New York Social Security Disability Lawyer Blog

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

While I may be a new addition to the law firm of Insler & Hermann, I am no stranger to the practice area of Social Security Disability. In fact, I started my career in this practice area while working with Gabe Hermann in 1997. Like him, I have been representing disability claimants since then without interruption.

I've been fortunate enough to remain in contact with Gabe ever since then, and have followed his career as he joined Lew Insler years ago. He has always been the consummate professional and a wealth of information. On a chance encounter last year, I was fortunate to appear for a hearing in the Bronx at the same time he was. This set into motion a series of events which led to a meeting with his business partner, Lew Insler. Lew struck me as someone passionate about the law and compassionate about his clients.

Since joining the firm last month, I quickly learned that Lew and Gabe carry this approach into how they practice law and represent their clients. Attention to detail and a personal attitude distinguish them from many other practitioners in this area of law, and I'm glad to bring the same qualities to their practice.

At a recent lunch, Lew addressed the staff on the positive feedback we continue to receive from our clients. "The reason for our success: each and every one of you really cares," he told us, expressing his gratitude to the entire staff, from the paralegals and secretaries to the bookkeeper. In the weeks since I've begun working here, I have seen this dedication firsthand, and it makes me proud to be a part of this firm.

I'm extremely excited to become an active part of the law firm of Insler & Hermann and encourage people to email me directly at bma@nymetrodisability.com with any questions or ideas for future blog topics. I look forward to hearing from you.

Brian Anson

Mr. Anson has been practicing Disability Law since 1997. He joins us in representing our clients in all aspects of their disability claims, from intake to appeals.

Mr. Anson is a graduate of Hofstra School of Law, and is admitted to practice in New York, Connecticut, and Federal Courts.

About a year ago the New York Times published a report about abuses within the Long Island Railroad Disability retirement program. The gist of the report was that nearly 90% of retirees from the LIRR were supplementing their Retirement benefits with additional payments governed by the Federal Railroad Retirement Board.

Follow up reports by the Times articles authors noted that recommendations have been made to overhaul the Railroad Retirement Board's Disability evaluation processes and, although there has not been much reported about this issue for the past year, I am sure that some internal investigations have commenced.

What bothers me about the article about abuses and the subsequent follow up is how it hurts the truly needy workers. I can personally attest to the fact that since the Times article was published in September 2008, the Railroad Retirement Board has changed its practices. That is not to say that they used to approve every one of my clients' Railroad Retirement benefits applications. On the contrary, if the medical and vocational evidence didn't support a claim, it was correctly denied.

However, whereas the Social Security Administration's claims examiners seem to be stuck in a culture where they have to deny 60+% of all initial applications for disability, I never got that impression in dealing with the claims examiners from the Railroad Retirement Board. The Board's claims examiners approved the claims where appropriate and denied the claims they couldn't justify approving - but without the creative analysis used by SSA's examiners. Since last year's article, however, I have noticed more denials where the claims examiners are taking a page right out of the SSA playbook and denying many more Railroad claims.

I certainly understand why they are doing it; it's just a shame that a Federal agency which actually seemed to be focused on helping their disabled workers is now forcing them to jump through the same hoops that Social Security claimants have been forced to jump through for years.

Gabe Hermann