Hi. I’m Lew Insler from Insler & Hermann. In this video we’re going to talk about what your attorney will do for you as you retain him to handle your social security disability case. People who receive social security disability are often receiving other benefits, and one of the most important things we do for you, is explain how those benefits relate to each other. You may be getting long-term disability; you may be getting a pension from your employer or from your union. You’re getting Medicare or Medicaid, you may be getting workers compensation. We are well versed and well able to explain the individual benefit relationships that apply to your case. Once your hearing is scheduled, we’re going to meet with you and prepare you for your hearing. We’ll go through the hearing in general, and then case by case, and we’ll talk a little bit about the particular judge that’s handling your case, because we know the judges, and we know the questions that they’re going to be asking you. If there are any expert witnesses at your hearing, we’ll be preparing to cross-examine them based on what we know about your case and your medical records. In addition to being with you at the hearing, getting you ready for the hearing, both before and after the hearing, we may have to file memorandums with the judges.  If we’re not successful at the hearing, we will file an appeal, and we also will determine whether or not a new claim should be filed, sometimes in addition to the claim that we’re appealing, sometimes instead of appealing.

By: Lew Insler

VA Disability Compensation Requirements

My name is Gideon Miller. Today we’re going to talk about what a veteran must prove in order to get VA disability compensation. To receive veteran’s disability you must have been in active service and you must not have been dishonorably discharged. You must currently be suffering the effects or the symptoms of that injury or disease, and you must show that these effects or symptoms are directly related to your service.

This relationship is called the Medical Nexus. Once the symptoms or effects are shown, the VA will assign a percentage of disability or a rating, for each impairment. The rating is based on a defined set of symptoms or limitations resulting from the impairment. Each rating results in a monthly payment based on the schedule established and changed periodically by congress.

By: Gideon J. Miller

Veterans Affairs Issuing Impairment Protocol

My name is Gideon Miller, and I’m going to explain to you how ratings are issued by the VA, for multiple impairments including Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Multiple impairments are not simply added up to obtain a novel rating in a VA claim. Each decreasing impairment is seen as a percentage of what is left. For example, a 15% impairment leaves you with 85% remaining. A further 10% impairment is taken against the 85% to yield an additional 8.5% rating.  And the total of 18.5% would usually be rounded to 20%.

However, the VA can also pay a benefit greater than the 100% rating amount for cases of Individual Unemployability or IU. To qualify, you must have at least one service-connected disability rated at 60%, or alternatively, two or more service-connected disabilities with at least one disability rating at 40% or more, with a combined rating of 70% or more.  You must be unable to maintain substantially gainful employment as a result of your service-connected disability.

Individual Unemployability & Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Marginal employment such as odd jobs, is not considered substantial gainful employment for VA purposes. While Individual Unemployability can come from many combinations of impairments, it is frequently associated with claims for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Due to the great deal of attention this condition has received in the past 10 to 15 years, there are now a number of presumptions in favor of a diagnosis of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

For example, if you’ve served in combat, and you can prove that your PTSD is related to that combat experience, the presumption applies. But even if you think you meet one of the presumptive causes, there may still be difficulty showing the existence of the stressor to the VA satisfaction. You may be found to have a service-connected disability for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder from a stressor that is not among the presumption. However, in that case, you will need a medical report connecting the stressor and the diagnosis called a Nexus Report. Nexus reports are needed for any condition for which a presumption does not exist in the law.

Exposure to Agent Orange

The other major condition for which there are presumptions, is for Vietnam arrow exposure of the Agent Orange. Proof of exposure to Agent Orange, and a diagnosis of certain conditions such as diabetes or leukemia, allow for a finding of service connection.  However, in any of the presumptive service-connected impairments, the rating is still subject to the usual factors.

By: Gideon J. Miller

Why Should I Review My Award Notice?

Reviewing the award notice that you get after a favorable decision is probably the single most important thing that we do. The award notices often contain errors. They can misstate the amount of time you are entitled to retroactive benefits. They can be wrong on the amount of benefits you’re supposed to get going forward, due to things like workers compensation offsets, and they can forget to discuss your auxiliary benefits – benefits that you are due for dependent children. Reviewing those records is something that we do very, very closely in order to maximize your benefits.

By: Lew Insler

How Long Will Filing for a Social Security Disability Claim Take?

Hi, I’m Lew Insler from Insler & Hermann. We’re going to talk a little bit today about time frames that are involved in filling Social Security Disability claims. We’re always asked how long is this going to take? Well, the entire process is probably going to take over a year. Sometimes, as much as a year and a half. Most people are denied the first time around. After that, you either file a reconsideration or you file for a hearing depending on where you live. The reconsideration typically takes a bit less time and is usually a rubber stamp for the initial denial. Waiting for a hearing can take as much as a year and a lot of people want to know, what can I do while I’m waiting. You can go back to work. However, the amount that you earn may have an impact on how long you’re able to receive benefits once they’re approved. You can also receive benefits from other sources. You can get workers compensation. You might be eligible for no fault benefits. You might be eligible for veteran’s benefits and you can even settle a personal injury lawsuit if that’s what led to the injuries or impairments that caused you to file for your claim. There is a way to expedite the hearing process. It’s called dire need. Social Security considers someone to be in dire need if they’re in danger being of either evicted or foreclosed. Realize that most people who are filing for Social Security Disability are having a lot of financial trouble. Unfortunately, because of that, Social Security is not going to expedite your hearing. You’ve got be in this dire need situation.

By: Lew Insler

 Eligibility Requirements for Disability Benefits

Are you disabled? Does your disability prevent you from working? You may be eligible for social security disability benefits. Insler & Hermann knows that it’s not easy to apply for social security disability. We can help.

Most people are denied the first time they try

Call us today and let us help you get the disability benefits you deserve. We’re with you every step of the way. The sooner you meet with us, the sooner we can help you receive the benefits you deserve. We don’t get paid unless you win. Be our next success story.

By: Lew Insler

Social Security Video Hearings in New York

Hi, I’m Dave Herman and today we’re going to talk a little bit about Social Security video hearings. Although Social Security has been holding video hearings for a number of years, they very recently changed the regulations so that if somebody wants a live hearing, which is with a judge, face-to-face, it’s necessary to object to the option of the video hearing within 30 days of receiving that notification. This is led to a greater awareness of the program. But it has also resulted in a lot of misinformation that we will try to deal with in this video.

Video Hearing Process

First of all, if you object, in time, to a video hearing, you as a claimant still have an absolute right to a personal hearing. Which means that you, me as your attorney, and the judge are all in the same place. A video hearing means that while you – and I as your attorney – are in the same place, the judge is somewhere else and the hearing is connected through an audio/video connection. The judge at a video hearing may or may not be from your local hearing office. This means that it could either be the hearing office that is generally located near your home or it could be a judge that is off-site at one of the national hearing offices or in a hearing office that is perhaps, less bogged-down with case load.

In that case although the original judge may keep the case and conduct the hearing as a video hearing, unless the claimant chooses to return, the hearing may be by video, even if the claimant had originally objected. We have found that judges seem to have the same approval rates, whether it’s by video or by a live hearing.

Objecting to Video Hearings

But when the program first started, we and many other firms, objected to the video hearings because we thought it would be easier for judges to deny claims that were not in person, even though the claimant was not told of the decision at the end of the hearing. At this point, we are objecting to video hearings in the majority of our cases because we want the hearings to be with local judges who we know respect us.

In some cases where we know the hearing will be away from the main hearing office, but will be heard by the local judges, we won’t object to the video hearing because, as we noted, the judges already know us. But more important, we know that if we object to a video hearing, the wait for a hearing will be even longer because the hearing is not being scheduled live in those locations.

Demanding Live Hearings

Even in those cases though, sometimes we want a live hearing no matter where or how long the hearing delay is, because some impairments are not suited for video hearings. Obviously, in hearing loss cases as well as in certain psychological cases, having a claimant face-to face with the judge, so that the judge can get a sense of the claimant, is critical.

As your attorney, we will decide, based on our experience and using our discretion, whether it is appropriate to object to a video hearing and demand an in-person hearing or whether we will consent to a video hearing. If we find that our client’s hearings are being scheduled to out of town judges who don’t know us, we are far more likely to object to the hearing. Before we make that decision, we generally still look at where these off-site judges are from, what their approval rates are, and sometimes we will even contact our colleagues around the country, to get a sense from them of the kind the judge that we will be in front of.

Local Judges in New York

Social Security uses video hearings as an effective way to manage their judge’s case loads. As your attorney however, we are far more concerned with your case. You retained us to win, and we want to win as soon as we can. We want to be sure that we maximize your chance of success. Everything we do is directed toward that goal. We do feel that local judges give you a better chance of success in most, but not all cases.

Whether or not we object to a video hearing, that is a factor of who we think will be handling the case. We can’t decide who the judge will be. But it is often the case, that the judge we know, is a better option than one we don’t, because we can prepare you and your case for how we know that judge conducts his or her hearings. While we still think that a in-person hearing is preferable, we understand the realities that our clients can’t wait for hearings, and we therefore decide, on a case-by-case basis, whether or not to object to the video hearing for our clients.

By: Gabe Hermann