Social Security Adds New Compassionate Allowances Conditions

This week, the Social Security Administration (SSA) announced 25 new conditions that will be included in its Compassionate Allowances Program. Among the new conditions are a dozen cancers, as well as disorders that affect the digestive, neurological, immune, and multiple body systems. The additions bring the total number of Compassionate Allowances Conditions to 225.

The Compassionate Allowances program identifies claims where the applicant’s disease or condition clearly meets Social Security’s statutory standard for disability. The goal of the program is to expedite disability decisions for Americans with the most serious disabilities to ensure that they receive their benefit decisions within days instead of months or years. According to the SSA, almost 200,000 people with severe disabilities have been approved to date through this fast-track disability process.

The new Compassionate Allowances conditions are:

• Angiosarcoma
• Atypical Teratoid/Rhabdoid Tumor
• Chronic Idiopathic Intestinal Pseudo Obstruction
• Coffin- Lowry Syndrome
• Esthesioneuroblastoma
• Giant Axonal Neuropathy
• Hoyeaal-Hreidarsson Syndrome
• Intracranial Hemangiopericytoma
• Joubert Syndrome
• Leptomeningeal Carcinomatosis
• Liposarcoma- metastatic or recurrent
• Malignant Ectomesenchymoma
• Malignant Renal Rhabdoid Tumor
• Marshall-Smith Syndrome
• Oligodendroglioma Brain Tumor- Grade III
• Pallister-Killian Syndrome
• Progressive Bulbar Palsy
• Prostate Cancer – Hormone Refractory Disease – or with visceral metastases
• Revesz Syndrome
• Seckel Syndrome
• Sjogren-Larsson Syndrome
• Small Cell Cancer of the Thymus
• Soft Tissue Sarcoma- with distant metastases or recurrent
• X-Linked Lymphoproliferative Disease
• X-Linked Myotubular Myopathy

For more information about the Compassionate Allowances Program, including a list of all of the conditions, you can visit www.socialsecurity.gov/compassionateallowances. Additionally, you can always contact us with any questions about a Social Security disability claim.

Three Important Things to Know if You are Injured at Work

If you’ve been injured at work, it can be a stressful experience. Not only do you have to deal with the injury itself, but the prospect of missing time from work and suffering a wage loss for an extended period can put your financial security in doubt. Fortunately, workers’ compensation benefits can provide a much needed recourse during this straining time. Here are three things to know if you are injured on the job:

• Report every work injury to your supervisor or employer. Though it may seem admirable to attempt to tough it out, not reporting an injury may hurt or ultimately bar a claim for workers’ compensation later on.
• Tell your medical provider that your injury is work related. As a result, your medical bills will be sent to your employer.
• You may need a workers’ compensation lawyer to help you get the benefits you deserve. Workers’ compensation law can be complex and confusing, and your employer may try to resist paying you benefits. That’s why it’s often crucial to enlist the help of an experienced workers’ compensation attorney to aid you with your claim. At Pond Lehocky Stern Giordano, our attorneys are highly experienced, handle various types of workers’ compensation cases, and are tireless advocates for workers’ rights. We’ll fight for you throughout every step of your workers’ compensation claim, so contact us now.

Epileptic Seizure Sidelines Minnesota Head Coach During Halftime

This past Saturday, Minnesota Golden Gophers head coach Jerry Kill suffered a seizure mid-game while his football team was playing Western Illinois. Luckily, Kill was said to be “resting comfortably” after the incident, suffering no serious injuries, and the Gophers even went on to win the game.

For Kill, such episodes are unfortunately common. The Minnesota coach has experienced epileptic seizures during a game on two other separate occasions, with the last one occurring in October of last year. And during one week in September 2011, an onslaught of more than ten seizures forced him to stay away from the team. But despite his condition, he’s never missed a game’s start, and has built a solid overall winning record as a collegiate head coach at 139-89.

Jerry Kill’s ability to amass over one hundred wins as a coach despite battling recurring epileptic seizures is certainly impressive and even inspiring. Still, it’s clear that living with epilepsy can be extremely debilitating and interfere enormously with vital activities like work. While epilepsy can be controlled by medication in many, others are forced to contend with seizures that can occur without warning and lead to disastrous consequences. As a result, epilepsy destroys the ability of many to earn a living.

It is possible to receive Social Security Disability benefits for epilepsy if its effects are preventing you from working. To learn more, please contact us today; we’ll take the time to answer all of your questions about epilepsy and disability.

Preventing Workplace Violence

Almost two million American workers report being victimized by workplace violence every year, and workplace homicides are the fourth leading cause of occupation-related death in the U.S., according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI). Women are even more at risk, as homicide causes more on-the-job deaths among female workers than any other factor. These eye-opening statistics may even belie the true extent of workplace violence in America, as many cases of violence at work go unreported.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) defines workplace violence as “any act or threat of physical violence, harassment, intimidation, or other threatening, disruptive behavior that occurs at the work site.” In addition to employees, on-the-job violence can affect and involve clients, customers, and visitors as well.

Not surprisingly, OSHA identifies factors like working in areas with high crime rates, where alcohol is served, or with volatile, unstable people as likely to increase the chances of experiencing violence in the workplace. Those particularly at risk include delivery drivers, healthcare professionals, public service workers, law enforcement personnel, and workers who exchange money with the public.

To reduce workplace violence, OSHA recommends that employers implement a zero-tolerance policy applying to both workers and anyone who comes in contact with company personnel. Also, having a comprehensive workplace violence prevention program in place in addition to providing further training and resources to protect workers in high risk industries can significantly reduce the risk of victimization by on-the-job violence as well.

Workplace violence is an extremely serious matter. If you’ve been a victim of violence at work in Pennsylvania, our Philadelphia workers’ compensation attorneys can help you get the compensation that you deserve. Get in touch with us today to learn more.

The Dangers of Transvaginal Mesh

Since their introduction over a decade ago, transvaginal mesh implants have been linked to injuries in thousands of women. In 2011, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a report finding that vaginal mesh products pose a high risk to patients, cautioning doctors to warn women of problems associated with these devices. Around 30,000 lawsuits have been filed by women claiming injuries suffered as a result of defective transvaginal mesh products, and manufacturers have paid out millions of dollars in damages to victims of malfunctioned implants.

Transvaginal mesh implant failure can result in serious complications that can cause severe injury, even death. Often, an implant’s jagged edge will erode or pass through the vaginal wall, where it can cut or perforate other organs, such as the bladder. This severe damage can require multiple surgeries to correct. Other complications from transvaginal mesh failure include intense pain, bleeding, infection, scarring, painful sexual intercourse, and even nerve and neuromuscular damage. The FDA has estimated that transvaginal mesh failure rates may be as high as 10 percent.

Transvaginal mesh devices involved in lawsuits have included the Gynecare TVT, Avaulta, Gynemesh, Elevate, Perigee, and Apogee implants. If you have suffered health complications because of these devices, or any transvaginal mesh implant, you may be able to receive compensation for your injuries. Contact an attorney today to learn your rights and find out if you have a claim for damages.

Pennsylvania Ranked Fifth Among Most Dangerous States for Workers

Pennsylvania may be the fifth most dangerous state for workers in the country, according to a new study. Based on 2011 data from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, the study highlights both the most dangerous states in which to work and the most hazardous industries for workers in the U.S.

After an analysis of rates of injuries which involve “days of job transfer or restriction,” Pennsylvania emerged with a rate of 0.8 such injury cases per 100 workers, tying the keystone state with eight others for fifth place on the ignominious list. Maine took the top spot with nearly double the rate, while New York was the relative safest at 0.1 cases for every 100 workers. Though differences in environment and the ways that workplace injuries are classified and reported from state to state inevitably threaten to skew the findings of such research, this study does provide a valuable snapshot of job-related injury rates that calls attention to the prevalence of work injuries nationwide.

The study further ranks the industries with the highest occurrences of work injuries in the U.S., and according to the findings, amusement park workers may have the most dangerous job in the country. Those employed in the amusement park/arcade industry group face a rate of 3.2 transfer or restriction days per 100 workers. Animal slaughtering/processing workers are only slightly behind with a rate of 3.1, while employees in the beverage manufacturing and foundry industries can expect to see an average of 2.7 transfer/restriction days for every 100 workers.

While workers’ compensation law varies between states, it’s clear that workers injured on the job deserve fair compensation regardless of their state or industry. In Pennsylvania, our Philadelphia workers’ compensation attorneys can help you get the PA workers’ compensation benefits to which you’re entitled. Contact us to learn more about workers’ compensation in Pennsylvania.

Social Security Halts Usage of the Term “Mental Retardation”

The Social Security Administration (SSA) announced on Thursday that it will no longer use the term “mental retardation,” instead replacing it with “intellectual disability” in its official Listing of Impairments and other regulations. The SSA cites the widespread adoption of the term “intellectual disability” by Congress, government agencies, and various public and private organizations as impetus of the change, along with the negative and often offensive nature of the term “mental retardation” in modern language as well. The SSA’s voluntary change comes less than three years after President Obama signed Rosa’s Law, which updated language in federal health, education, and labor policy statutes with the terms “intellectual disability” or “individual with an intellectual disability.”

Importantly, the adjustment in terminology will not affect who qualifies for Social Security Disability benefits. This includes prospective or current applicants as well as those who have already qualified for benefits with a diagnosis of “mental retardation.” The change appears simply to reflect the trend towards the use of modern, respectful language to refer to people with disabilities of all varieties.

To learn more, read our summary of the SSA’s requirements regarding intellectual disability and Social Security Disability benefits, or contact our firm today.