Home Law Blog
Home Law Blog

Social Security Disability Insurance – SSDI & Supplemental Insurance Income – SSI : A Brief Overview

By on Tuesday, January 31st, 2012 | Comments Off

What Is The Social Security System?

A brief overview of what the system is, and the two primary benefit programs: Social Security Disability Insurance, or SSDI, and Supplemental Insurance Income, also known as SSI.

 

SSA 150x150 Social Security Disability Insurance SSDI & Supplemental Insurance Income SSI : A Brief Overview

share save 171 16 Social Security Disability Insurance SSDI & Supplemental Insurance Income SSI : A Brief Overview

Today’s Social Security Videos

By on Tuesday, January 31st, 2012 | Comments Off

Social Security Videos

Digest powered by RSS Digest

share save 171 16 Todays Social Security Videos

Social Security Disability Information Podcast

By on Friday, January 27th, 2012 | Comments Off

Our first podcast episode.  Here is a quick overview of some of  issues we will discuss on our new podcast which you can subscribe to by clicking here.
Areas which we will discuss include:

Please feel free to email us, if there is any topic you would like have covered, or any questions which you would like to have answered.

share save 171 16 Social Security Disability Information Podcast

Can I Appeal if I Lose My Social Security Disability Hearing?

By on Sunday, January 15th, 2012 | Comments Off

If the ALJ denies your claim after your hearing, you still had the right to appeal to the Appeals Council in Virginia.  The most recent statistics show that approximately 40% of claims that are accepted for review, are with approved, or returned to the ALJ for reconsideration.  

This number alone shows that you should strongly consider taking your claim to the Appeals Council.

For more information on how this process works, do not hesitate to contact our office and / or read the article below.

Applicants who are denied SSI benefits can appeal that decision, P.2

In the last post, this blog began a discussion of the complex appeals process that is available for people who are initially denied Supplemental Security Income benefits from the Social Security Administration. Much like the Social Security Disability Insurance benefits program, many applicants for benefits through the SSI program are denied at the initial determination of eligibility stage. Applicants for benefits through either program can appeal that initial denial of SSA benefits.

In the last post, this blog left off with the administrative law judge hearing stage of an SSI appeal. If the ALJ issues an applicant an adverse decision regarding SSI benefits, the applicant can take the appeal to the next level, which is before the Social Security Appeals Council.

The Social Security’s Appeals Council looks at all requests for review, however, the Appeals Council can deny a request for review. If a review is denied at the Appeals Council stage, the applicant will receive a letter explaining why the review has been denied. If the council declines to review the case, the applicant can take that decision to federal court for review.

If the Appeals Council accepts review, the review can take different forms. The council itself can look at the case and issue its decision, or the council can return the case to an administrative law judge for further consideration. Adverse decision at the Appeals Council stage of the appeal can be taken to federal court. Again, the process can take different turns in federal court.

The federal court judge can grant SSI benefits after the district court proceeding. However, the judge can remand the file back to an SSA ALJ or the Appeals Council for further consideration, or deny benefits at the federal court stage of the review.

Many applicants find the help of an experienced Florida Social Security Disability and Supplemental Security Income lawyer valuable when seeking SSA benefits. A seasoned Social Security attorney can help an applicant in assessing an individual situation and can help an applicant navigate through the complex SSA process.

Source: Social Security Administration, “Your Right To Question A Decision Made On Your Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Claim,” Jan. 2011

Original Page: http://www.800-disability.net/2012/01/applicants-who-are-denied-ssi-benefits-can-appeal-that-decision-p2.shtml

Sent from Feeddler RSS Reader

Harry Bernstein – mobile

share save 171 16 Can I Appeal if I Lose My Social Security Disability Hearing?

How Much Are Attorney Fees? – That Depends.

By on Saturday, January 14th, 2012 | Comments Off

A discussion of attorney – client fee agreements.

http://harrysbernsteinlaw.com/blog/socialsecuritydisability/how-much-are-attorney-fees-that-depends/

share save 171 16 How Much Are Attorney Fees? – That Depends.

Does My Disability Qualify for SSDI or SSI?

By on Saturday, January 14th, 2012 | Comments Off

Each individual application fo Social Security Disability benefits is unique, but a recent Federal case gives some guidance in determining whether an impairment is “severe” enough to qualify under the law.  As the decision notes, the “severe” standard is minimal, and only requires some objective evidence to meet SSA standards.

Severe Impairment in Social Security Disability Cases – Parker-Grose v. Astrue

One of a handful of factors that the SSA and reviewing judges consider in determining whether a claimant is eligible for Social Security disability benefits is whether the claimant’s impairment(s) is sufficiently severe. In Parker-Grose v. Astrue, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals explains some of the evidence that can be used to meet this requirement.

1211448 wheelchair Does my disability qualify for SSDI or SSI?Plaintiff Mary Jane Parker-Grose filed a claim for Social Security disability benefits, asserting that she’s unable to work due to depression. The Social Security Administration (SSA) initially denied the claim and, following an administrative hearing, an SSA Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) found that Plaintiff was not disabled for purposes of obtaining disability benefits. Specifically, the judge determined that Plaintiff’s depression is not sufficiently severe.

In order to find a claimant eligible for Social Security benefits, the SSA or a reviewing judge must find that the claimant suffers from one or more severe impairments. An impairment is severe if it “significantly limits the claimant’s ability to do basic work activities.” The SSA advises claimants “[i]f you do not have any impairment or combination of impairments which significantly limits your physical or mental ability to do basic work activities, we will find that you do not have a severe impairment and are, therefore, not disabled.” An ALJ considering the severity of a claimant’s impairment must make this decision based on substantial evidence.

In this case, the Second Circuit – which sits in New York City and whose jurisdiction covers New York state, Connecticut and Vermont – reversed the ALJ’s decision and remanded the case for further proceedings, ruling that the ALJ’s finding that Plaintiff’s depression is “nonsevere” was not supported by substantial evidence. In so doing, the court noted that the severity requirement is a “de minimis” one aimed at weeding out claims in which a claimant suffers from only minimal impairment.

According to the court, two treating psychologists – Dr. Joseph M. Patalano and Dr. Richard Root II – examined Plaintiff and determined that she suffers from depression. Furthermore, Dr. Root estimated Plaintiff’s “Global Assessment of Functioning” (GAF) score – an assessment of a patient’s overall level of functioning – to be in the range of persons experiencing “moderate symptoms” including “moderate difficulty in school, work, [and] social functioning.” These opinions, the court ruled, proved that Plaintiff’s depression was sufficiently severe.

share save 171 16 Does my disability qualify for SSDI or SSI?

Legal Boot Camp Challenges Law Students

By on Saturday, January 14th, 2012 | Comments Off

The future of educating lawyers lies in more practical training such as the program below.


 Legal Boot camp challenges law students

January 13, 2012

Carol J. Schlueter
cjs@tulane.edu

The spring semester got an early — and intensive — start for 150 second- and third-year students at Tulane Law School this week. They jumped into their future careers with a legal-skills boot camp presented by practicing attorneys and judges.

011312 law2 3510 pbc Legal boot camp challenges law students

Attorneys Rico Alvendia, left, and Robert Redfearn Jr. coach law students about depositions during the boot camp. (Photos by Paula Burch-Celentano)

The week-long optional intersession program, first ever at the law school and many months in planning, opened on Monday (Jan. 9) at Weinmann Hall. Three tracks are being offered, each carrying two credits, in pretrial civil litigation, pretrial criminal litigation and transactional law.

“In the complex and competitive environment of modern law practice, the need for comprehensive skills training has never been greater,” says David D. Meyer, dean and Mitchell Franklin Professor of Law. “Over the course of one fast-paced, hard-driving week, leading lawyers from around the country are putting students through the paces of representing a client in an unfolding lawsuit or business deal.”

011312 law3 3527 pbc Legal boot camp challenges law students

Second-year law student Amy Mandel practices taking a deposition.

Importantly, students are learning by doing — interviewing a client, evaluating a case, drafting a pleading or agreement — all with the critical guidance of nearly 75 legal practitioners, many of them Tulane alumni.

Each afternoon concludes with a panel discussion of issues not generally addressed in the standard law school curriculum, including: “Communicating With Clients and What Clients Want to Know,” “How to be a Star Associate,” “Relationships With Opposing Counsel” and “What Judges Do and Do Not Want.”


“We expect that employers will recognize the strong value of this program, and that it will cement Tulane’s reputation as a singularly well-rounded law school where students grapple with both legal theory and practice at a highly sophisticated level,” Meyer said.

Citation information:

Page accessed: Saturday, January 14, 2012
Page URL: http://tulane.edu/news/newwave/011312_law.cfm

Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70118 504-865-5000 website@tulane.edu

Generated by Instapaper‘s Text engine, which transforms web pages for easy text reading on mobile devices.

share save 171 16 Legal boot camp challenges law students

Ohio BWC Administrator Looks Back on Workers Compensation History

By on Saturday, January 14th, 2012 | Comments Off

Shared on behalf of HarrySBernsteinLaw.com
 

Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) Administrator and CEO Stephen Buehrer provided comments and an official statement recently commemorating the 100th anniversary of the state’s workers’ comp program.
 

As he readily notes, discussions concerning the program invariably “elicit strong opinions from all corners.” Buehrer says that the program — designed to protect injured workers and their employers by balancing the needs of both — will always engender hot debate concerning major agenda items, particularly the need for reform.
 

Conversely, he notes, “the little things are infinitely the most important,” and he states that the BWC has focused on and successfully carried out a number of mini-reforms during 2011 that have made a strong and salutary difference in the program’s operation and effectiveness.
Buehrer points immediately to a 12 percent cut in the bureau’s base rates and biennial budget, which he says have saved Ohio businesses and taxpayers more than $165 million. He also says that worker safety improved during the year as a result of a wellness grant program instituted by the BWC.
 

Buehrer says that “troubling trends” serve to undercut improvements made to the system, though. Central among these is a drop in the number of workers who return to their jobs within a year after being approved for workers’ compensation benefits.
Buehrer also states that medical costs and outlays relating to lost wages are rising faster in Ohio than in many other states, and that the state stands dead last in the country for having the highest long-term costs for claims.
 

Buehrer discusses a number of bureau aims going forward, most fundamentally the BWC’s focus on getting injured employees healthy, productive and back to the workplace more quickly than is presently the case.
 

Source: Circleville Herald, “Looking back over 100 years of workers comp” Stephen Buehrer, Dec. 26, 2011

share save 171 16 Ohio BWC Administrator Looks Back on Workers Compensation History

OHIO BWC Thanks Partners

By on Saturday, January 14th, 2012 | Comments Off

Recently, Stephen Buehrer, Administrator/CEO of the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, wrote a letter to the bureau’s stakeholders, thanking them for their partnership with BWC during the past year to support the injured workers and businesses of Ohio. In part, he said: 

“BWC made a commitment in 2011 to employing a more collaborative approach to engaging our stakeholders to identify and address areas for improvement within Ohio’s workers’ compensation system. You embraced the challenge and provided invaluable feedback that was the impetus for the development of our current strategic direction. 

That direction is principally focused on doing a better job of getting injured workers healthy and back to work. As you well know, the benefits of tackling this issue are numerous. Injured workers experience a better quality of life and employers have more opportunity for success with a productive workforce and lower costs. I believe this is an essential part of Governor Kasich’s plan for economic growth. 

I am pleased with the progress we have made together during this 100th year of workers’ compensation in Ohio toward improving the care of injured workers, promoting workplace safety, lowering costs for employers and supporting the creation of new jobs.” 

Have they really made progress?

share save 171 16 OHIO BWC Thanks Partners

How Much Are Attorney Fees? – That Depends.

By on Monday, January 9th, 2012 | Comments Off

How much are typical attorney fees?Money a 150x150 How much are attorney fees? That depends.

This is definitely one of the questions which you will want answered when interviewing attorneys to handle your legal matter.  Each case has a unique set of facts, and therefore the fee for each case may also be different.  A good place to start, is by asking your attorney what type of fee they will be charging.  Attorney fees generally fall into one of the following categories.

  • Contingency fee
  • Flat Fee
  • Hourly Fee
  • Hybrid Fee

Contingency Fee

With this type of arrangement, the attorney’s fee is “contingent” upon the attorney achieving a positive result for the client.  The attorney will only earn a fee if they are able to achieve a settlement or judgment for the client.  They will then receive an percentage of the total award, which has been specified in the client agreement.  You can see many attorneys advertise this type of arrangement on TV with the tag line “We don’t get paid until you do.”

Flat Fee

An attorney – client agreement which specifies a “flat fee”, is one where the attorney agrees to perform a service for a specific amount regardless of the outcome.  For example, many divorce attorneys will charge their clients a flat fee for handling the whole case, whether it takes months or years to complete

Hourly Fee

The terms of an hourly fee agreement will set forth a specific hourly rate which the attorney will charge for work actually completed.  Many corporate and business attorneys use this fee structure.

Split Fee / Hybrid Agreement

In certain instances, both the client and the attorney may want engage in a split fee arrangement, where the attorney may charge one type of fee for part of the work and another for a different section of the work.  For example, it may make sens for an attorney to work under a contingency fee agreement for the initial stage of a personal injury case, then charge an hourly fee if the case proceeds to the appeal stage.

As mentioned above, the most important factor in any attorney – client arrangement, is that both parties fully understand what is expected of them prior to the beginning of any work on the case minimizing the chance for any misunderstanding down the line.

For more information, please feel free to visit our Cleveland Attorney website at: www.HarrySBernsteinLaw.com

share save 171 16 How much are attorney fees? That depends.
« Older Entries

Extension Factory Builder