Tips to Help Your Social Security Disability Claim

If you are unable to work due to a medical condition, you may qualify for Social Security disability benefits from the Social Security Administration (SSA). While you may meet the eligibility requirements, the process of filing for benefits and obtaining approval from the SSA can be very long and complex, so it is important to avoid certain pitfalls that can derail your claim. Here are four tips to follow to ensure that your disability claim stays on the right track:

• Be sure to allege all of your medical problems in your disability application, including mental conditions. Sometimes it may be possible to obtain disability payments for a combination of impairments that wouldn’t qualify for benefits individually. Mental impairments like anxiety or depression often accompany physical conditions in many applicants.
• See a doctor for your medical condition. The SSA won’t be easily convinced that your condition is severe enough for disability benefits if you haven’t seen a doctor and are not receiving treatment. However, there are acceptable reasons for not seeking treatment, including being unable to afford it and not having access to free or low cost medical services. But if you are able, seeing a healthcare practitioner will provide valuable evidence of the severity of your condition that will help your disability claim. Accordingly:
• Take medication as prescribed by your doctor. When evaluating your claim, the SSA will look to ascertain whether or not your condition is severely limiting. If you neglect to comply with your doctor’s prescribed treatment recommendations, the SSA will likely conclude that your condition is not as serious as you have asserted.
• Don’t assume that you can’t afford to hire an attorney to help you with your claim. You’ll never owe our disability lawyers a fee unless we are successful in obtaining benefits for you. Due to the lengthy, complicated process of applying for disability, having an experienced attorney fighting for you throughout your case can mean all the difference between approval for benefits and the denial of your claim. Regardless of your current financial situation, we can help you: contact our firm today.

What Should I Do After Getting Injured on the Job?

Question: I've just been injured on the job. What should I do now?

Answer: It is extremely important to report your injury to your supervisor or employer immediately. Be sure to include the date, time, and circumstances of your injury. As long as you were not doing anything illegal, your injury will likely be covered by workers’ compensation, so do not hesitate to report it – even if you feel it may be your fault.

If you develop a job-related health condition that manifests over time (such as mesothelioma or a repetitive stress injury like carpal tunnel syndrome), you should report the condition as soon as you receive a diagnosis and you learn that the condition is related to your employment.

After you report your injury, you may want to consider hiring a workers’ compensation attorney to help you with you claim. Serious work-related injuries or illnesses and the litigation process are all situations that generally require legal representation. If you have been injured, contracted a work-related illness, or believe that you have been treated unfairly, contact an attorney today.

Can You Receive Social Security Disability and Workers’ Compensation Benefits at the Same Time?

It is possible to receive Social Security disability and workers’ compensation benefits at the same time. However, workers’ compensation and other public disability benefits may reduce Social Security disability benefits.

When someone is eligible for both workers’ compensation and Social Security disability benefits, the state may modify or “offset” the Social Security benefit. It can be beneficial to contact an attorney to see how workers’ compensation or other benefits could affect your Social Security disability payments. Importantly, reporting receipt of workers’ compensation is one of your responsibilities when receiving disability.

In addition, as Social Security disability payments are frequently insufficient to cover all of a person’s living expenses, it’s important to collect all the other benefits to which you may be entitled, and, if you are able, even try to supplement your income with part-time employment (but take care not to earn more than what would be considered substantial gainful activity by the Social Security Administration). Again, an attorney can be extremely helpful in advising the best course of action for you throughout your unique claim. Contact us to learn more about Social Security disability benefits and workers’ compensation.

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.