disability Archives - Tammie's Take~

How you can go about Increasing Your VA Disability Rating

Reviews · October 22, 2019

Do you want to know how to request an increase in VA disability ratings? You will need a lawyer who is both willing and has the expertise to fight for you the way you have fought for your country. This is the best way to receive the disability rating that you deserve.

We understand that disabilities don’t remain the same over time, a disabled veteran’s condition may well deteriorate. If and when this happens, the disabled veteran will deserve greater compensation to make up for the increased disability.

It is pertinent to mention that such an increased disability will require a reciprocal and upward adjustment that would be in line with the disability rating. This will translate into a much higher disability compensation amount than is currently being received from the government.

Unfortunately, many disabled veterans are forced to face a huge and cumbersome amount of bureaucratic red tape. This includes working their way through a notoriously slow and cumbersome system. What’s more, they have to do this even as their disabilities get progressively worse. Unfortunately, this holds particularly true when they are pursuing their appeals with the VA.

Filing for an Increase for an Already Existing Disability

There can be multiple reasons due to which you can — and should — file for an increase in your existing disability rating. These reasons can include suffering from more pain and new symptoms. You can even file for an increase in your disability rating if your existing disability has started creating more complicated issues. For instance, if you have suffered spinal cord injuries and now it is affecting your ability to move your leg, you should request an increase in your rating.

To file for this kind of increase, you will have to go through much the same procedure as you went through when you had filed for disability compensation for the very first time. In a perfect world, you will simply need medical proof that your current condition is becoming progressively worse. And you can do so by filling out the requisite VA Form 21-526b.

However, what is supposedly a very simple process can actually take years and might even fail due to the very smallest discrepancy.

This is why you must have the right lawyer with you for the job at hand. Such an individual has the necessary experience as well as the expertise to determine if your case has sufficient merit to be processed as soon as possible. They can also help you in case you feel that your previous appeals were not looked into the way they should have been.

These people know and understand the VA bureaucracy better than anyone. Moreover, they also know what sort of evidence and proofs of injury you will need to acquire a favorable decision.

Conclusion

As long as you have the right people watching your six, you don’t need to worry; your request for an increase in VA disability rating will sail smoothly through the system.

Social Security Disability When to Contact an Attorney

Reviews · May 3, 2019

The complex social security disability rules cause a lot of confusion. You need to wait at least 12 months after being disabled to get compensation. This is important since the government does not want to make payments to individuals with temporary disability.

If your claim for social security disability is denied at both the initial application and reconsideration stages, you should hire a social security attorney to request a disability hearing.

A social security disability hearing is unlike regular courtroom cases. The hearing is presided over by an administrative law judge (ALJ).

Unlike a traditional court hearing, social security cases are not open to the public.

The claimant and the attorney will be the only persons who will be allowed to sit in the disability hearing. Anyone accompanying the claimant will have to sit in the waiting room.

What Happens at a Hearing of Social Security Disability Case?

During a social security disability hearing, the ALJ will question the claimant about medical issues, past employment, and other relevant issues that have impacted the health and financial life.

The ALJ will ask questions to assess how the life of the claimant has been affected by the disability. You should be ready to answer questions after consultation with your attorney.

Your special disability attorney will speak on your behalf. The attorney will try to present facts that will influence the case positively. The attorney may also ask you questions to reveal additional information regarding the disability.

The attorney can also request expert witnesses to share their insight about the claimant’s disability and the ability to sustain in a particular job. The witnesses will also be asked to share their views on jobs that are best suited for the disabled person in view of the medical problem.

The ALJ will also ask the claimant about additional comments regarding the disability. Once all the information is assessed and accounts of witnesses are heard, the judge will then give a final verdict. In some cases, the judge can resort to a bench meet.

Tips When Filing Social Security Disability Benefits Case

Claimants are awarded retrospective benefits for the previous months. But this is only true if you file the claim within 17 months of the discovery of a disability.

In case you are not able to file a case within the specific time period, you can request for a Protective Filing Date. For this, you have to get the help of a dedicated social security attorney. The attorney will help you set up an appointment with the social security administration.

A follow-up confirmation letter is then issued by the SSA that will serve as a proof of the filing date. You need to get your social security disability lawyer soon to get the process started soon.

Avoid Mistakes When Filing a Social Security Disability Claim

Certain actions could increase the likelihood of denial of your social security claim. Firstly, you should not collect any unemployment benefits when waiting for a claim case. Also, you should quit work when applying for the federal claim.

Once you have filed a claim, you should regularly check the status of your claim. Missing any deadline for a hearing case could result in an outright rejection of a claim. But you should not come to the hearing unprepared. Make sure that you consult with an attorney to fully prepare for a hearing.

Always take medications that are recommended by your doctor. Also, you should consider seeing a psychologist for any emotional problems caused due to the disability. This is because you can allege mental condition in your social security application.

Most social societies tend to be denied during the initial application, and around half get rejected during the appeal process. And the most common reason for the denial of the application is not keeping a record of all medical related documents.

The medical report contains information about diagnosis, medications, prognosis, and also functional limitations that prevent you to earn a livelihood.

Lastly, you should be ready to switch doctors in case a medical expert seems unsupportive of your social disability case. You should switch the doctor if requests for medical records are unanswered or the doctor asks for a fee for the same.

How Hiring a Social Security Attorney Will Reflect Positive on Your Case?

Most social security disability claimants whose claims have been denied have no idea how to properly prepare for a court hearing. So, it’s not surprising that the vast majority of claims for reconsideration are denied.

The reason for a high failure rate is not talking to an expert social security attorney such as at Lemoine Law Firm when filing a claim.

An attorney will use expert judgment and experience in helping you build a strong case. The attorney will assess your conditions during the first interview. The basic facts will help the attorney assess whether you have a strong chance of success. The attorney will take on your case if there is a high chance of success.

When you sign a contract with the lawyer, you will also have to sing a medical privacy release document. This document allows the legal attorney access to a relevant health record. The medical records will be submitted to the SSA before your scheduled hiring.

Your attorney may also request that you go for additional testing if necessary. In addition, the legal expert may ask the SSA for a consultative examination (CE) that is carried out by one of their doctors.

Moreover, the attorney will assess which doctors to ask about functional limitations, what documents to submit to the SSA, and what evidence to withhold that could hurt your case.

Getting the help of a social security attorney will greatly increase the odds of a successful outcome. You should not risk going unrepresented to a hearing. Your entire future livelihood will be at stake, so you need to get expert legal help to ensure that you get the best possible representation for the social security disability case.

4 Ways Service Dogs Can Help People with Disabilities

Reviews · November 13, 2017

Service dogs began as invaluable aids to those who needed constant assistance. They can be used in a variety of situations and can assist and enrich the lives of disabled people in many ways. In this article, we’re going to show a few ways service dogs can help people with disabilities. We’re going to focus on the most common and demonstrated benefits first.

Guide Dogs

Guide dogs have been in use for decades, if not longer. These are the dogs we see regularly helping people safely cross the street. They may serve as replacement eyes or ears for their owners. Hearing alert dogs don’t react to every sound. They alert the owner in response to specific sounds like a crying baby, doorbell, telephone, approaching person, or home alarm.

General Service Dogs

Assistance dogs for psychiatric patients provide a source of emotional support and often a sense of protection. This is, unfortunately, the area where many people have abused the prohibition on pets in buildings to label their pets as service animals for psychiatric conditions like anxiety and PTSD. Properly trained service dogs focus on the owner. They don’t dart around the person but walk with them.

They remain by the owner, providing support or assistance as required. Even service dogs can be removed from a building if they create a hygiene problem (pooping in a restaurant) or safety hazard (growling at other patrons). If this is a concern in your facility, you can toilet train your dog using training pads from Our Pet Spot.

Mobility Service Dogs

Mobility service dogs exist to improve the mobility of someone with limited mobility. It is as simple as that. They may help pull a wheelchair or help an elderly person with limited coordination assistance in standing. Such dogs are trained to brace the person, whether getting up from a wheelchair or getting up after falling. They may fetch items on command, so the person doesn’t have to get up and get it. Some of them can open the door for the owner or retrieve medication.

Advance Warning Service Dogs

One of the benefits of service dogs is their ability to monitor the owner and signal for assistance. A service dog can often detect an oncoming seizure or narcolepsy attack and warn the owner. They are often able to detect such events several minutes in advance and communicate it clearly. This allows the owner to get into a safe place or safe position.

They can stand next to a person having a seizure, clearly communicating that the person is disabled and should be assisted. For those with migraines, the dog’s ability to detect and warn of a migraine so the human can take medication is the difference between managing the condition in the early stages and suffering for hours.

Conclusion

As you can see, service dogs can be of great help for people who are physically limited. If you think you or someone you know could benefit from one, you should definitely consider the option.