Speaker 1: 0:00

I think it's okay. Welcome, folks, to another episode of Exposed Vet Productions. My name is John Stacy. On this beautiful May 22nd 2025. A little chilly outside in the state of Kentucky, but hey, we're alive and we're doing well. Anytime you wake up on the side of the dirt, you're doing something. Today, I want to have a special guest on. His name is Mr James Cripps. Actually, Mr Ray Cobb is on here too. He's my co-host, but I do want to tell you guys I'm sitting here talking to the first two, not the first 20, the first two veterans that received their service connection based on agent-owned exposure that was contracted, or that they actually were exposed inside the continental United States of America, after being told numerous times that they didn't use Agent Orange. Mr Pipp, how are you doing today, buddy?

Speaker 2: 0:56

Doing pretty good, john, considering all things.

Speaker 1: 1:01

Considering all things, I know what you mean.

Speaker 2: 1:03

Considering all things.

Speaker 1: 1:05

Yeah. So you know things are considerable. I mean, you know we have to live what we have to do, you know, and unfortunately we're all three a hot mess of diabetes anyway, you know, and I think it's going to be the end of us all one of these days to tell you the truth, and I hope not, but you never know. Anyhow, we were discussing some stuff early in the week and this is a very important topic because we did last week's show on what to do if you get a bad service officer. You know, and I did say that you can fire a service officer at will if you had to, and of course, a lot of them maybe need to be fired if they don't do the job or if they're naked and doing their job. And James has got a story there about one that of course, we're not going to. You know we're going to do this on the light version, we're not going to go too heavy on it. But, james, what is going on with some of these service officers not doing their jobs?

Speaker 2: 1:55

Well, john, I know a handful of good service officers and.

Speaker 2: 2:03

I would be desperate to find a handful, but I don't know. It kind of seems like they're brother-in-laws of politicians or buddies somewhere along the family line in the counties that they work for. And you know, it's not based on qualifications. I just, you know, there should be a standard for a service officer. Now they apply. Now they apply If they get any schooling at all.

Speaker 2: 2:49

It's five days and that five days is spent going over Friday's test, what the test is going to be on on Friday. So they pick certain topics, pick certain topics not out of the Code of Federal Regulations but off of a sheet, a piece of sheet paper, and they go over that every day for the four days and they say you might want to pay particular interest to this question here. You may see it later on. So at the end of the week, on Friday, they're giving a test, used to be 20 questions, multiple choice of true or false. You pass that test, you make a 70% and guess what? You're now a certified not know a whole lot service officer and you're going to go out and you're going to represent these veterans. You know, some of them have been waiting 50 years for their benefits and now you're going to represent them and you're going to advise them based on 20 true or false questions or multiple choice. You know I took that test numerous times, multiple choice. You know I took that test numerous times and I'll never forget one day.

Speaker 2: 4:30

When they passed the test back out, the director of claims said Crips, you cheated on that test. I said how did I cheat on the test? He said you made a hundred. And I didn't even do that. Well, it's an open book test. You know what's the excuse. But if you're going to be a service officer, you're going to have to learn this stuff on your own. The statewide training is not going to. You know they pick one subject and they harp on that one subject. You don't. It's like picking one passage out of the Bible and then swearing up and down. You know the Bible. There's got to be a better way.

Speaker 1: 5:19

Well, I need a set of knowledge, skills and abilities, need a merit system in place for all this stuff, because you know this is a very important job and in order to do that people you know, I mean in order to actually become a service officer I think you'd need to take a certain test to see if you qualify to be one, because I mean it takes a level of skill to do this. I mean you have to know. You know you've got to study VA law and you've got to know how things work and I think they need a merit-based system to get them in there and get them hired. It is buddy system stuff. You know it's for the birds. I mean sure, it gets people jobs, but you've got to realize that merit-based system is a little bit different because I mean you know if you're not qualified to do a certain job and you're not qualified to represent people, you don't need to be doing a job.

Speaker 1: 6:11

I'm already saying you know. You know maybe you need to go do something else. You have to be able to be conscientious enough to understand the regulations and rules for a veteran. You know, first of all, if a veteran wants to file a claim, you know you talk to the veterans. Okay, what do you follow me, claim for here and so and so, and you sit down, you sign them up and you go to the records moving, you help them out. That's how you do it.

Speaker 1: 6:31

But you got to know what you're doing, how to do it, and if you take a test on a certain subject, that's fine, but you got to have an overall knowledge in the general knowledge of how to do the whole frame. You can't just go up one subject. So, even though that them trainings and things like that are great, but you know I'm gonna tell you something, guys that accredited agents test is like 300 questions now and they had one just the 20th here the other day and that is a very difficult test and I've studied it and looked at it and looked at it and took practice tests all day long and that covers the entire gambit, from filing your initial claim all the way going through the tough and feels process, even some of the higher echelon stuff you know. So I mean you got to be qualified at your job. I mean, if I wasn't qualified at my job when I was working in the automobile industry I would shut down an assembly line that cost my company $8,000 a minute or $20,000 a minute.

Speaker 2: 7:28

You got to be able to do your job Well. You know, the claim sharks so we call them have spent a lot of money trying to ensure their very existence. Spent a lot of money trying to ensure their very existence.

Speaker 1: 7:53

They're fighting the.

Speaker 2: 7:54

Guard Act and I think 40 some odd states support the Guard Act, which would put them out of business. So they're spending millions of dollars lobbying Congress and it's working. You know they're spending 15 million. They'll drop $15 million and to combat that, they've come out with the Choice Act. They're saying you know, come out with the Choice Act.

Speaker 2: 8:29

They're saying you know these veterans need a choice. You know we must be providing a service if all these veterans are freely coming to us. When they can get free help through the service organizations, right, well, I'll have to say that I think the service officers themselves, along with the VA, has created a niche for these people to operate. If there wasn't a need created by the service offices and the VA, you know they would be self-extinguishing, but that's not happening.

Speaker 1: 9:17

We wouldn't be having this discussion if they had done their jobs right to begin with.

Speaker 2: 9:22

Exactly, there would be no claim shorts jobs right to begin with. Exactly, there would be no claim sharks. Well, I happen to know that there's fixing to be another act introduced and that's going to be the Service Officers Accountability Act and that's being brought by the claim sharks to hold service officers responsible when they take that job and they accept that paycheck and they sit down in that chair. They better know what they're doing Otherwise.

Speaker 2: 9:54

That's what I said they're just clogging up the system. You know we don't need them, we don't want them. Push comes to shove, we could handle our claims ourselves. You can go to getonvagov and you know read the simple instructions, do the uploads.

Speaker 1: 10:17

We're not really dependent on them.

Speaker 1: 10:21

That's true, the only thing you really need, and they're not really dependent on them. That's true, the only thing you really need. And they're not accredited anyway. So they got the same tools you got. They can't get into VBMS and things like that and track your claim like these agents can or these VSOs can. They got access. That's the only difference between somebody filing their claim by themselves and having a representative, and that's basically the only difference between somebody filing their claim by themselves and having a representative, and that's basically the only difference is the tracking part of your claim when is it at? And that's the most honest question. Everybody wants to know where is my claim at? What's going on with my claim? That's probably asked 10 million times a day.

Speaker 2: 10:57

Our last meeting we had a veteran. He came up to me and he said I'm going for R1. I said okay. The prior meeting to that he told me that he was an R1. Well, I know all the R1s in the state of Tennessee. I didn't know him because I went to high school with him, but I didn't know him as being an R1. A little while later he took out his phone and he showed me where he was knocking down $5,000 a month.

Speaker 3: 11:37

I said well, you know you're coming up about $6,000 a month.

Speaker 2: 11:40

I said well, you know you're coming up about $6,000 short. So now he's decided that he's going to pursue R1. Now he's an amputee. He's an amputee. He's already drawing aid and attendance and he's amputated from his hip. Got into some kind of landmine in Vietnam. It affected his kidneys. It really blew the guy up. He looks good but everything don't meet the eye. If you know him well, you know he's in trouble and he's got his own troubles.

Speaker 2: 12:27

He said yeah, I'm going for one. He said I've got somebody helping me. I said yeah I said uh who you got helping me. He didn't know her last name, but he said Phyllis.

Speaker 1: 12:48

I went to a door and heard you.

Speaker 2: 12:50

Ray, that ain't funny. Phyllis has been with the VA 40 years. What are you laughing about?

Speaker 3: 12:58

We know Phyllis, we know her very well now. Phyllis means well phyllis means well, and I told him when I was going for r1, what she told me we were down exactly down here at the conference.

Speaker 3: 13:15

I went and I said I'm trying for r1. You and James Cripps, y'all are always making up something. Then I'm sitting there and I told her what it was like and the girl sitting behind her who was looking on the computer said Phyllis, you need to come and look at this. She goes over and looks at it and reads it and goes next to it. Ray, you write that letter back to them exactly the way you told me.

Speaker 2: 13:39

Yeah, the last time I talked to her she said you know, you and Ray used to intimidate me because you knew more about it than I did. When I asked this veteran, I said so how is Phyllis going to get you R1? He said she's already working on it. She told me all she had to do was get me a higher level of aid and attendance. Well, that's what R1 is. I said how are you going to get through SMCO? He said what are you talking about? I said you have got to go through SMCO to get to R1. You can't go around it. You've got to qualify for SMCO. He said well, she didn't say nothing about that. He said well, she didn't say nothing about that but you know the man is missing a leg.

Speaker 2: 14:51

I know he has some internal problems from the blast and you know he's bound to have problems that I don't know about. But I can't analyze his case as is and get him to an R1. You know you got to have loss of use of two limbs or total loss of bowel and bladder a phobia and it's just not there. I know how to get him to R1, and I made my suggestion. You know, walking all these years with a prosthetic up to the hip has bound to affected his right leg and I'm trying to get him to go see an ankle foot specialist who Ray is very well acquainted with, who writes our letters for loss of the perineal nerve. Now I can watch the guy walk and I don't think he has a perineal nerve left, but it's hard to tell because he's got a shuffle. But that's been developed all these years by wearing that prosthetic. So can't you know I can't diagnose, but in my opinion he he needs to go and get a diagnosis and I don't.

Speaker 2: 16:31

I don't doubt at all they don't find that he's lost the perineal nerve in that right leg. Uh, he's a little hesitant to go do that, but it's the only ticket that I can see to his R1. Lord knows he deserves it, but deserving it and meeting the qualifications two different things. It'll be a shoe-in if he can get that diagnosis.

Speaker 3: 17:00

Well, that's the key right there, james. I mean, if a person like myself, when I went through it, you know, we you and I you helped me for sure plan out the direction, the steps to go through and the order in which to go through. And you and I both have on several occasions have told guys, unless you know for sure, you definitely don't want to put in for the loss of both, because then they'll say it bilateral and that can knock you into the P program, the parking lot as we refer to it. It's hard to get out and we, all three of us, know somebody that that happened to, and that's one thing you don't want to do. I mean, he's already got the loss of use of one, so he's automatically set up.

Speaker 3: 17:53

You and I worked on mine and we made sure there was 18 months between my loss of use of my right foot and the loss of use of my left foot. Even though it happened a little earlier, even though we had the diagnosis a little earlier, I still waited 18 months before I filed the claim and then made it a point to them to point out that I wanted to go to O, and for those of you who are not familiar O says you go to the next level of aid and attendance and if you have standard aid and attendance, the next level is your R1.

Speaker 2: 18:29

And he does already have aid and attendance, standard aid and attendance.

Speaker 3: 18:34

So all he needs is, like you said, that perennial loss of use of the second foot or second leg.

Speaker 2: 18:42

He's got to throw that dart through the O and he's home free. He's really, really an honest fellow and he don't want to do anything. That's not right. Uh, that's not right, uh. First he insinuated that I had some kind of pull with the doctor and I assured him the doctor knows my name, but that's all. He wouldn't know me if I passed him on the street. He said what, what would be my excuse for driving all the way to tell home to see a doctor, when I'm driving by a lot of podiatrists on the way? I said why would you need an excuse? You know we're not required to see a doctor. We can see whatever doctor we want to see. To see a doctor, we can see whatever doctor we want to see.

Speaker 3: 19:41

And the reason we choose this.

Speaker 2: 19:45

Reason we choose this doctor is we know if he finds something, he's going to do the test to back it up. You know he's going to support his findings and he's going to write you a letter and he's going to put it in your record and he's going to order your braces, just like he should. And all those podiatrists that he's driving by to get to telehoma I'm not so sure that they would.

Speaker 3: 20:13

I don't know one that would well, you know that that's the thing that people you know they don't accept the fact. You know I mean my son-in-law's a doctor and he's very cautious to see veterans and write a letter for them even when they're his patients, to come back and look at his business or look at what he does and have to go through all the red tape that these doctors have to go through if they become under investigation. So he chooses just not to do it and we have several here in Winchester who will no longer see veterans because of some of the red tape that they had to go to, even when it was a VA sending the veterans to them. So there's a lot to be said. It's hard to find doctors that are willing to write those letters of support. You know they may tell you what they've got, they may even recommend a treatment, may tell you what they've got, they may even recommend a treatment, but to actually put it in writing or to say it in your notes, they're very, very reluctant to do that.

Speaker 2: 21:28

Right. Actually, what they're doing is they're putting a reputation on the line. They write a letter and they stand behind it. They're putting their reputation on the line letter and they stand behind it. They're putting their reputation on the line. Now a lot of vets think this is just a funny deal getting a doctor's letter. You know, I'll give him 200 bucks and get a letter. This ain't no joke and matter. This is serious and as far as I'm concerned that's bribery. You know, if a doctor don't have good credentials and a good reputation, then he can't do us any good. We don't need him. They need to maintain their reputation, their good credentials and be straight up if they're going to do us any good.

Speaker 1: 22:22

That's exactly right.

Speaker 3: 22:27

Yeah, and I'm sure that he's got. All you're asking for is an evaluation, Exactly. If you don't like that evaluation, you walk outside, you wind it up and you throw it in the trash, can? I've heard you say that several times. There's nothing says you have to use it.

Speaker 1: 22:47

You can tell me that for a second opinion.

Speaker 2: 22:53

You don't have to use evidence against your claim in your claim, against your claim in your claim. And another thing like I told him, if he don't have loss of that perineal nerve, doctor's just going to tell him you don't have a loss of the perineal nerve. It's that simple. You know you got Medicare insurance. You use your Medicare to pay for the visit. They gladly accept it and you take what the doctor says. You know If he says you've got it, he's gonna prove it. He's gonna do all the tests. He's gonna do the x-rays, he's gonna do the sonograms. He's gonna back it up.

Speaker 3: 23:36

He's gonna take that needle and stick it in the bottom of your foot.

Speaker 2: 23:40

Exactly.

Speaker 3: 23:44

But anyway.

Speaker 2: 23:44

I hope this guy gets his R1. He certainly deserves it and has for many years, believe it or not. I mentioned the automobile grant. Believe it or not, I mentioned the automobile grant and you know, if you've ever had one now, you've got to have had it 30 years before you can get your second one. All right, I mentioned the automobile grant and he said I'm doing my second one, so for 30 years he's been an elf for 30 years.

Speaker 1: 24:30

I don't think I'll ever need a second one if you get an automobile grant tomorrow and 10 years down the road you can get another one.

Speaker 2: 24:45

If you've never had an automobile grant the date of that law. If you've had an automobile grant prior to the date of that law, then you've got 30 years to go to get the second one.

Speaker 1: 24:59

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. Yeah, that's kind of unfair, isn't it? Well, I had one.

Speaker 2: 25:06

Yeah, I had one and Ray had one, so we were 30 years out. But now you take my friend Don Smith he just got one a few months ago, ten years, he didn't get another one. Uh-huh, he just got one a few months ago, 10 years, he didn't get another one. Yeah, it's kind of stuck in the deck, but I don't, I don't need another one anyway.

Speaker 1: 25:30

So I don't know, you probably ain't got room for one.

Speaker 2: 25:35

I don't have room for one I've got. You know, I went down to the DMV and I bought tags for my Chevelle and we got a veteran hater down there. She's kind of jealous, so she hollers back and she said Miss Teresa, this veteran has got 13 sets of tags and he wants another one. How many can he have? She said all he wants. So I got another set put on my Chevelle. My dump trucks even got veterans tags veterans tags.

Speaker 1: 26:19

That's what you do, I've got more money.

Speaker 2: 26:27

You know I have to pay, I think, 28 bucks a set for the excess plates that I have, but if not, I would be running antique tags. But I would be running antique tags, but I like to run veterans tags. I can park in the wide spaces and don't get my doors slammed, yeah it's worth it to me. Yeah, it's plenty worth it to me In front of Walmart.

Speaker 1: 26:58

you'd pull in that big long one there in front where nobody gets around you at all.

Speaker 2: 27:02

Right, I'll fight over that long one.

Speaker 2: 27:08

I've seen sides over that before we see some kind of training updates for service officers. But training just ain't going to buy it. You know it's got to get in your blood. You got to want to know these laws. You take somebody like the one we were just talking to, ben. Let's take another one.

Speaker 2: 27:45

My mentor that I went to state service officers training school under for 20 years never had ever heard of an R1. He did not know that there were two ways that you could get an L and he spent 40 years on the job. He's retired now for the second time. But I went to him and you know 138 bucks is what a set of CFRs cost. I couldn't afford $138. But the state employees get a new set every year so I would always get his old one and it would have his name in the binder. So the date I took my claim for R1 to him, he said you've already got eight attendants. I said no, tom, I don't. He said you got an L. I said that's for loss of use of two feet. He said you mean to tell me there's more than one way to get an L?

Speaker 3: 28:58

I said yes.

Speaker 2: 28:59

He said where are you getting that? And I opened that CFR and I said, right here. He said, let me go get my CFR. Well, what I had in my hand was a year old, but it used to belong to him, so you could tell that the book had never been opened. I kept it by my crapper. Every time I'd take a crap I'd get a little smarter and I guess that's why he wanted to go get his own book.

Speaker 1: 29:33

Well, you know, the VB is a veteran's service manual that you can get from Lexus Nexus. I ordered that a few years ago and you've got to keep updating it. It's got a lot of stuff in it and if I don't understand that, there's two ways to get to R1, there's standard aid attendance and loss of equal to extremities, or two feet. I guess one foot and one hand too would do it. It puts you up to the level oh, you bounce off the O and slide into R1. You know, but you have to touch the O and then bouncing off of it is touching it, you know, and you bounce off of it. So you guys are doing it, you know actually I got R1 two different ways.

Speaker 2: 30:23

The first time I got R1 through the BVA it was, I bet, the requirements of the O I had two special monthly compensation ratings between the L and the O and one of them was standard aid and attendance Bam automatically.

Speaker 3: 30:50

R1.

Speaker 2: 30:51

Like I'm telling this guy don't worry about the R1. Worry about getting through the O, the R1 will come automatically. So then, five years later, I went to court and I'm asking for an earlier effective date for that. R1. 10 years earlier in all. So the court decided they could award it because they saw a need of aid and attendance for heart disease alone and then another aid and attendance for other service-connected disabilities. Two aid and attendances, and that being loss of use of two feet and loss of use of two hands.

Speaker 2: 31:44

So, I've had the best of both worlds.

Speaker 1: 31:47

you know, I think Alex is a big fan of R1 because of two needs of aid and attendance, separate and distinct. Yeah, he is a big fan of it. I mean, of course, he is basically. In my opinion, he's probably the most up-to-date when it comes to high levels of special monthly compensation. I hate to say it, alex is about as badass as you're going to get.

Speaker 2: 32:21

You know, alex likes to learn and he's not going to be defeated. And that's a pretty good combination. He just refuses to lose. He does when you're fighting for a veteran. How could it get any better?

Speaker 1: 32:52

It can't. It can't. I mean basically you know, of course now you've got to realize too that when he deals with mostly his cases, like you know, vietnam vets are, you know, are screwed up really bad. It's almost morbid because a lot of his claimants actually pass away and he's carrying a torch and he's trying to get the wife, the IC and the crew benefits and things like that. That's a lot of his business, that's what he does. He really doesn't care about the money much. He's got plenty of it. He does it because he can and he wants to do it.

Speaker 2: 33:28

Wow, that's a situation that he chose. He wasn't forced into that. He chose that, and if you can only take so many clients, then I can see why Alex would cherry pick the ones where he thought he could do the most good and I think that's what he's doing

Speaker 1: 33:54

yep, it's true, you know, and it's a different type of cherry picker folks. A lot of times we talk about cherry picker, we talk about like the attorney groups out here say you want to send a, say you got a court case or a BA appeal, and they look at the money that they're going to get. Of course the court case has got the EAJA, but a lot of times they're saying, well, this guy here is only fighting for 20%, so it's not going to be much money, so we're not going to do that. You know it's called cherry picking. But Alex is different. He don't cherry pick the money, he cherry picks the case. And the case is who's in the most needy? It doesn't do much.

Speaker 2: 34:28

If it meets his standards and his requirement, then he's cherry-picking it. Otherwise he's referring it to somebody else that can take that case and run with it. Guys, he's got some good people. Yeah, I admire him for what he's doing. Good people, james, I've him for what he's doing.

Speaker 1: 34:51

Good people. James, I've got a question. Now, what is the veteran's option? It's okay to say you get a service officer that you file a claim with. One of your vets files a claim and the service officer is supposed to turn the claim in to the VA. If the veteran files multiple claims, to give them to the service officer, but the service officer only turns in one or two claims and there's like five or six left over and then doesn't get touched past the expiration date of a certain document you've got in the VA. What happens? What's the veteran's options? I mean I don't know. I mean it's just been. It's kind of a catch-22, isn't it because the VA is not going to go back, because they don't have to?

Speaker 2: 35:35

The situation we're in now and I don't mind telling you it involves a service officer. Cheatham County, tennessee.

Speaker 1: 35:46

Okay.

Speaker 2: 35:47

One of our veterans filed an intent and then, after he filed that intent together, we went to see the service officer seven months later and filed on five issues which should have been covered by that intent. Well, she sat on it more than five months and five days after his intent expired she filed it with the VA. Expired, she filed it with the VA. We filed on five separate issues. She only turned in one issue. The one that she turned in was loss of two feet. The VA awarded that. But then there was a 4138 that was written up in his file where his disabilities were described one by one. The raider found the 4138 and he knew the service officer didn't do her job. So he inferred PTSD and the veteran was awarded 50% for that. He also inferred loss of use of two hands, which I'm sure will be granted His hands are just useless. Severe anxiety and depression. We tried to file on and she didn't file on it. So the VA don't care why that intent to file was five days late, doesn't?

Speaker 3: 37:48

matter to them.

Speaker 2: 37:50

Expired means expired, so he lost $27,000 on loss of use of two feet alone. And then I don't know I haven't bothered to figure out what he lost on the 50% award for two feet, but that would have been a P1 award at F3, which would added maybe 500 bucks a month for that year the only alternative we have, or that he has, is to sue sue the service office and the county which he has.

Speaker 2: 38:38

Actually, when you sue the county, you have to serve them with an intent to sue. First. Give them 15 working days to see what they're going to do about it, and that 15 working days is up tomorrow. We haven't heard a word, not a thank you, not a I'm sorry, let's talk about it, not a. Kiss my butt Nothing. Let's talk about it, not kiss my butt nothing. Most bank robberies wouldn't produce that kind of money, but they just took that money away from that veteran and we think it was intentional.

Speaker 2: 39:26

We think we're talking gross negligence because prior, six months prior to that, he wrote a statement about that service officer where she had not done him right, so we think it was intentional. We're finding the problem is getting an attorney to represent somebody who's suing them a new municipal fatality, that's the problem. That's where we're at now we're shopping for an attorney?

Speaker 2: 40:08

not yet. We've got some leads but this veteran is not going to quit. You know he's determined. Yeah, if you've got one, we'll take any leads we can get. We'll see what happens. I think you know there needs to be an investigation. Why did that service officer wait to file that 526EZ? That's a 15-minute job. That should have actually been done before we left that office that day.

Speaker 1: 40:51

And then she waited five.

Speaker 2: 40:54

Yeah, waited five months and five days. I think worse than that.

Speaker 1: 41:05

Well, you know what I mean.

Speaker 2: 41:07

Yeah, yeah, I think it was a target.

Speaker 1: 41:12

Now in.

Speaker 2: 41:14

All right, should she get by with that Because she's a service officer? Like I said, she's one of the good old boys and that's what she prefers to be and that's what she prefers to be A lot of these service officers. They bring them on board because they're family kid folks and they become part of the good old boys when they should be becoming part of the veteran community. Forget the good old boys. But they're paid by the county.

Speaker 1: 41:55

That's the catch-22. It is, it's pathetic, and you never know they might pony up.

Speaker 2: 42:19

Yeah, we'd love to find a lawyer that would take this case, you know we've got the, we've got all the paperwork from the Department of Veterans Affairs showing when he filed his intent, when we actually filed the claim and when she turned it in to the VA, and it's just no question five days after it expired, okay, it has to be a furnished license practice at Tennessee.

Speaker 1: 42:46

Is that correct? It don't have to be anywhere in the state of Tennessee. Say that again. It has to be an attorney's license to practice in the state of Tennessee, right.

Speaker 2: 42:59

I would imagine. Yes, you know it could turn into a federal tort. I don't know. You would have to be an attorney to decide that. That's way above my pay grade.

Speaker 1: 43:19

Well, I think we'll find the right one. But I mean, basically, guys, what we're saying here is don't take the word, you know. I mean, if something like this was to happen to you and you got a claim in there and something, similar situation happened, of course people that are human are going to make mistakes, but this doesn't. This doesn't seem to be human error, it's kind of. This kind of this is. This is a bad case of harm and anytime, the first thing you got to prove is, when you're doing something like this, you have to prove that you were harmed, and this situation harm means if it cost you money or a benefit, that's called harm. So that's what. That's what the tour is all about. You know, for example, if they say you go to a hospital and you say, for example, your your right kidneys bad and they go operate on you and take out your left kidney, well it costs you harm right there too. If you take out the wrong kidney I ain't saying that, but it happens cut off the wrong leg, you know anything like that.

Speaker 2: 44:20

You know it's harm, so you know well, that would be a that would be an 1151 claim, and what we've got is a civil suit. Well, that would be an 1151 claim. What we've got is a civil suit.

Speaker 1: 44:34

Right, civil suit. I mean, yeah, same thing. I mean, you know, but it depends on too if it's VA or not. You know, it could be a regular hospital In 1151, they just, you know, I mean they'll service connect what they did. But I mean other than that you know, it's kind's not along the lines of aggravation.

Speaker 1: 44:49

You know each day they would pay if you have one condition. They'd rate something else. They pay only to the extent of the aggravation. Say, for example, you got high blood pressure when you're in the service. They let you in and they got worse in service and they'll they'll only do the aggravation part of it. So, come on, it's, it's. It's that again.

Speaker 1: 45:10

You know you got to know this stuff and you got to be able to read this stuff because there's so much complex, complexity with these rules and regulations and things like that. There's so many subparagraphs subparagraph A, b and C's. You know it can be a. You know if you're not holding your tongue right you might miss it. You know you got to be particular in order to understand this stuff and fortunately some of these attorneys are good at what they do. You know they can put it together and I know several of them that are really good at what they do and so hopefully we'll get one on board and get this guy. Make this man righteous, because the man needs to get. You know, the man needs to get finished and get his stuff done so he can go and live his life. I mean you sit here and waste your time and you sit here 15, 20 years fighting the VA. You can get PTSD from doing this stuff, can't you Ray?

Speaker 2: 45:59

Well, I see no defense for the county and the service office, because six months prior to this we warned them that she wasn't doing her job right. And then she has no right to triage a veteran's claims and decide which one she's going to send in and which one she's not going to send in. She just don't have that right.

Speaker 1: 46:36

You know, back when I first started this Duke, when I first started this stuff, I got educated to a certain extent. I won my claim based on myself and my first claim after 14 years of fighting, I used representation. After the DAV screwed my claim on pieces Excuse my French, I didn't cuss, but I was going to. I got an education. I sat in front of the computer for years reading and studying Title 38 and all the regulations and I decided well, in order to be able to track the claim without having access, you know, because you know, back then all you had to do was call the 800 number and they had two minutes to get you off the phone. Remember the old Peggy days, right, peggy Prince or somebody else? And so I said, well, let's use them as secretaries. So what I did was I would turn the, did all the legwork myself and it worked out, you know, for me eventually, finally, you know, but still, guys, your claim is only as strong as your representation.

Speaker 1: 47:40

But then again, I see some nightmares too on some of these websites people doing the claims themselves and they post something on the board I've done this and this and this. I'm like, oh crap, you're seeing more crap moments when somebody totally screwed a claim up and you and you see them do it in real time because they don't want to have a representative to help them do stuff. You know somebody's got some catchy stuff off the back. But I've seen and once you get off the claim on the hamster wheel and back in claims purgatory you're in trouble. It's going to take you years to get it straightened out.

Speaker 2: 48:12

Well, you know, I did about the same thing you did, John. I just happened across a website, really good source of reliable information. I can't say it's the same anymore. But, I came a long way with that website.

Speaker 1: 48:46

That was a big part of that buddy back in the day.

Speaker 2: 48:50

Yeah a lot of respect, a lot of respect for some of them on there, a lot of people are dead and gone now, buddy. Well, too many people got on there that knew it all, that knew nothing.

Speaker 3: 49:06

many people got on there that knew it all.

Speaker 2: 49:10

that knew nothing, and I wouldn't say it's not a reliable site anymore.

Speaker 1: 49:23

In fact, I don't think I've been on it going on a year. If it hadn't been a year, well, you're only as good as your contributors anyway. So you know, I'll leave it at that.

Speaker 2: 49:33

But it served its purpose, it did.

Speaker 1: 49:37

It did, it did. I mean a lot of folks get on there and they do win their claims and they just disappear. You know, I like to it forward and uh, you do too. I mean you know you spend a lot of time helping. That's right. That's the same thing. You know, we talk all the time about vets and things like that.

Speaker 1: 49:55

So, um, if you guys do win your claim and and you know what else you're going to do, I mean you already boogered up and uh, you know and uh you keep your mind off your past. Go ahead and start and start to utilize your experience and help people out. Do what you can do. Pay it forward. That's what you should do. You're right, man, you're only as good as your representation and your information and your contributions that you have that people make for you and the contributions you make for other areas. So you know, hey guys, there's Facebook pages now, like the Veterans Claiming Assistance Groups, doug Haines' groups and things like that. I mean it's just so much over the top. I mean you're talking 50 to 100,000, 250,000 members. You got accredited agents, you got VA employees, you got everything on there and information and advice is pretty much golden. Of course, they don't advertise. They're going to do this and help people, but they do help you and you know it's a lot better, a lot easier you can get your questions answered there.

Speaker 2: 51:05

Yes, you can, especially and usually by somebody that's accredited get your questions answered there.

Speaker 1: 51:10

Yes, you can this one, and usually by somebody that's accredited to answer the question too. Don't forget that folks Get on that. It's BA Veterans Claims, Assistance Scripts on Facebook. They'd be glad to have you. You can just research and study those questions and that you can probably get your question answered without even asking the question. You can probably just do a search on questions and you can probably get your question answered without even asking the question. You can probably just do a search on it and it'll pop up a hundred times and the biggest question on there is what's going on with McLean? That's about the number one question in the world with Dylan Zetcher what's going on with McLean?

Speaker 2: 51:46

get on one go ahead. I saw on. I got an email today that the VA is bragging because they're only 250,000 claims behind now. Ain't that something to brag about? Behind now, Ain't that something to brag about?

Speaker 3: 52:16

I can remember being 650,000 back in the legacy system. Well, what I've seen around here too, you gotta look at that. How did they get there? And how did they get there so quick in the last 120, 130 days somewhere along in there? You know, it's very simple. They do a denial. As far as they're concerned, it's over with, it's finished. So if they can't find exactly what's going on, they deny it. And they say, well, that's going on. They deny it and they said, look, that's another one off of our desk. You know, give me a net a boy. You know I cleared five for claims today. How many did you approve?

Speaker 2: 52:57

none, yeah, well, you already know what I had to say about their 125 days days.

Speaker 3: 53:07

You want a.

Speaker 1: 53:07

Spanish lesson. Toro de caca Myth. Alphabetical folks A-9, b-9, c-9, d-9. I wonder how much the I wonder, if the claims have gone down that much, how much has the appeal went up? Oh yeah, there there yeah, they're connected.

Speaker 3: 53:34

Peter Todder. Yeah the old seesaw up and down seesaw.

Speaker 2: 53:42

I just happened to be at one of Ray's seminars when it was announced that the VA could now adjudicate a claim in 125 days. I just happened to be the next speaker.

Speaker 1: 53:59

I wouldn't have had a shift, would I?

Speaker 2: 54:04

I think I said the VA can't pick their own nose in 125 days, I think I said the VA can't pick their own nose in 125 days.

Speaker 1: 54:13

Well, they blame a lot of stuff on the face and things like that. You know IG comes in. They got popped the other day about the PACT Act. All these claims were, what do you call it? Misguided, mispaid. Some got underpaid, Most got overpaid and they got gigged pretty hard for that, up to the tune of billions of dollars. Then last year they went in front of Congress saying they needed money. They were broke and then they did a final audit and they were ahead by $5 billion. So what's what? I don't think I know what they had.

Speaker 1: 54:43

Of course, it's such a big organization that it's money to get a handle on it, and all these claims and these mistakes that they make should have been called by quality assurance in the aftermath, Because that's what you've got quality assurance for. You check things over to make sure things are done right. That's my background with quality assurance. If you do a claim and things like that, somebody has to go through it and look at it with a fine-tooth comb and say, okay, this is wrong, this is wrong, this is wrong. Can you fix it? That's what should be done.

Speaker 2: 55:12

Who does quality control work for?

Speaker 1: 55:17

Same person that the raider does. There's your sign.

Speaker 1: 55:23

Talk worthy. Well, guys, I hate to tell you this. It's kind of a bad news situation, but we're up against the wall here. We're totally out of time. We've got about a minute to work on it, james. Thanks for coming on, buddy, and you've been a breath of fresh air. Thanks for your advice, your guides and information. Ray, thank you for your kindness, your guidance and your information. You're really good at what you do. We appreciate both of you. I just wish we could do this for a lot longer, but I mean, you know, you never know what diabetes is going to relate to. You know, it's just kind of a bad thing. So we'll do this again. Ray and I will be on next week with Bethany. I'll be in DC, but we'll still do the show. We'll be on next week with Bethany. I'll be in DC, but we'll still do the show. And, james, we'll get you back on here soon, buddy. Real quick. When does that video? You did that YouTube. Is it clear? Is it going to come out anytime soon?

Speaker 2: 56:24

I expect it any day now. Usually it takes about three weeks from the day that it's executed. It has to go through the editing when it comes out, it'll just be bam. You'll know it, you'll know it.

Speaker 1: 56:42

Oh yeah. Well, listen, guys. I appreciate you guys coming on On behalf of Mr James Cripps and Mr Ray Cobb of the great state of Tennessee. This is John Stacy, aka Jay Besser, and we'll be signing off for now. Appreciate that, mike.