Articles Posted in Boston SSDI

Even though most Social Security Disability recipients have not yet been impacted by the government shutdown, the looming debt crisis does pose a threat. Recent reports nhave called attention to the reality that the debt crisis could wind up delaying Social Security checks. This could be a disaster for the millions of families that depend on Social Security income for survival, food, and care.

Most reports indicate that Social Security beneficiaries have continued to receive their benefits on time. Despite the initial relief, recipients should be aware that the debt crisis could have long-term negative consequences. Our Massachusetts SSDI attorneys are experienced in helping our clients collect the benefits they need and deserve. We are abreast of all developments in the Social Security Administration and in legislative changes that could impact the rights of our clients and our community.
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When it comes to long-term disability coverage, fewer people have it and those who do end up fighting extra hard to receive it.

That’s according to a new study published in the ABA Journal of Labor & Employment Law. Our Social Security Disability Insurance lawyers in Boston know that those who have long-term coverage assume that having private benefits means they won’t need to seek federal benefits, if they should become disabled.

The reality is that you could be entitled to both. But neither is likely to come easy, even for those whose conditions appear on the surface to be fairly straightforward.
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Often when the topic of major injury-causing traffic accidents arises, it’s in relation to the risks posed by inexperienced teens or people who are distracted.

To be sure, those are legitimate concerns. However, many of the Boston Social Security Disability Insurance claims that are filed involve over-55-year-old workers who have been involved in an on-the-job transportation accident.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention just released a study analyzing occupational highway transportation deaths among U.S. workers over the age of 55 between 2003 and 2010.
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Recognizing the too-lax standards to which the U.S. is holding industry with regard to crystalline silica, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety & Health Administration recently announced a proposed rule that it hopes will curb workplace exposure.

Our Boston Social Security Disability Insurance lawyers applaud this yet-to-be-finalized rule, as exposure to this material puts workers’ health in jeopardy. Many lose not just their ability to continue working, but also to breathe effectively.

The fibers of this naturally-occurring substance, found in dirt, quartz, clays, granite, sand and other stones, are released into the air by processes that include grinding, cutting or drilling of rocks or products that contain silica. Workers who might find themselves routinely engaged in this type of work include those involved in construction (particularly masonry, jack hammering and sandblasting), agriculture, shipbuilding, stonecutting, mining, track-laying railroad workers, manufacturing and furnace repair.
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September begins with Labor Day, which we mark with commemoration of the social and economic achievements of American workers.

Our Boston Social Security Disability Insurance attorneys recognize that a big part of that is the push for implementation of workplace protections to prevent serious work-related illnesses and injuries.

It’s a fight that has led to a reasonable reduction of on-duty hours, the requirement of special equipment when dealing with hazardous substances and mandatory standards that must be followed when working from heights or with dangerous equipment.
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Our Boston Social Security Disability Insurance attorneys fight tirelessly to secure benefits for those suffering from renal failure.

It was nice to recently read some news that others are on board to help these folks as well, albeit in a different way.
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Few are more staunchly against Social Security Disability Insurance fraud than those who need it the most.

Our Boston SSDI lawyers know the kind of fight it takes to secure benefits for those who are legitimately sick and disabled – and it’s by no means an easy one.

Unfortunately, scandals like the one recently out of Puerto Rico not only make it seem as if it is easy, they prompt calls for reform to the entire system that could make it even more difficult for those who already face an uphill struggle.
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While our Boston Social Security Disability Insurance attorneys recognize that securing federal benefits for someone who suffers from alcohol or drug addiction is possible, it tends to be somewhat of an uphill battle.

However, there are a number of conditions brought about by chronic substance abuse and addiction that might more readily result in approval of benefits. These include long and short-term memory functions, heart conditions and perhaps injuries caused by crashes or accidents that happened due to the patient’s intoxication.
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The widower of a Wyoming woman who lived just 11 weeks after being given a cancer diagnosis is fighting to fulfill a promise he made to his wife before she died.

He is throwing his full support behind the recently-introduced S. 1311: Expedited Disability Insurance Payments for Terminally Ill Individuals Act of 2013.

This measure would expedite the waiting period for federal disability benefits for those suffering from a terminal illness.

Our Boston Social Security Disability Insurance lawyers know that there is a Compassionate Allowance list that allows for fast-tracked benefits. However, for those who may suffer a terminal condition not expressly on the list, Social Security anti-fraud rules hold that claimants have to wait at least five months.

In the Wyoming widower’s case, his wife would have been entitled to a monthly benefit of $754 for the last three months of her life, as her condition had rendered her unable to work. However, she died before that five month waiting period was over. In the end, her widower received a lump sum death payment of just $255.

As she laid on her death bed, she asked her husband if he might work to change the law so that those with a diagnosis of terminal illness could side-step that five-month rule and receive faster benefits.

To be sure, the payments aren’t substantial. But they can help to somewhat ease a family’s transition in the wake of such a devastating emotional and financial blow.

Her widower calls his efforts “The Good Fight.” He aptly points out that those who would be collecting SSDI have been paying into it their entire adult lives. People don’t expect or plan for a terminal illness. They often need all the money they can get.

He has written and called numerous state legislators seeking some kind of remedy for this issue. He even started an online petition. He contacted labor unions, American Indian tribes and others, hoping to apply ample pressure on Congressional leaders.

Recently, the Michigan Legislature passed a resolution encouraging Congress to change the rule.

The Wyoming Legislature had been considering a similar resolution this session, but it was not voted on prior to the session being adjourned.

Then, on July 17, a bi-partisan bill was by two Republican Senators from Wyoming and a Democratic Senator from Ohio. The Expedited Disability Insurance Payments for Terminally Ill Individuals Act of 2013 calls for a phased-in payment of Social Security Disability Insurance for those who are still in the waiting period after being diagnosed with a terminal illness.

The measure would allow for 50 percent of estimated benefits to be awarded during the first month after diagnosis and 75 percent the second month and each month thereafter until the five-month waiting period is up.

Sponsors of the bill say it doesn’t undermine the whole underlying goal of the waiting period, which is reduction of fraud. Rather, it ensures those who deserve and need it most will be compensated in a timely fashion.
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Want to avoid being killed as a result of a serious injury?

Live in a large city.

That’s the advice offered up by researchers whose work was published late last month by the American College of Emergency Physicians.

Our Boston Social Security Disability Insurance attorneys want to make it clear that no matter where you are injured – on the job, at home, in the city or on a farm – you may be eligible for federal disability benefits. Unlike workers’ compensation, your benefits won’t be impacted by whether your illness or injury was a direct result of your time on the job. Rather, what matters is whether your condition has rendered you unable to work for a year or more.

We recognize that avoiding illness or injury in the first place is the preferable option, but we also know that, according to the Social Security Administration, 20 percent of all working Americans will suffer a disability at some point during their lives. For some, it’s temporary. For others, it’s permanent.

For all, these researchers found, the risk is higher the farther you live from the city.

The scientists examined some 1.3 million deaths from injury in more than 3,000 counties across the country, stretching from 1999 through 2006.

Counties were classified on a 10-point scale, based on whether they were considered more urban or rural or something in-between.

What they found was that the more rural the area, the higher the risk of injury. The differences were drastic. In the most rural areas, the risk of death by injury was about 74 for every 100,000 people. Compare this to the most urban areas, where the risk of death by injury was about 50 for every 100,000 people.

The most common causes of death by injury were:

• Car crashes;
• Gun shots.

The risk of both became more marked the more rural the setting.

Car accidents were almost three times as likely to occur in rural areas as in cities, the report indicate.

Of course, this is not to say that urban life is without its risks or that those who live in large cities don’t suffer crippling or even fatal injuries.

The exceptions to the rule of higher rural risk were fall-related injuries, poisoning and homicide – all of which were found in greater abundance in areas where people live closer together.

The criteria for obtaining SSDI in Massachusetts is less about how you were hurt and more about the effect of that injury.

There are one of several ways you can qualify. One is to look at the Social Security Administration’s “Blue Book” listings of impairment to determine whether your condition is listed there.

For example, let’s say you suffered a broken arm (humerus, radius or ulna) in a car accident. If that fracture required surgery to restore functional use to that extremity and it failed to do so or function is not expected to be restored within 12 months, you would be eligible for benefits under SSDI Listing 1.07.

But even if your condition isn’t specifically listed in the Blue Book, you may still qualify if you can prove your condition is functionally equivalent to one of these conditions. That is, the ultimate outcome is that you are unable to work.

It’s often not an easy thing to convince the administration of this. Having an experienced SSDI lawyer helping with your case can exponentially improve your chances.
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