Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes

The Ehlers-Danlos syndromes (“EDS”) are a group of inherited connective tissue disorders. EDS causes joint hypermobility; loose/unstable joints which are prone to frequent dislocations and/or subluxations; joint pain; hyperextensible joints; rupture of major blood vessel walls; and early onset of osteoarthritis. 

We represent a 52 year old former bookkeeper from Northport with EDS. The pain from hypermobility is difficult to establish like any other subjective medical condition where the clinical findings are minimal. However, the clinical and surgical findings resulting from aortic and brain vessel ruptures are distinctly objective. Although the claimant’s joint pain was her primary symptom, I emphasized the ruptures equally as it was more clearly documented. 

The claimant’s disability application was approved today. As I suspected, the decision approving benefits relied mostly on the residual problems from the ruptures. 

If you want to retain a SSD attorney, who specializes in disability benefits law and has a lot of litigation experience, please contact our office for a free phone consultation. We have offices conveniently located on Long Island in Nassau and Suffolk counties.

COVID19 Bill

The COVID19 pandemic is causing a lot of stress and uncertainty when it comes to our finances during this volatile time. The Senate is working on a bill to help financially vulnerable Americans. Hopefully, a bill will be passed shortly. The article published on NBC.com explains why it is better for us if the Senate can agree on increasing Social Security benefits temporarily by $200 per month, instead of suspending employers’ requirement to pay FICA taxes until January. 

We urge you all to stay safe, and continue to perform social distancing. We must all work together to "flatten the curve". We thank all the essential workers who continue to keep us safe.

Kudos to CALJ Wexler

April Wexler is the chief administrative law judge (“CALJ”) of the Long Island Social Security hearing office. CALJ Wexler's efforts to help address the needs of a claimant during the Coronavirus crisis are worthy of mention. 

I represent a 62 year old claimant who lost one kidney to cancer and the remaining one is severely compromised, which makes him highly susceptible to infections.   Even before the Coronavirus, I had arranged for the claimant to testify by telephone from his home. 

Because he can no longer work, the claimant had no income, and had used up all of his savings. As a result, the claimant has been trying to stave off foreclosure proceedings. 

Last week, the ALJ scheduled to hear the claimant’s case had to cancel the hearing due to the Coronavirus.  CALJ Wexler called to notify me that no other ALJ was available to conduct the hearing.  I understood the logistical issues. However, I suggested to CALJ Wexler that it would be worthwhile for her to review the file for an OTR as I explained that there were three very strong grounds to approve the disability application. 

There must be a substantial amount of chaos at the hearing office due to the Coronavirus. Nonetheless, CALJ Wexler not only took the time to review the claimant’s lengthy file, but also called me today to advise me that she was granting the OTR. We thank CALJ Wexler for her exemplary efforts during this crisis.

Our client is overjoyed with his fully favorable decision.  He knows that if he had not hired a disability attorney with decades of experience, then he would not have achieved the same results.  Instead, the claimant would be waiting weeks, most likely months, for a new hearing to be scheduled, and with no guarantee of being approved. 

Please feel free to call or email my office at (888) 572-0861.  Even though both of our Long Island offices are closed, we are working remotely, and are checking our messages frequently.  Please be safe and smart during this pandemic. 

COVID19 Repercussions

We have been receiving many calls from our clients regarding COVID19, and how it will affect their pending cases. The local Social Security offices are closed to the public. The State agency, which makes the initial disability determination, is completely closed. Unfortunately, this means that no work will be done on pending cases, and new cases will not be processed at this time. Since no one knows how long this pandemic will last, no one has any idea how long these work restrictions will remain in place. However, deadlines will be extended for providing documentation, medical information, and submitting appeals. Commissioner Saul released a Press Release yesterday. Part of that release stated:

“We have suspended the following workloads until further notice: 

•We will not start or complete any current medical continuing disability reviews. If you have a medical continuing disability review pending, please do not request medical information from your doctors at this time. We will follow up with you for any medical evidence once the COVID-19 public health emergency subsides. •Where possible, we are suspending our processing and collection of overpayments. 
•We are not conducting organization or individual representative payee accountings. 
 •We will not be able to process a third party requests for information, except from appointed representatives and representative payees."

We will keep you updated as we get new information.  Stay safe, stay healthy.

Coronavirus

We are only having our clients appear at hearings telephonically from their homes. The President has declared a National public health emergency due to the Coronavirus. Similarly, the Governor of New York, Mayor of New York City, and Long Island Counterparts have called in the National Guard, closed schools and health clubs, restricted bars and restaurants from operating, and have taken other measures because of the Coronavirus. Some district office Social Security has been closed indefinitely. 

Because of these extraordinary circumstances, I have been advocating that my clients and I only appear by telephone. Since Social Security hearing experts appear by telephone even when there is no public health crisis, having claimants and their counsel appear telephonically should not pose a problem. Appearing telephonically is obviously required for claimants who are at increased risk, such as those over 60 years of age, with respiratory problems, or with compromised immune systems. 

The telephone appearances will obviate the need to postpone hearings. Since claimants have been waiting years for a hearing already telephonic testimony is more sensible than postponing hearings. Postponing hearings is also an inadequate solution because most claimants are in dire financial straits.

Getting It Right

Sometimes you cannot imagine why a particular disability claim gets denied. I represent a 64 year old from Valley Stream with severe spinal problems that required surgery. He worked for 45 years, and his past work required him to lift and carry up to 100 pounds. His doctors provided tests, treatment records, and functional assessments that precluded all work. Nonetheless, his application for Social Security Disability (“SSD”) benefits was denied.

The case had been assigned to administrative law judge (“ALJ”) Jay Cohen for half a year, and he scheduled the claimant’s hearing for today. ALJ Cohen retired last week, and the case was assigned to ALJ Pecoraro Monday. The case was approved without need for the hearing.

The new ALJ got it right. The medical and vocational evidence was solid, and a hearing should never have even been scheduled. We spent days preparing for the cross examination of the hearing expert. Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.

It is not easy to find a SSD attorney with litigation experience.  If you want to retain a SSD attorney, who specializes in disability benefits law and has a lot of litigation experience, please contact our office for a free phone consultation.  We have offices conveniently located on Long Island in Nassau and Suffolk counties.

DaTscan

I have posted about Parkinson’s Disease periodically. Periodically, I have also posted that disability claims handlers virtually always want to see objective diagnostic test data before approving benefits. A problem arises when medical impairments are normally diagnosed via clinical examination findings.

From a diagnostic perspective, Parkinson’s is a clinical diagnosis. Claims involving medical conditions like Parkinson’s, which are based on clinical exam findings, frequently get denied improperly for lacking “objective” medical support. Providing medical information from established sources like the Mayo Clinic or the Merck Manual regarding how medical impairments are diagnosed clinically is helpful, but these types of disability claims usually take longer to get approved.

MRI scanning appears normal for Parkinson’s, and thus it would hurt, rather than help the disability claim applicant. However, DaTscan imaging can confirm a diagnosis of Parkinson’s even if the clinical findings are not obviously apparent. In Parkinson’s, there is a steady loss of dopamine transporters in the brain, and a DaTscan can detect dopamine levels in the brain.

We represent a 63 year old former maintenance director from Old Bethpage with Parkinson’s whose disability application was just approved without a hearing. The claim was approved shortly after we submitted the claimant’s DaTscan, which was consistent with Parkinsonian syndrome. 

Our office has been able to obtain SSD benefits for many other disability claimants quickly compared to the national averages.  For the convenience of our Long Island clients, and potential clients, we have offices in both Nassau and Suffolk counties. 

Adult Disabled Child

The Social Security Disability Insurance (“SSDI”) program pays benefits to adults who have a disability that began before they became 22 years old. SSDI is considered a “child’s” benefit because the amount of it is based on a parent’s Social Security earnings record. For a disabled adult to become entitled to this “child” benefit, one of the parents must be receiving Social Security retirement or disability benefits, or have died and have worked enough to qualify for Social Security. 

A minor child can receive benefits when a parent receives Social Security Disability (“SSD”) benefits. After reaching majority, if disabled using the disability rules for adults, a child is eligible to continue receiving benefits on that parent’s record. Disabled Adult Child (“DAC”) benefits continue as long as the individual remains disabled. A child does not need to have worked to get DAC benefits. It should be emphasized that you do not have to be under 22 years of age in order to apply for DAC benefits. 

We represent a claimant whose DAC benefits were approved today, who is currently 33 years of age. We were able to establish that his mental impairments rendered him disabled as of 2008, at which time he was 21 years old.

Knowing the Social Security case law is critical to preparing your claim, and appealing it all the way to federal court if necessary. When retaining a disability attorney to handle your SSD claim, be sure to ask them about the extent of their experience litigating these matters. Please call my office for a free phone consultation. We have offices conveniently located on Long Island in Nassau and Suffolk counties.