Category Archives: social security disability

Don’t Get Short-Changed On Your Work Comp Disability Payments

Posted on January 26, 2012 by Brody Ockander

Home from work due to a serious injury? Make sure you get your due TTD benefits.

In Nebraska, workers’ compensation law entitles you to 2/3 of your average wages when you are off work because of an injury. This average is based on your wages the 26 weeks before you were injured. This is known as temporary total disability (TTD).

How TTD Works:

If you are an injured at work, you are entitled to TTD so long as you are under a doctor’s care, that doctor has you on work restrictions preventing you from working, and your doctor has not placed you at maximum healing for your injury.

While off work for your injury, make sure you are getting the proper amount of money you are entitled to. Employers use many techniques to manipulate your wages to pay you less than you are legally entitled to.

Improper ways your Employer “miscalculates” your average wages to pay you less:

Including weeks you worked minimal hours, short weeks, Continue reading →

7 Tips for Healing

Posted on December 1, 2011 by Rod Rehm

I tell every client and potential client I speak with, “It is better to have a good life than a good case.” I am trying to emphasize that people need to deal with their injury or illness positively. I know this is easier said than done and a recent bout with a root canal and reminded me how hard it must be for my clients whose pain never goes away. The following brief article by my wise and thoughtful friend Len Jernigan has some suggestions on how to move ahead and hopefully regain a good life. Hopefully these suggestions will help some of you.

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Many people are confronted with death or disability whether as a result of an accident or otherwise. We do our best to help those who were wronged by another or hurt on the job to receive compensation for their injuries. But compensation cannot cure the underlying problem, only help to make life more bearable. True healing is as much a mental as a physical process.

The following tips for healing have been adapted from the writings of Dr. Bernie Siegal, the author of many books including Love, Medicine, and Miracles; Peace, Love, and Healing; and 365 Prescriptions for the Soul. We hope you find these tips helpful in your healing process.

Accept your illness: you know the illness is there, but you also know the future will be something you can handle so it’s no longer a burden.
See the illness as a source of growth: our primitive nervous system tells us Continue reading →

Shortcuts at the Social Security Administration Mean Mistakes

Posted on November 28, 2011 by Roger Moore

In this tricky environment, be sure to get the help of a treating physician in offering a supportive report.

Recently, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Social Security Administration (SSA), frustrated by the backlog of applications for disability benefits, started pressuring the 140 doctors the agency uses to help evaluate some of the claims. In an effort to encourage the quick processing of claims doctors were paid a flat rate of $80/case in stead of the previous $90/hour to review the cases. Many times these cases have hundreds of pages of records to be reviewed and can turn on a few sentences.

In this setting it’s every more important to seek the help of a treating physician in offering a supportive report.

Also, doctors were assigned to evaluate conditions that were not in their areas of expertise. One of the more interesting quotes came from Neil Novin, former chief of surgery at Baltimore’s Harbor Hospital, who worked for Social Security part time for about 10 years. He said “People who shouldn’t be getting [disability] are getting it, and people who should be getting it aren’t getting it”.

In my experience Continue reading →

Social Security Disability: Get the evidence you need

Posted on November 3, 2011 by Roger Moore

Take the right steps to make sure this doesn’t happen to you!

Social Security Disability applicants sometimes have trouble getting the evidence needed to demonstrate that they have a disability.

PROBLEM 1: You haven’t had regular medical care because you don’t have health insurance.

Without regular medical care, it’s difficult to develop a relationship with a doctor that is strong enough that the doctor can complete a report on your health. Even if your disability is very real, proving it in Court can still be a hard thing to do. However, without medical insurance, most doctors won’t see a patient.

SOLUTION: In Nebraska there are some free clinics where you can be seen by a doctor even if you cannot afford to pay. To find a free clinic near you, contact your local health department. Anyone planning on applying for Social Security Disability should try to develop a relationship with a doctor by seeking regular medical care as often as possible.

PROBLEM 2: Many applicants don’t have the right kinds of conversations with their doctors about their disabilities.

Doctors are mainly concerned with your symptoms and how they can help you get well. They aren’t necessarily focused on the kinds of things they’ll need to know to help you with your Social Security Disability claim. To fill out a report for your claim, they’ll need to know exactly how much you can and cannot do. Continue reading →

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