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Why Wait?
Some disability attorneys do not submit medical records in support of Social Security Disability (“SSD”) claims until after the application has been denied. The rationale is that the State agency that makes the initial determination will disapprove the claim regardless of what medical evidence is submitted. Therefore, medical records are submitted only after the claim file is transferred from the State agency to the Social Security Administration (“SSA”) for further processing. I disagree with that approach.
Government statistics indicate that about 30% of SSD claims are approved by the State agency. While the percentage of claims approved by the SSA at the hearing level is higher, it still makes sense to present the strongest case possible at the initial level. I aggressively secure medical evidence and submit it as soon as possible to the State agency, even though it might require me to resubmit it to the SSA if an appeal is required.
I had a client’s SSD application approved today after only two and a half months. The client is thrilled because she gets her benefits sooner than expected, which also means that her attorney will be smaller. While aggressively prosecuting claims does not usually result in claims being approved this quickly, not submitting medical evidence until SSA takes over responsibility for the file all but forecloses the possibility of a rapid approval.
Insurance Department Complaint
Insurance companies constantly deny and terminate Long Term Disability (“LTD”) claims without any legitimate basis because their decisions are usually subject to deferential review. Even if the basis for the denial or termination is wrong, a reviewing court will not overturn the decision unless it is patently arbitrary. Therefore, rather than paying disability benefits, insurance wrongfully deny and terminate claims because they hope a court will uphold the decision even if it is wrong.
One way to combat an insurer’s improper claims decision is by filing a complaint with the State insurance regulatory agency. Such a complaint must be filed prior to litigation, while the claim is still subject to administrative review by the insurer. I have a client from Ohio whose claim was approved by Aetna yesterday, not coincidentally after a complaint was filed with the Ohio Insurance Department.
The claimant filed her LTD application by providing all of the information required by Aetna’s application forms, including medical reports from her three treating doctors. Nonetheless, Aetna denied her application. I filed a complaint with the Insurance Department because, among other things, Aetna refused to provide a copy of the claimant’s file other than her medical records. Even though the claimant’s appeal relied on the same medical records from the same treating doctors, the application was approved after the Insurance Department complaint was filed.
If a case proceeds to federal court, in most cases the only risk for the insurer is the possibility of paying the claimant’s attorneys fees. Filing a complaint with the insurance department can result in other types of penalties and the filing itself is a blot on the insurer’s record. Furthermore, filing the insurance department complaint sends a signal to the insurer that the claimant is serious about obtaining disability benefits and most likely will litigate if necessary.
As noted above, insurers frequently risk going to court rather than paying disability benefits because they hope a court will uphold the decision even if it is wrong. Nonetheless, insurers often try to increase their chances succeeding in court by avoiding terminating or denying a claim with well developed evidentiary support. Claims that are prepared in anticipation of litigation, which includes filing insurance department complaints, vigorously rebutting all of the insurer’s arguments, and submitting both medical and vocational evidence in support of the claim, will increase the chances of securing benefits prior to having to proceed to court.
Overreach For Disability Retirement
In order to obtain disability pension benefits under the New York State Retirement System, a claimant needs to show the inability to continuing working at his or her job. I have succeeded in securing benefits each time I submitted applications by providing evidence that the claimant is incapable of performing ANY work, let alone the claimant’s prior position.
A claim was approved yesterday that illustrates the above strategy. The starting point, which is frequently overlooked, is establishing the vocational demands of the claimant’s job. Obviously, the most physically and mentally strenuous, the easier it is to argue the job’s demands can no longer be met. The claimant worked in law enforcement, which clearly was not a sedentary position. The next step is showing how the medical evidence shows that claimant cannot perform the past work. However, rather than simply obtaining medical records and opinions demonstrating that the claimant could no longer perform her job in law enforcement, I showed how the medical evidence demonstrated the claimant could not perform the demands of any type of work on a full time basis, even sedentary desk work.
While many of my colleagues believe my tactics are excessive, I succeed at the initial application stage. Unlike some other sources of disability benefits, the chances of securing disability pension benefits do not increase at subsequent appeal stages. Additionally, from the client’s perspective, avoiding the time it takes to appeal an initial denial reduces attorney fees, which are typically at least partially contingent.
Posted by The Law Offices of Jeffrey Delott at 9:17 AM No comments:
Insurance Department Complaint
Insurance companies constantly deny and terminate Long Term Disability (“LTD”) claims without any legitimate basis because their decisions are usually subject to deferential review. Even if the basis for the denial or termination is wrong, a reviewing court will not overturn the decision unless it is patently arbitrary. Therefore, rather than paying disability benefits, insurance wrongfully deny and terminate claims because they hope a court will uphold the decision even if it is wrong.
One way to combat an insurer’s improper claims decision is by filing a complaint with the State insurance regulatory agency. Such a complaint must be filed prior to litigation, while the claim is still subject to administrative review by the insurer. I have a client from Ohio whose claim was approved by Aetna yesterday, not coincidentally after a complaint was filed with the Ohio Insurance Department.
The claimant filed her LTD application by providing all of the information required by Aetna’s application forms, including medical reports from her three treating doctors. Nonetheless, Aetna denied her application. I filed a complaint with the Insurance Department because, among other things, Aetna refused to provide a copy of the claimant’s file other than her medical records. Even though the claimant’s appeal relied on the same medical records from the same treating doctors, the application was approved after the Insurance Department complaint was filed.
If a case proceeds to federal court, in most cases the only risk for the insurer is the possibility of paying the claimant’s attorneys fees. Filing a complaint with the insurance department can result in other types of penalties and the filing itself is a blot on the insurer’s record. Furthermore, filing the insurance department complaint sends a signal to the insurer that the claimant is serious about obtaining disability benefits and most likely will litigate if necessary.
As noted above, insurers frequently risk going to court rather than paying disability benefits because they hope a court will uphold the decision even if it is wrong. Nonetheless, insurers often try to increase their chances succeeding in court by avoiding terminating or denying a claim with well developed evidentiary support. Claims that are prepared in anticipation of litigation, which includes filing insurance department complaints, vigorously rebutting all of the insurer’s arguments, and submitting both medical and vocational evidence in support of the claim, will increase the chances of securing benefits prior to having to proceed to court.
Vertigo
Yesterday, Janet Jackson resumed her concert tour after canceling two weeks of shows due to vertigo. Besides being the name of a famous Alfred Hitchcock movie, vertigo is the sensation that you are dizzily turning around or things are dizzily turning about you. Vertigo is usually associated with an inner ear or vestibular disorder. When severe, vertigo can be disabling.
I represent a former psychiatric nurse with vertigo whose Social Security Disability (“SSD”) benefits were approved in less than five months. The key was showing that the claimant met the criteria of what is referred to as a “listed impairment”. A listed impairment is a medical condition that is so serious that a person is deemed disabled if the criteria are met. Vertigo can fall under listing 2.07, entitled Disturbance of labyrinthine-vestibular function.
I was able to demonstrate that the claimant’s vertigo satisfied the criteria of listing 2.07. I supplied clinical records reflecting a history of balance disturbance, lightheadedness, hearing loss, nausea and tinnitis. I also submitted rotational chair balance and platform posturography reports, which are test diagnostic teststhat confirm the vestibular labyrinth dysfunction, together with audiometric evaluation reports that established the degree of hearing loss.
Because the claimant had both clinical and diagnostic evidence to support her condition, she was able to show that she met the listing, which enabled her to receive her SSD benefits relatively quickly. Otherwise, she probably would have needed to wait until a hearing, and that would have delayed her receipt of benefits for over a year at a minimum.
No Objective Testing Required for Chronic Fatigue
I took over a Social Security Disability (“SSD”) case from another attorney when the claimant had to go to federal court. The claimant was diagnosed with vestibular disorder and then Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (“CFS”). I succeeded in having the court order another hearing before an administrative law judge (“ALJ”).
The case had been denied for lack of objective evidence. Regarding the vestibular disorder, I pointed out that while the ALJ had cited a normal diagnostic test, he had overlooked five other abnormal tests that substantiated the disorder. Nonetheless, the focus became CFS because the claimant’s infectious disease specialist and family doctor believed the vestibular disorder was symptomatic of the overall CFS.
The treating doctors summarized their clinical findings and conclusions. Their reports also provided detailed functional capacity assessments that precluded sedentary work. However, neither physician cited any diagnostic test data to support their opinions. To the contrary, each stated that there is no diagnostic testing associated with CFS, and that diagnoses, treatment and their disability o pinions were based on their clinical treatment history.
Disability claims are routinely denied or terminated for lack of “objective” evidence. In submitting a case, it is important to note whether there is any diagnostic testing that could possibly be submitted. It is equally important to highlight that physical examination findings are objective medical according to any medical dictionary or treatis
Non-binding Disability Decision
Many claimants submit applications for more than one type of disability benefit. A reviewing agency or insurance company will always point out that being approved by another agency or insurer for disability benefits is not binding upon it. Nonetheless, a favorable decision should always be supplied because it is still persuasive evidence that must be considered.
Courts repeatedly state that although a Social Security Disability (“SSD”) decision is not binding upon an insurance company in the group long term disability context, it is arbitrary for an insurer to refuse to explain why the favorable SSD decision was wrong. I received a favorable SSD decision that also illustrates an approval should always be brought to the attention of another disability decision maker.
I represent a client whose SSD claim was pending for a year at the initial level. The Social Security Administration (the “SSA) kept raising excuses for refusing to decide the matter. In the interim, I obtained an approval for the claimant’s New York State Disability Retirement Pension. Shortly after I submitted the NYS decision to the SSA, the claimant’s SSD application was approved without explanation, despite threats to deny the SSD claim because the claimant refused to attend a consultative examination. Those threats make it unlikely that it was simply a coincidence that the SSD claim was approved right after the NYS decision was submit
- SSA - Is Anyone Listening?
- Fraudulent CE's
- Cost of Living Increase
- Unconscionable Delays by ALJ
- Podiatrists
- CE Boondoggle Continues
- SSA's Total Dysfunction
- Long COVID Approval
- SS Benefits Increase for 2023
- Lack of Funding
- SS Terminology
- Nurse Practitioners
- Treating Source Still Prevails
- Living with Long COVID
- Lupus Anticoagulant
- Consultative Exams
- 45 Days Means 45 Days
- Updating Opinions
- SS Approves Long COVID
- Compassionate Allowance
- SSD and Retirement
- Consistency and Persuasiveness
- Multiple Impairments
- Growing Dire Need
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Treating CE
- Long Covid Financial Duress
- Aid for Long COVID
- Federal Court Remand
- Another Win in Federal Court
- ANS Disorder
- Pain Management
- Alzheimer’s Disease
- Disabling Migraine Headaches
- LTD Buy Outs
- Covid Long Haulers
- Remand for Benefits
- Prostate Cancer
- More Good News?
- SS Commissioner Fired
- COVID Long-Haulers
- SDNY Affirms SSD Win
- Prudential Approval
- Rheumatoid Arthritis
- We Take Care of Our Own?
- Mystery Solved
- More State Agency Deceit
- SSD Hearings
- Some Good News!
- Medical Consultant C. Levit
- COVID19 Impacts SSD
- Prudential Approval
- CDC's Response to COVID19
- Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes
- COVID19 Bill
- Kudos to CALJ Wexler
- COVID19 Repercussions
- Coronavirus
- Getting It Right
- DaTscan
- Adult Disabled Child
- SSD Approved in 1 Week
- State Agency Doctors
- SS Benefits in Danger
- Proposed Changes to SS and Medicare
- 6 Years for Approval
- Exhaustive Hospital Records
- Expert Interrogatories
- Surveillance Report
- SSD Approved in 2 Months
- Unum Pays
- Bipolar Disorder
- “Reserved” to the Commissioner
- SSD Approved in 4 Months
- Videotaping IMA
- Frontal Lobe Syndrome
- Fahr's Syndrome
- Initial SSD Approved
- Inconsistent, But Favorable Decision
- SSD and Working
- U.S.D.J. Azrack Reverses ALJ
- Objective Testing
- U.S.D.J. Amon Reverses ALJ Iwuamadi
- Proposed SS Rule Hurts
- Borderline Age
- The Wait Is Killing Them
- IMA
- Erythromelalgia
- Limbic Encephalitis
- Government Shutdown & SS
- Consussions
- Migraines
- Physician Assistants
- SSA Stay Denied
- Advanced Practice Registered Nurses
- Bipolar Disorder
- SS Benefits Increase
- Dysautonomia
- Young Person Granted OTR
- Earnings After Onset
- Patchogue Obstruction
- Washington Times Article
- Medical Sources
- Lourdes Marasigan
- Lump Sum Settlements
- Partially Favorable Decisions
- No Help for SSD Backlogs
- Fast SSD Approval
- Vocational Experts
- Disability and Medicare
- IMA Disability Services
- NYSLERS & SSD
- Help for SSD Benefits?
- Vocational Expert
- Supporting Records
- Budget Cuts Increase Wait Times
- Support Letters
- SSD For MS
- Misconceptions About SSD Continue
- Patchogue Fails Again
- Myasthenia Gravis
- Lupus
- SSD Delays
- WC Medical Opinions
- Government Targets the Disabled
- Another SSD Myth Busted
- The Truth About SSD
- SS Benefits 101
- Increase in SS Denials
- Best Time to Apply for SS
- Parkinson's Disease
- SSA in Crisis
- SSD Reform Needed
- Applying for SSD Benefits
- Headaches
- Disabling Fibromyalgia
- Garnishing SS Benefits
- Nurse Practioners
- Trump Hurt Disabled Workers
- Expediting Hearing
- Social Security Fraud
- Congress Can End SSD Backlog
- Tips for Retirement Benefits
- Social Security Backlog Continues
- Income and Disability
- ALJ Found Scleroderma Disabling
- More SSD Delays
- ODAR Rumor
- SSD Approval Rates
- National Adjudication Team
- Second Circuit Case
- Prudential LTD Fraud
- District Court Rejects SSA Denial
- Work Record
- Macroprolactinoma
- Jerome Caiati
- Importance of Diagnostic Testing
- SSD Approved In 2 Months
- Unemployment Benefits Do Not Preclude SSD
- ALJ Relies On Disgraced “Medical Expert”
- SSD Approved for Crohn’s Disease
- NYSLERS
- Claimant Credibility and Work History
- NYS OTDA Fraud Update
- SSD Approved in Less Than Months
- Combined Disabling Conditions
- Lymphedema
- Significant Weight Suffices
- Combined Disabling Conditions
- Cancer Claims
- Deceptive Insurance Practices
- Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome
- DDS Continues to Purge Evidence
- Proposed LTD Regulations
- Reliance Approves LTD After Deadline
- Approval for Toll Collector
- The Consequences of SSD Delays
- Acupuncture
- SSA Continues Prejudicial Policy
- Psychotherapy Notes
- Vocational Evidence Determinative
- Treating Doctor Testimony
- IMA Notices
- SSA Delays
- SSA INTENTIONALLY INCREASING DELAYS
- New IMA Fraud & Worse
- Mental Health Records
- CROM Testing
- Padro: Relief too little, too late
- IMA Evading Law Again
- SSD for School Custodian
- 28 Months For Approval
- SSD With No Hearing
- State Agency Analyst Lied
- Social Security Backlog
- Social Security Backlog
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Renamed
- Go Figure
- IMA Disability Services
- Sadistic IMA Conduct
- A Padro Success
- Disability for Breast Cancer
- Continuing Disability Review
- CIGNA Reverses LTD Termination
- Disability Hearing Witnesses
- The State Agency Concedes
- Social Security Fraud
- Congress Killing Disability
- Binder & Binder Bankruptcy
- SSD In Less Than A Month
- Hearing Wait Gets Worse
- Internists’ Disability Opinions
- Binder & Binder Goes Bankrupt
- SSA Form 821
- Dementia
- Sensorineural Deafness
- CIGNA Says Claimant Cannot Do Any Work
- Biased SSA Review Policy
- Pseudarthrosis
- Proper Hearing Notice
- Video Taping Consultative Examination
- Antiphospholipid Syndrome
- Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma
- SSA Still Not Using eCAT Properly
- Supplemental Hearing Cancelled
- Establishing Mental Disability
- Passive Income
- Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis
- SSD For Landscaper
- Disability Retirement Approved Without A Hearing
- SSD for Cement Truck Driver
- USDC Reverses ALJ Wolfe
- Disability Etiology
- Unum Field Visit
- Disability Benefits for Truck Driver
- Autoimmune Hepatitis
- Establishing Mental Disability
- Unum Reapproval
- Medicaid Disability Determinations
- Patchogue Problems Persist
- Benefits Turned On Vocational Error
- SSA Staff Attorneys
- Disability Benefits While Working
- Scleroderma
- Agoraphobia
- Padro Deadline
- State Agency Reports Misrepresentations
- Amending Onset To Avoid Hearing
- Carpenter Avoids Disability Hearing
- Brugada Syndrome
- Disabling Mitral Valve
- SSA Secret Rule
- The Electronic Claims Analysis Tool (eCAT)
- If You Die Before Benefits Are Approved
- Media Deception
- CIGNA Reverses STD & LTD Decisions
- Disabling Sleep Apnea
- Padro Settlement Agreement A Joke
- Appealing Partially Favorable Decisions
- Social Security in the News
- Hoppenfeld Refused To Comply With Padro
- Social Security Benefit Increase
- Reopening Prior Application
- Wegener's Granulomatosis
- SSA “Quality” Review By QRB
- Dire Need
- Padro Settlement Approved
- Social Security Increase
- Government Shutdown
- Reviewing An Employer’s Work Description
- Podiatrists
- Off Task
- Social Security Reconsideration
- Fully Favorable Decisions
- Operative Reports
- Unusual SSD Approvals
- Risky Side Effects
- ALJ Strauss Claimants
- Unsuccessful Work Attempt
- Unum Pressures Doctors
- Patchogue Continued Ineptitude
- Is Strauss Serious?
- Is It The New Commissioner?
- Padro Class Action Problem
- Padro Class Action Hearing Next Week
- Replace UNUM
- Expediting SSD Hearings
- Court Said IME Doctor Lied
- Continuing Disability Review
- Podiatrists
- Connect The Dots
- Unum Ordered To Produce Witnesses For Depositions
- Social Security Form DDD-3883
- Acceptable Medical Sources
- Petition Regulators About Unum
- Consultative Exam Withdrawn
- Padro Class Action Notices
- Rejecting SSA Remand Offer
- CIGNA Regulatory Settlement
- Polymyositis
- NOSSCR Conference
- SSA Misinformation
- Padro Class Action Settlement
- DDS Actually Listened
- Padro Class Action Update
- Same Day SSD & DI Award
- SSD for Letter Carrier
- Illusory Unum Approval
- Work History & Credibility
- Lupus
- Thank You Judge Irizarry
- Crohn’s’ Disease
- Work History
- Eliminate the SSD Waiting Period
- Urinary Incontinence
- SS Retirement or Disability?
- Ignoring Unreasonable Requests
- Officer Approved in 2 Months
- PADRO Class Action
- Updating Evidence
- SSD & Chiropractors
- SSD Approved In Under 2 Months
- Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy
- Queens ALJ Bias Plaintiff
- Breast Cancer
- CIGNA LTD Fraud Template
- Unsuccessful Work Attempt
- Why DDS Denies SSD Claimants
- Partially Favorable Onset Appeal
- Treating Physician Rule
- FCE Spurs Unum Approval
- Commendable Action By ALJ
- ERISA Exception
- Importance of Vocational Evidence
- State Agency Exam Notices
- SSD Approved In 3 Months
- Social Security Myth
- Subpoena Leads to SSD Award for Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Another CE Problem
- Appeals Council Remands
- Social Security & The Presidential Election
- SSD Claimants Need To Review Their Efolders
- Firefighter Awarded SSD
- Obesity & Disability
- Videotaping IMA Consultative Examinations
- Biased Hoppenfeld Decision Reversed
- IMA Disability Services
- Carpenter Wins SSD For Wrong Reason
- Padro ALJ Bias Class Action To Be Settled
- Binder & Binder Replaced
- If at first …
- IMA Disability Services
- The Office of Medical and Vocational Expertise
- Newsday Article
- The SSD “12 Month Rule”
- Medical Expert Interrogatories
- Patchogue Ineptitude
- Emphasizing Work History
- Reopening Disability Applications
- What is NY Waiting For?
- When Objective Evidence Isn't Enough
- Disability Benefits For Nurse
- Bench Decision
- Hearing Avoided
- Disability Pension Award From Union
- IMA Exams In New York
- AARP On SSD
- How Much Will Social Security Pay You?
- SSD & Unemployment Benefits
- State Agency-IMA Bad Faith Tactics
- Why Bother With An Exam By IMA?
- Workers Compensation & SSD
- Hoppenfeld Bias
- Veteran Gets SSD for Memorial Day
- Vocational Evidence
- Establishing Mental Disability
- IMA Exam Is Not Required
- Postherpetic Neuralgia
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Disabling AION
- Proof of Birth for SSD
- Corroboration is not Superfluous
- Social Security Listings
- CIGNA CONTINUES ILLEGAL CONDUCT
- Fast SSD Approvals
- Impaired Use of Hands
- Representative Payee
- Onset Appeal
- Amending SSD Onset Date
- State Agency Vocational Experts
- Causation and Social Security Disability Benefits
- Alport Syndrome
- David Nisnewitz Found Unfit To Be ALJ Again
- Reopening SSD Applications
- Another Example of ALJ Fier's Bias
- Physician Specialty
- Medical Source Statements
- Podiatrists and Disability Benefits
- Retaining Social Security Experts
- Transparent Hoppenfeld Bias
- State Agency Disability Analysts
- SSD & WC
- SSA Should Reimburse Travel
- Disability Benefits For Carpenter
- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
- SSD Approved in Two Months
- Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy
- Veterans Medical Source Statements
- Disabled by Schizophrenia
- Receiving SSD Benefits and an Income
- Vocational Credibility
- SSD For Police Officer
- Kienbock's Disease
- Patchogue Incompetence
- Binder and Binder
- Appeals Council Doltishness
- NYCERS Disability Pension
- Can You Receive SSD If You Have Income?
- Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Multiple Impairments
- Adverse Evidence
- Cerebrovascular Accident & SSD
- Was A Video Hearing Needed?
- NOSSCR Conference
- SSD Approved in 2 Weeks
- SSD Approved In 2 Months
- Disability and Diabetes
- Social Security Benefit Increase
- Vocational Experts
- IMA Consultative Examinations
- Hoppenfeld & The Rotation Policy
- Alzheimer’s
- Federal Court Reassigns Nisnewitz Case
- Approval After Federal Court Remand
- Abusive Hoppenfeld Conduct
- Rheumatoid Arthritis
- SSD Overpayments
- LTD Approved In Less Than A Month
- Maximizing Disability Benefits
- Mixed Connective Tissue Disease
- When To Amend The Disability Onset Date
- Right To Cross Examine Post Hearing Experts
- Commissioner’s Statement Is Offensive
- Gilding the Lily
- SSD Approved in 2.5 Months
- When to File for SSD
- Disability & Incontinence
- Hoppenfeld Fibromyalgia Bias
- On The Record Requests
- LTD Approved In Two Months
- Work History
- Relocating While Disabled
- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
- Getting Disability Benefits Quickly
- SSD Approved in 3 Months
- SSD Approved In Two Months
- SSD & WC Offset
- Disability Analysts
- Federal Court Decision
- Social Security Depravity
- Depression and Anxiety
- Fully Favorable Appeals Council Order
- Erythema Multiform Major
- SSD in Three Months
- Lincoln Life Pays LTD Benefits
- Acquiring Work Skills
- Court Rejects CIGNA LTD Termination
- Disability Benefits & Substance Abuse
- Endometriosis
- SSD Approved In 2 Months
- Raising The Retirement Age
- No More Paper Checks
- Treating Doctors
- SSA Prehearing
- Disability Redefined
- Consultative Examinations
- Evidence of Hoppenfeld Bias
- ALJ Nisnewitz Rejected Again
- ALJ Bias Class Action
- Working And SSD
- ALJ Bias In Queens
- Federal Court Decision
- ALJ Strauss Rejected Again
- Seven Year Wait Over
- Lyme Disease
- ALJ Strauss Reversed Again
- Remand To A New ALJ
- “Secret” Child’s Benefits
- Unfair CIGNA Tactics Detailed
- LTD Policy Offsets
- Partially Favorable Decisions
- SSD While Working
- Expediting Disability Benefits
- Multiple sclerosis
- Date Last Insured
- Radiculopathy
- Videoconference Hearings
- Expediting Disability Benefits
- Patchogue Incompetence
- Federal Court Decision
- Union Disability Approved
- SSA Notice of Awards
- SSA Doctors
- Protective Filing Date
- SSA Delays
- On The Record Requests
- Dialysis & Disability
- Disability Opinions & Medical Tests
- LTD and SSD
- CIGNA Sued For Surveillance
- Attorney Advisors
- Social Security Doctors
- Unum Reverses Termination
- Electronic Records Express
- Multiple Impairments
- Income Doesn't Bar Disability Benefits
- Celiac Disease
- Proving Disabling Pain
- EAJA Fees
- IMA Disability Services
- Self Employment
- Medical Listing Opinions
- Treatment Records
- Avoiding SSD Hearings
- Federal Court Remand
- The MTA & SSD
- When Work Doesn’t Count
- Gastroparesis
- Sjogren's Syndrome
- Benefits After A Federal Court Remand
- Firefighter Gets SSD Benefits
- Prudential Approved LTD, For Now
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
- Getting Benefits While Working
- EAJA Fees
- Stroke
- New Jersey District Court Remand
- District Court Remand
- ALJ Hoppenfeld Overtly Acts Biased
- Veterans
- NYCERS & SSD
- Medical Evidence and Functionality
- Deceptive SSA Notices
- Onset Date
- Queens ALJs
- When Can You File For SSD Benefits?
- Parkinson’s Disease
- Consultative Exam (“CE”) Ruled Improper
- EAJA Fees
- Consultative Examinations
- New Office
- Complaining About Biased ALJs
- IMA Disability Services
- Multiple Impairments
- NYCERS
- Primary Care Physicians
- Social Security Rulings
- Anxiety
- Fibromyalgia
- Retrospective Medical Opinion
- Disability For Federal Employees
- The Grids
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
- Adult Disabled Children
- Charcot-Marie-Tooth
- Depression and Anxiety
- RSD/CRPS
- Getting SSD Even If You Can Work
- Health Insurance For Children
- Health Insurance For Children
- Settling With CIGNA
- Avoiding An Improper Consultative Exam
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Protective Filing Dates
- SSD Delays
- Reopening Past SSD Denial
- ALJ Strauss’ Reliance On ME Cohen’s Testimony Proves She Is Biased
- Listed Impairments
- Multiple Medical Sources
- Attorney Advisors
- Avoiding Consultative Examinations
- Atypical Parkinson’s
- Chondromalacia
- Subpoena The SSA Doctor
- Prudential Reverses Fibromyalgia STD & LTD Denial
- ALJ Nisenewitz: Stupid or Biased?
- LTD & Health Insurance
- Courts Rules CIGNA Is Biased
- SSD & Taxes
- ALJ Hoppenfeld Must Be Barred From FMS Cases
- Don’t Believe Everything You Read
- On The Record Request
- Avoiding SSD Remand Hearing
- NYCERS Disability Retirement
- Submitting Medical Records
- CIGNA Ordered To Pay For Its Actions
- Oops, CIGNA’s Done It Again
- Hearing Office Attorneys
- Hearing Notice
- Appeals Council Rebukes ALJ Fier
- Unsuccessful Work Attempts
- Medical Assessments
- Disability & Downsizing
- Consultative Examinations
- Obama Disability Benefit
- Court Blasts CIGNA LTD Benefit Termination
- Obama and Social Security Benefits
- “Fully Favorable” Decisions
- SSD Secret
- Notice of Dismissal
- Initial SSA Decisions
- Appeals Council Scolds ALJ
- Unum Cases In New York
- Medical Evidence
- Prior Applications
- Disability is Functionality
- Medical Records & Reports
- Social Security Files
- Applicaiton Filing Date
- Representing Yourself
- Disabled Voters
- Vertigo
- Multiple Impairments
- Myasthenia Gravis
- More Is Better
- Disability Benefits & Work
- SSA Medical Reports
- Negotiating Disability Benefits
- Consultative Examinations
- GMA Exposes CIGNA
- Work History
- Onset and Application Dates
- Supreme Court Helps LTD Claimants
- Expediting SSD Cases
- Two Heads Are Better Than One
- LTD Litigation
- Retrospective Medical Opinions
- Establishing An Onset Date
- Field Visit
- Multiple Attorneys
- Self Employment
- Special Accommodations
- Multiple Disability Benefits
- Clarifying Objective Evidence
- “Fully Favorable” Decisions
- Treating Sources
- SSD & Mental Disability
- Using Vocational Evidence To Expedite Benefits
- Attorney Adjudicator
- Past Earnings
- Benefits Without A Hearing
- Irrelevant Medical Conditions
- Establishing Credibility
- Medical Updates
- No Health Insurance
- Application Dates
- Possible Delay Remedy
- Unum Reassessment Loophole
- Benefits Despite Income
- Consultative Examinations
- “Accentuate The Positive, Eliminate The Negative”
- Dire Need
- How To Avoid Hearing Delays
- Police Disability
- Seminar
- Expediting LTD Benefits
- Uveitis
- TBI and Vocational Evidence
- Failure To Receive Notice
- Mental Disorders
- Inability To Speak English
- Discovery In ERISA Cases
- Don’t Be Intimidated By DDS
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Avoiding Hearings
- Working Does Not Preclude Benefits
- Be Wary of Forms
- Exam Secrets
- SSD for Firefighter
- Consultative Examinations
- Purpose of SSD Hearing
- Why Wait?
- Insurance Department Complaint
- Overreach For Disability Retirement
- Vertigo
- No Objective Testing Required for Chronic Fatigue
- Non-binding Disability Decision
- Always Check The Listings
- LTD & SSD
- Avoid Early Retirement
- Getting Benefits Faster
- Medical Records & Reports
- Corroborating Physicians
- Unemployment Benefits
- Miano v. Barnhart
- Benefits Despite Working
- Work History Credibility
- Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy
- Arthritis Foundation