What happens if my Reconsideration is denied? You have the opportunity to request a hearing with an administrative law judge. The judge will review all of the evidence in your file to determine whether Disability Determination Services made a mistake. Many denials are overturned at the hearing level. Who will…
Settlement: An agreement between you and the insurance company regarding your workers’ compensation payments and future medical care. Settlements must be reviewed by a workers’ compensation judge to make sure they are adequate. Serious and willful misconduct: A petition filed if your injury is caused by the serious and willful…
Party: Generally includes anyone who has an interest in your claim (i.e. the insurance company, your employer, attorney, etc.) Permanent and stationary (P&S): Your medical condition has reached maximum medical improvement. Once you are P&S, a doctor can assess how much, if any, permanent disability resulted from your work injury….
Fibromyalgia also referred to as FM or FMS, is a syndrome which is defined by discomfort and pain in muscles, ligaments and tendons in the body. The medical condition affects over six million in the United States. The pain is usually not centrally located and can be felt over the…
It is well known that when one applies for Social Security Disability that the process to be approved or denied may be a long one, but select medical conditions can be approved over the course of days rather than months. The Social Security Administration calls these conditions “Compassionate Allowances.” These…
As you’ve seen many times on the news, on the Internet and on our blog, there is a big problem with backlogs in the Social Security Administration. An August 2008 article in The Oregonian puts the number at 762,335 who are waiting on an appeal decision. That was before the…
If you have been released by the treating physician at maximum medical improvement and you have been assigned a permanent partial disability rating then the insurance company or the employer is going to be ready to settle. But what happens if you can no longer perform your previous position and…
Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD) is frequently referred to as Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS). RSD is a multi-symptom syndrome that usually affects the extremities, but may affect virtually any part of the body. The best way to describe RSD is an injury to a nerve or to soft tissue that…
In a previous post on May 5th we shared news from an article in the New York Times about the cost-of-living adjustment that is applied each year to Social Security benefits recipients’ checks. The article offered the news of this happening, but it really didn’t dive into how it happens….
If you are injured in the State of North Carolina as a result of an injury by accident while in the course and scope of your employment then you may be entitled to both medical and lost wage benefits pursuant to Chapter 97 of the North Carolina General Statutes. These…
