www.iwantmydisability.com

Lupus Anticoagulant

Lupus Anticoagulants are a type of protein antibody called antiphospholipids.  These proteins react to phospholipids, which are fat molecules in your blood cells that can stop your cells from working properly.  The problem with these antiphospholipids is that they can cause blood clots in your lungs, legs, heart and brain.

We represent a 59 year old security guard with Lupus Anticoagulant from Syosset whose Social Security Disability (“SSD”) application was approved today.  The claimant could not sit, stand or walk for more than 10 minutes without his legs swelling, despite being medicated with blood thinners. Consequently, the claimant has to spend as much time elevating his legs to reduce swelling, as he does sitting, standing or walking, which a vocational expert testified precluded all work.

Our office offers free phone consultations if you are thinking about applying for disability and want to retain an attorney who specializes in disability.   We have offices located in Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island.

Consultative Exams

The State agency continues to send claimant’s letters stating that they “need” to, and “must,” be examined by Social Security doctors.  They don’t.  I have regularly posted about why the DDS letters are misleading and inaccurate.

Once again, I represent a claimant, this one an attorney from Hewlett with cardiovascular and mental impairments, to whom the State agency sent repeated letters insisting that he attend a consultative examination (“CE”).  Because of COVID, he wanted his doctor to perform the CE, which is what the regulations actually require.

The claimant was awarded Social Security Disability (“SSD”) benefits without the need for a hearing.  Obviously, it was not necessary that he attend a CE in order to be eligible to receive SSD benefits.

The analysts at the State agency like to harass and threaten people.  If you don’t have a disability attorney representing you who is experienced with dealing with these analysts, you will have a very difficult time doing so on your own, not to mention the stress and heartache it will cause you.  We have over 35 years of experience representing disabled workers.  You can call our office for a free phone consultation.  Our offices are conveniently located in both Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island.

45 Days Means 45 Days

Long term disability (“LTD”) insurers have made it a habit of taking too much time to decide if  claimants are entitled to benefits. Don’t let it happen to you.

A claimant with cardiovascular impairments from Huntington retained us after Lincoln Life denied his LTD application. We appealed.

LTD claims are governed by a federal law called ERISA. After an appeal, ERISA requires the insurance company to decide if a claimant will receive benefits, or request an extension of time, within 45 days. If the insurance company fails to do so, then its decision will be deemed denied.

When Lincoln Life failed to decide the claimant’s appeal in 45 days, we sued in federal court.  Afterwards, Lincoln Life continued to add documents to the claim file that, not surprisingly, were adverse to the claimant’s application.

We filed a motion to preclude Lincoln Life from including the belatedly created documents from the administrative file record that the district court judge will review when deciding if the claimant is entitled to LTD benefits. Magistrate Judge Locke granted the motion, and his decision can be found with the Court Decisions under the Resources tab on our website.

Updating Opinions

Waiting times for Social Security Disability (“SSD”) hearings are notorious.  A consequence of the delays is that by the time your hearing comes around, the evidence that you obtained, often at significant expense, has become “stale.”

The prolonged wait for a hearing creates a dilemma.  You must submit supportive medical opinions at the initial and reconsideration stages of the administrative review to have any chance of your application being approved.  Moreover, frequently an opinion will be found more persuasive the closer in time it is given to the onset of the disability.  However, if your claim is denied at those stages, the opinion will be considered too old to establish ongoing disability by the time you appear for a hearing.

A medical opinion is usually submitted in the form of a narrative report or a medical source statement.  Physicians and other medical sources often charge a fee for providing their opinion, which they perceive as being extraneous to their treating you.  The expense of updating a medical opinion can be reduced without having to pay for a second narrative report or medical source statement.

We represent a 50 year old from St. Albans with musculoskeletal and urological impairments, who had worked as a police officer.  Besides paying out of pocket for medical treatment, the claimant had paid for medical reports to submit in connection with her SSD application.  At the hearing, the administrative law judge, familiar with my practice, stated that she would accept a note from the claimant’s doctor stating that the restrictions and limitations in the previously submitted reports had not changed.  Experience has shown that physicians rarely charge for such a note.

If you are thinking about applying for disability, you should contact an experienced disability attorney to discuss your potential claim for SSD benefits.  We offer a free phone consultation, and we are available 5 days a week to take your calls.  Our offices are located in both Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island.

SS Approves Long COVID

Compassionate Allowance

Social Security’s Compassionate Allowances Program allows for a quick approval for people who have a critically severe illness, such as Stage 4 cancer or a brain disorder.  When an application for Social Security Disability (“SSD”) benefits is filed as a Compassionate Allowance claim, the local office is supposed to determine if the claim satisfies the criteria for a compassionate allowance.  If it does, the local office is supposed to send the claim to the State agency as a flagged claim.  The analyst at the State agency assigned to the case is supposed to expedite the claim, so instead of taking months or years to make a decision, the claimant can expect a decision within a matter of a few short weeks.

We represent two claimants with Stage 4 cancers, who were approved within weeks of filing their application.  We knew when we took their cases, we would not be collecting a fee because our fee is a percentage of a claimant’s past due benefits, and there would be no past due benefits because their claims would be approved so quickly.  We could have told the claimants to apply on their own, knowing they would be approved right away, like some other lawyers would have done.  But we are not those kinds of attorneys.  We wanted to take the burden of applying for SSD off their shoulders and their families’, and help in any way we could.  The last thing they needed was to be stressed and worried about applying for SSD.

SSD and Retirement

Consistency and Persuasiveness

When the Social Security Administration (“SSA”) evaluates medical opinions, the two most important factors are supportability and consistency.  The more consistent a medical opinion is with the evidence from other medical sources and nonmedical sources, the more persuasive the medical opinion will be.  Evidence from nonmedical sources should not be overlooked.

We represent a 47 year old nurse from Bethpage with polycythemia and mental impairments.  In connection with the claimant’s Social Security Disability (“SSD”) application, we submitted letters from his friends and relatives, which described their observations about the way his impairments progressively restricted his ability to function.  The administrative law judge (“ALJ”) found their opinions “somewhat persuasive” because they were consistent with the treatment reports of the claimant’s treating sources.

The ALJ found the opinions of the state agency medical consultants regarding the claimant’s physical and mental functioning abilities “not Persuasive” because additional evidence was provided after their reviews. The ALJ found the opinion of the treating physician to be the most persuasive because, among other things, it was the most consistent with the record as a whole.

Providing detailed descriptions from third parties concerning how a claimant’s affect their ability to do things, and how their behavior has evolved, adds strength to the argument that the treating doctor’s opinion should be considered persuasive.

If you are planning on applying for Social Security Disability benefits, it is in your best interest to retain an attorney who specializes in disability.  Please call our office for a free phone consultation.  Our offices are conveniently located in both Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island.