more likely than not, and the VA won't produce the second. How do I fight?" First of all, go ahead, you tell them, Kerry. What do you think? 44:41 [laughs] Well, it sounds to me like they didn't like that favorable opinion- [laughs]... so they went out and got a... By God, we don't like it, we're gonna get a negative one. Um, 44:51 you know, I, I mean, you're doing the right thing. A FOIA request, they have to honor it. Of course, they don't have to honor it fast. Um, it- it's probably from a contractor, so they're not gonna give it to you. 45:03 Um, if you have a representative, even if it's a VSO, uh, I won't knock on the VSOs at the moment. Um, give me another moment, I will. [laughs] Uh, [laughs] 45:17 it, then they would have access to VBMS, and they could go in and pull that for you and just print it out and hand it to you. Right. Uh, so that, that would be an easy way to do it. Um, 45:28 other than that, you, you kinda gotta rely on the FOIA and just kinda stay on them. 45:33 Um, you know, that's one of the good things about having, at, at the very least, a representative that's got access, so you can go in and get that. Even if you do stuff on your own, which you can. 45:44 If you have a VSO, that don't mean you can't let the VSO do your claim for you. Right. 45:48 You can just go on there for menial stuff like, "I need this form," or, you know, "I need this submitted," or, "I need this printed out." And you can still do all the stuff yourself. Right. 45:58 Um, so that's, that's another way around it. But, yeah, I'd be curious what that second medical opinion says. But I'd file... 46:04 What, what I'd do, I'd definitely, I'd file a CAR HLR and say, "This opinion clearly supports it. What's the basis for denial?" And mention that you have asked- Yeah... 46:13 for the second opinion and it's not been provided to you. I think that's what I'd do. Yeah. Or you may want to have a hearing this time, Kerry. I know how to talk to them about it. Yeah, you could. 46:22 You could have a conference. Uh, you know, if you're gonna ask for... Here's the thing. If you're gonna ask for that second medical opinion, ask for the medical opinion request as well. 46:32 'Cause I, if, I mean, if this were my case, I would wanna see not only that second medical opinion, but what did they tell the examiner. Because VA is not allowed to lead the examiner down the path of a negative opinion. 46:47 All right? That's, the, the case law on that is really strong. Uh, and so if that's what they did, I would absolutely call them out on it, and that would render that opinion inadequate right off the bat. 46:58 Uh, so just little things like that, you know, some of the stuff I would look for. So just so you know what Kerry said, so there was an opinion that was favorable. The, the, the rater had to ask for another opinion. 47:12 And when he asked for that, what exactly did he ask for? And what did he say in that? You need that, because that's gonna tell you, you know... When they ask a question, you can ask a question to get the answer you want. 47:26 So you need to know what they asked. Uh, I'd get both of those, and I'd definitely file an appeal right away. Three, what's... "New current combined ratings for each foot, 50 and 50, and old 10% for each knee. 47:40 Had two surgeries on the broken leg in service, had documented angelic... ataxic gait," I think, "due to broken leg and knees. All evidence submitted." Is there a question, um, Nate, or is this the end of it? 47:58 I would be thinking about loss of use of feet. It sounds like you are having a hard time walking. I'm not really sure what's going on, but I think you, I would like to know more about that. Um. Yeah. 48:11 Yeah, and, a- a- otherwise, you're gonna run into the amputation rule at some point. Um, I'm surprised you haven't already. Right. Tim's Real Time Fishing. "What is the status of high overpressure? 48:26 I was 13B artillery for 20 years, got out 2009, and now I'm having CSF leaks from my brain. Doctors don't know how I got it." High overpressure. I think that's like a blast pressure. Uh-huh. I don't know about that. 48:44 How does that affect someone? Well, it's, it's basically a traumatic brain injury. Um, a lot of the, the blast from like Iraq and Afghanistan, you know, with troops now having 49:00 these combat helmets and all this gear that's not gonna come off in most circumstances, and a blast wave coming up and going inside that helmet. You know, there's a, there's physics behind all that. 49:13 Don't ask me to explain it. [laughs] But that's, that's... They realized that was increasing the likelihood of traumatic brain injuries- Wow... 49:22 although there was not a physical injury to the head, 'cause all that, that blast, um, and a strong enough blast, I mean-They could be picking you up in pieces. Uh, you know, that's, so... 49:35 But if you've got cr- ser- spinal fluid leaking, well, one, I'd be getting to the doctor. Uh, that's, that's not good. Uh, but, I, it's, I mean, 49:48 it sounds like you might have a claim for traumatic brain injury there, and that'd be one of the residuals of it. Right. I would file for that. 49:55 That's, if not here, I'd need to know a little bit more about the case, but that's kinda what it sounds like to me. 50:01 That's, and I can't believe you don't need aid and attendance after all of, all of these problems you're having. So just need to think about filing all of those things if you think you're entitled to. 50:11 'Cause remember, it takes forever to get aid and attendance or the higher level SMCs. The VA just really fights those like they fight all the others, but seem, seems to be harder. 50:20 So when you realize, "I need that," get that file in right away, that claim. Yeah. 50:25 I mean, I've seen cases where vets had leaking cerebrospinal fluid before, and, and, and, which very few times, but I've seen it, and at each time it was due to s- severe traumatic brain injuries. Um, 50:40 you know, 'cause it's, if y- if you, there's a thecal s- it's called a thecal sac that goes around the brain and the spinal cord. 50:47 If that's punctured and you're leak- leaking fluid, I mean, that's, you've got some issues that need to get fixed there. Uh. It's very dangerous. Yeah. 50:57 So, so take care of yourself, get those claims filed, but also make sure you get that doctor to fix whatever, or take care of what's going on. Yeah. 51:06 Roger Cox, "My husband is a Vietnam veteran diagnosed with Parkinson's last month. The VA is sending him for a C&P for depression. He did not claim that. We have several secondary, secondary conditions. Do you do those?" 51:19 Yes, we do. Send him to us. You want us to do it, I, I'm a lot older than Kerry, I'm a Vietnam veteran era, and that's, that's my baby. I just- I'm no, I'm no spring chicken. 51:33 [laughs] I was so angry at how they treated the veterans. That's what put me into this in the first place. So come to us. 51:42 I, I, I mean, I, if, if I could add something to that, Carol, I'd say they're probably getting the, uh, mental health, uh- Right... 51:48 exam because odds are during the Parkinson's exam that if they marked that, yes, there's a mental health component to it, and there usually is for Parkinson's, or at least there usually will, will be. Potentially. Yeah. 52:02 Then if they're doing their job right, they- Yeah... that prompts them to get that mental health exam because the Parkinson's exam doesn't have the criteria to fully evaluate it. 52:13 Uh, so that's te- that's, that's possibly a good thing that they're, that they're getting that exam. Right. 52:20 And I, and I know it's frustrating because there are probably a lot of other serious symptoms they're not evaluating, and they, you need to bring that to their attention. Mm-hmm. Agent2017, "Hello. 52:33 VA previously denied athlete's feet, that was December 16th of 2020, but granted other skin conditions. New claim submitted August 28th of 2024 with current diagnosis. 52:45 The VA added service connection to the May 22nd, 2019 claim. Isn't this wrong?" Yeah, previously denied. Uh, if they gave you early effective benefits, I don't think I'd fight that. Is that what he's saying, Kerry? 53:02 I'm not sh- What I think they're saying, I could be wrong here, so if you already had other skin conditions, um, if they granted service connection for athlete's foot and just coded it with those other skin conditions, 53:20 now, so if, if you had, I don't know, some d- some skin condition of the feet that was service connected, now you've got athlete's feet that are service connected on top of that. 53:31 It may read that you've got, you know, skin condition A along with athlete's foot that's now service, without changing the rating. Ah. 53:40 I don't know if that's what they're saying or not, but that, I've seen that all the time. Uh, and it may not be wrong. It just depends. 53:48 If, if it's just, if it's just another skin condition on the same affected body part that the, that the already service connected skin condition was on, well then they're gonna rate it like scars or something to that effect, 54:03 and it may be pyramiding to give separate ratings in that circumstance. Um- I think this is when we don't have enough information to really know for sure. Sure. Yeah. 54:13 Uh, yeah, if they're saying they went back to 2019 and added it, I'm, I'm with Carol. I'm like, well, that's- I'll take that. That's a... Yeah. But they don't se- they don't do that too often. [laughs] No. 54:24 Okay, I think we have time for two more. Step by Step, "Hey, veteran rating at 0% for ankle for 10 years disappeared. What should they do? Do they have an open claim for this condition?" 54:42 Sometimes they just leave it off, and you need to write and let them know that they have left that off of the form, that even though it's at 0%, you're still service connected for that. Isn't that what you do? Yeah. 54:53 I, and I would also wanna look at the code sheets. You know? Okay. So what makes you, what makes you believe it's left off? 55:00 Uh, you know, if you got a copy of your file and you went through it and looked at the code sheets and it's on one and it's not on the next one, then it's left off. 55:08 Uh, if it's just not mentioned on a rating decision, and the rating decision is for something else, which they wouldn't normally address the ankles, it may not be left off. It may still be there on the code sheet. Right. 55:21 Um, so, uh, yeah, I'd wanna, I'd wanna make sure by looking at the actual, the latest, the latest code sheet would tell you. 55:27 And you know, it's really funny how often you find this, people that have been given something years ago, and it may be a 0 or 10%, and then all of a sudden it just disappears. Yeah. You know? Yeah. 55:36 We, I've seen it happen tons of times. Yeah.Last one. Willpower. "I've just been rated at 70% for insomnia as well as a result, as a result of an HLR from 2023. 55:49 Being that this received a high rating, should I file for sleep apnea secondary to the insomnia? The VA has already provided the machine." 55:58 Yes, I'd definitely, because I think th- that medical article showed the connection between those two. Kerry, anything you'd add to that? Um, I, I, I, it's kinda forcing me to be cautious. 56:16 [laughs] Um, because pure, pure- You guys are supposed to be the brave. Go for it... pure insomnia, okay, when it's not intertwined with a mental health issue- I didn't think you could get 70% for insomnia... 56:30 it, it typically doesn't get rated 70%. Right. Now, that's one of the conditions that they make the most mistakes on. 56:40 Not, I wouldn't say the most, I don't know the most, but it's one that they do make that where they will rate it like a mental health condition, when there are instructions that it only gets rated so high unless there's a intertwined mental health condition with it. 56:53 So just because it's rated under the mental health system doesn't mean it gets rated like other mental health conditions. If they gave you a 70 for insomnia all by itself, I might leave it alone. 57:06 [laughs] Uh, you know, uh, because somebody could look at that and go, "Oh, we, we made a mistake here," and you might have, uh, big trouble fighting it. 57:15 Um, you may still get the, uh, the sleep apnea, but you m- may be right where you're at as far as your rating goes. So I, it just depends. 57:24 I- if there's a mental health component with it, then yeah, I'd, I'd say yeah, go for the, the sleep apnea. 57:30 If it's, i- if they really gave you 70 just for the insomnia and there's nothing, no other factors that's bringing it up to that percentage, I'd, I'd think twice. And odds are them doing something with it is low, 57:43 because if they're only gonna look at the sleep apnea, they're not gonna look at the insomnia. But you are claiming it's secondary to the insomnia, so they might. I... 57:53 It, it's one of those- I think- Yeah, it's- Yeah, what, what he wants to do is he wants to get, if it doesn't say in the decision things in addition to insomnia, he wants to get the C&P exam as well to see what the basis was. 58:05 Yeah. I, I'd bet you anything there's a mental health component with that. They're just really- Yeah... you just, you just don't see them giving 70% for insomnia. Yeah. 58:15 A- and that's what I would guess, and I don't wanna scare the person, uh, you know, into not filing a claim, by no means- No... you know. 58:21 But I, but I would just try to get a full understanding of everything b- before I do it. Right. Um, yeah. 58:30 But if he gets sleep apnea, that's 50% right there, and he's still much higher than he would've been, 'cause insomnia they would probably give him 50. 58:37 But I also, how can there not be a mental health component of not- I would think there, yeah, I would think there one would be, because I, I, the only way to get that high is off of a mental health DBQ. Right. 58:50 I, they're not gonna mark the 70% criteria when it's just insomnia. I, I- No... u- unle- uh, that wouldn't make sense to me. And if you did get the sleep apnea on top of it, that's another 50, so that's, what, 85. 59:04 That puts you at 90%. Right. Um, so. Go for it. Yeah. [laughs] Thanks, Kerry. This has been fun time, and I have learned something. I'm so excited. 59:17 I'm gonna go back and look at all my cases, so this is a great thing for me. Thank you. Kerry is one of my heroes. I know if you've had him on before and listened to him, you'll know. He, you need to thank him. 59:28 The PACT Act was a lot of his hard work. Um, so Kerry, you're my hero. You take care of yourself. Well, I app- I appreciate that coming from you, Carol. Uh, that means a lot. So, 59:40 um, I, I did just go to the gala down in, uh, Austin, Texas for Burn Pits 360 a couple weeks- Oh, explain that. What's a gala? So they kinda had a celebration. 59:51 Uh, they had never really gotten together and celebrated all the hard work that everybody put in, uh, for that. And, uh, so they just had a, a, a, they called it a gala. 1:00:02 I don't know, I'm not accustomed to [laughs] going to galas. [laughs] Uh, so it was, um, but it's, you know, the, uh, there was a few congressmen there. Former Secretary Shulkin was there. Uh, Grundstyle was there. 1:00:14 Uh, I, I'm, I, I like Grundstyle. Uh, uh, I like to hang out with those guys. They're pretty cool. Um, a- and, and just all the people that supported Burn Pits 360 and, uh, all that stuff there. 1:00:28 Did a lot of hard work like you did on it. Y- yeah. It was, um, a number of old clients, uh, were there, [laughs] so it was good to, good to, good to meet, meet some of them for the first time. Um- Uh-huh... 1:00:40 and so you know, we're not done yet. 1:00:42 They're, they're working on other things and, uh, so trying to get the, get the organization, you know, get- Where's, where's the Washington Post about all these problems that haven't been addressed? Yeah. No? Yeah. 1:00:55 Okay, I'm calling you out, Washington Post. Y- yeah. Come talk to us. Yeah. Yeah. Thanks again for joining us for Hill & Ponton Podcast. 1:01:04 Uh, you have a great week, and r- continue to send us your questions and continue to pursue your claims. Bye. Bye, Kerry. Bye. 1:01:13 [outro music]
