New York Social Security Disability Lawyer Blog

The mainstream press has suddenly taken an interest in Long Term Disability Insurance. The February 2010 issue of Smart Money Magazine (published by The Wall St. Journal) contains an article entitled "Too Sick to Work? They Disagree." The same week this article hit the stands, The New York Times weighed in with "The Odds of a Disability are Themselves Odd."

I've always wondered how cars from different manufacturers can look so similar in the same model year. By the same token, how is it that Long Term Disability (LTD) has crossed the radar of two of the most respected organs of the national press just at the same time?

Why the articles are coming out now is clear: unemployed workers are looking for anything that will generate income, and individuals with disabilities are often more likely to be let go. We began to see this in our own practice in 2008. Although we represent the whole spectrum of the economy, from doctors to factory workers, when the economy began its downturn we noticed an obvious increase in the number of professionals seeking representation for both Social Security Disability and LTD claims.

In the past six months we have been getting referrals from a whole new source, as financial planners are starting to refer their clients to us. As their carefully constructed plans are incapable of execution once their client's income stream is cut off or constricted, they too have come to realize that some of their clients may be eligible for benefits.

We find these referrals to be among our favorites, as the financial planners take the same comprehensive view of their clients' finances that we take of their entitlement to benefits.

The Smart Money article points out that some insurance carriers hire their own "disability advocates" to help disabled workers file claims with Social Security. Although the mainstream press only hints at the potential conflict there, we have had many clients who realized it intuitively and came to us as soon as their insurance carrier tried to "assign" them an advocate.

The articles point out that fighting for both LTD and Social Security is a confusing and lengthy process. Anything a claimant can do to clarify his or her rights and shorten the time he or she has to wait for benefits is going to be a huge benefit. Getting a competent, concerned representative is the best way to start.

Lew Insler

A little while ago, I was reminded about an article that I read in the Wall Street Journal in November, 2009 about how a woman lost her Disability benefits when her Long Term Disability Insurance carrier accessed her Facebook postings. Based on photographs of her on a beach during a vacation and celebrating her birthday in a nightclub, the carrier had discontinued her disability benefits. (You can read more about this individual case here.)

News reports of this case cited the LTD insurance carrier, who claimed that while they use Facebook and other social media cites as "checks" of their claimants, they do not rely exclusively on them. Yeah, right!

Even before I read that article I recognized that the persona someone tries to convey in Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and even professional networking sites such as LinkedIn and Plaxo, are not necessarily reflective of what is really going on in that person's life.

Just today, while reviewing my notes on one of my clients, I remembered that when we first met she had indicated that she was very computer savvy and that she had accounts on a variety of social networking sites. Out of curiosity, I went to two of those sites and discovered that she had never changed her status on the professional site, which indicated that she was still working as a consultant---information that I know for a fact is no longer true. On the social networking site I saw photos of my client smiling and read public posts informing her online friends that she is doing "amazing," and "great," and publicly announcing her activities of the day and what's on her mind.

While I know for a fact from a lengthy discussion with my client's psychiatrist that my client is not doing amazingly well and that her online ramblings are actually reflective of her mental illness, I also know that if a Long Term Disability carrier's investigator or a Social Security claims analyst were to Google my client, they might draw the mistaken conclusion that my client is not disabled and should thus have her claim for Disability benefits denied.

While there is nothing that I can do to prevent my clients from using the popular social networking sites, since the popularity of these sites has grown I have encouraged every one of my clients that at the minimum they should check their privacy settings to make sure that the public does not have access to their private information. While this certainly will not prevent someone with malicious intent from accessing information reserved for online friends, it will certainly make it more difficult to access that information. With regards to the professional networking sites, all I can recommend is that people find a way to suspend their account or provide only the bare minimum information. I understand that today's computer savvy professionals, be they lawyers, health professionals, businesspeople, teachers, social workers or construction workers, all want to maintain online professional networks of colleagues and friends. However, I am deeply concerned that the appearance of being actively involved in a work-like environment can be misconstrued and result in the denial or suspension of disability benefits.

I know that I am very careful with what information I allow my kids to let loose in the cloud of the internet. At this point, I encourage my clients to think the same way about their own information. The key is maintaining close control of private information. When you are either trying to get Disability benefits or are in pay status, there is always someone looking over your shoulder at the pictures you post and the things that you do. All I can say is don't make it easy for them.

Gabe Hermann

The way in which a Social Security Disability claimant finishes that sentence is at the heart of every claim for Disability Insurance Benefits. In order to be found eligible for Social Security benefits, there are certain medical as well as non-medical requirements which must be satisfied. The medical requirements could be summed up by how the above sentence is completed.

All too often, potential clients will give me reasons for their inability to work which do not address these medical requirements and, if not for the guidance of an experienced Social Security practitioner, could very well doom a claim. One common example is, "no one will hire me with my medical condition." Another is, "I can't travel to and from work." While these two explanations may be factually accurate, they do not specify a medical reason for not being able to work. Not only do these fail to specifically answer the question being asked by the Social Security Administration, but they can actually irreparably damage your claim.

The Social Security Administration must determine if a claimant has a medical condition (or conditions) that prevent him or her from being able to work on a full-time basis for a period of at least twelve (12) months. To put it simply, they do not care if no one will hire you, or whether you can travel to and from a place of employment. They assume for purposes of their analysis that the hypothetical job is available to you and that the commute is not an issue. Once there, can you do the job? If you cannot for medical reasons, then benefits are potentially payable.

The potential harm done by answering the question by failing to state a medical reason is that it can imply your ability to work when you cannot. Therefore, it is imperative that a brief medical explanation be offered in support of a claim for disability benefits.

Brian Anson