Disability Benefit Tip: Helpful Paperwork to Have On Hand

When you apply for disability benefits, in addition to saving copies of your application, medical reports, and supporting documentation, you may want to think about keeping other records that you might otherwise toss or file away and forget. The following paperwork may be helpful to have on hand to calculate benefits, prove your disability, or refer to throughout your claim for Social Security Disability or Long Term Disability Insurance benefits.

• Your annual Social Security Earnings Statement. This shows the amount of your Social Security Disability benefit. You should receive a copy every year around your birthday, but you can request an additional statement here.
• Copies of your tax returns and W-2s since the date you became disabled, if not before.
• Disability insurance plan document and summary plan description
• Paystubs
• Correpondence from your employer. If you receive anything in writing about your performance, keep a copy. Any awards or praise can be used to show how well you performed before your disability affectedyour work. Any disciplinary action can be used to show why you are no longer able to work at a satisfactory level.
• Copies of your initial application for insurance coverage

Consider investing in a three-ring binder with tabs, folders, or some other system to keep all of your documentation together and easily accessible. You may want to keep it with the rest of your paperwork related to your claim, including copies of correspondence and medical records. Keeping this paperwork on hand can help you or your attorney prove your disability or answer important questionsabout what kinds of benefits may be available and whether you will have to pay taxes on the benefits.

REMINDER: DO NOT THROW OUT OLD PAPERWORK. IT MAY BE RELEVANT TO YOUR CASE OR CAN HELP PROVIDE PROOF OF YOUR CLAIM.

Copyright (c) 2008 by John V. Tucker and Tucker & Ludin, P.A. All rights reserved. For assistance with your Long Term Disability claim, ERISA Disability benefit claim, Social Security Disability claim, or Veterans Disability compensation or pension claim, call Disability Lawyer John Tucker at (866) 282-5260.

Nearly Half of All Bankruptcies Are Due to a Disabling Medical Condition

Did you know that a 2005 study by Harvard University showed that nearly half of all bankruptcies are due to a disabling medical condition?

The statistics are very scary. It has been estimated that every 2 seconds, someone in the United States experiences a disabling injury. What may surprise you is that nearly two-thirds of those disabling injuries happened OFF the job according to Injury Facts, 2004 Ed., published by the National Safety Council.

Having disability insurance is crucial. This is particularly true when a bad economy hits and it is hard to find a new job after an injury. Protect yourself by getting disability insurance before you become disabled.

If you have been injured or gotten sick and you are unable to work, consider hiring an attorney to help you get your disability benefits before you are denied. We have had considerable success in getting benefits paid for our clients before they were ever denied, and it has saved many people thousands of dollars in legal fees because we were able to head off the denial that was expected from the insurance company.

Copyright (c) 2008 by John V. Tucker and Tucker & Ludin, P.A. All rights reserved. For assistance with your Long Term Disability claim, ERISA Disability benefit claim, Social Security Disability claim, or Veterans Disability compensation or pension claim, call Disability Lawyer John Tucker at (866) 282-5260.

Tucker & Ludin Shareholder Eric Ludin Receives 2009 "Heroes Among Us" Award

On Saturday, January 24, 2009, disability benefits attorney John Tucker had the honor of introducing his law partner, Eric Ludin to a crowd of over 150 people at the 2009 St. Petersburg Bar Foundation Awards Dinner at the St. Petersburg Yacht Club. Mr. Ludin was being recognized for his lifetime of service to the community by the Bar Foundation. The "Heroes" award has been given for the past 5 years to bring awareness to the good works that lawyers do in the community.

Eric Ludin has a long and distinguished history of service in St. Petersburg and Pinellas County. In addition to serving as President of organizations like the St. Petersburg Bar Association and the St. Petersburg Bar Foundation, Mr. Ludin is also a Past-President of his synagogue, Congregation B'nai Israel. He has orchestrated and chaired several fundraising efforts for local Jewish charities, and was instrumental in creating a Jewish summer camp in Georgia. Currently, he is the President-elect of the Board of Directors of Menorah Manor, a local retirement and rehabilitation facility.

Perhaps the most enduring contribution that Eric Ludin has made to St. Petersburg revolves around his efforts to bring past discrimination by the St. Petersburg Bar Association to light. When he was President of the Bar, Ludin not only formed a standing diversity committee which exists to this day, but also established the Judge Frank White Scholarship (given to Stetson University Law Students of color) and created a museum exhibit titled "A Legacy of Courage, Vision & Hope" which chronicled the discriminatory efforts of the local bar that continued into the late 1960's. This exhibit has been shown in numerous locations, including the Florida state capital. Times have certainly changed, as evidenced by the fact that today the St. Petersburg Bar Association's President is an African-American attorney, Jeanine Williams.

Tucker & Ludin, P.A., salutes our shareholder Eric E. Ludin for his lifetime of service. For more information about Mr. Ludin, please visit www.tuckerludin.com.

Copyright (c) 2008 by John V. Tucker and Tucker & Ludin, P.A. All rights reserved. For assistance with your Long Term Disability claim, ERISA Disability benefit claim, Social Security Disability claim, or Veterans Disability compensation or pension claim, call Disability Lawyer John Tucker at (866) 282-5260.

John Tucker Spoke to Jacksonville (FL) Bar Association About Disability and Other Employee Benefit Issues

On Wednesday, January 22, 2009, John Tucker presented a lecture on disability insurance and other employee benefit issues titled "ERISA - Employee Benefit Issues in Severance and Termination Claims - How to Steer Clear of the Potholes!"

For a copy of the lecture paper, please contact our office.

Copyright (c) 2008 by John V. Tucker and Tucker & Ludin, P.A. All rights reserved. For assistance with your Long Term Disability claim, ERISA Disability benefit claim, Social Security Disability claim, or Veterans Disability compensation or pension claim, call Disability Lawyer John Tucker at (866) 282-5260.

Disability Benefit Tip: Social Security Consultative Exams

If your Social Security caseworker does not have enough medical information to make a decision on your claim, he or she will usually order a consultative examination ("CE") at Social Security's expense. The exam may be needed because the caseworker did not receive copies of your medical records, your doctor's notes were illegible, or because the written records simply did not have enough information about your condition and work restrictions. The case workers sometimes request additional information from your doctors, but they can only wait a limited amount of time for a response before needing to move the claim forward.

You will be notified of the examination date and time in writing. If you have a conflict or cannot make the appointment, contact your caseworker immediately to reschedule. Do not wait until the last minute - it can delay your claim significantly or result in a denial. You can also refuse to go to the exam, but your claim will likely be denied because of it.

A few points to remember when at the exam:

• Cooperate with the doctor. Do not exaggerate your symptoms, but do not minimize them either. The doctor has access to your medical records and may be able to tell how truthful you are. The doctor will probably ask you to do something that is difficult or painful (like testing your range of motion). Do the best you can, and if something hurts, explain that. If you don't try or refuse outright to do something, the doctor may view you unfavorably or conclude that you are lying about your condition.
• The exam probably will not be very thorough or in depth. When you are done, you should immediately write down what occurred, including the amount of time that you actually saw the doctor. Note also how much the doctor relied on your own statements and how much observation was made of your condition. For example, if one of your symptoms was knee pain, did the doctor have you flex and extend your knee while watching you, or did he just take a brief look and start writing?
• You can take someone with you to the appointment. They are not usually allowed in the exam room, but they can also write a statement attesting to the amount of time your appointment lasted.
• Also remember that you may be observed from the time you step out of your car to the time you get back in. Doctors will report if they observed you walk to the office with no problem but start limping as soon as you walk in the door. Again, do not exaggerate or fake anything, but be aware that other staff besides the doctor could be watching.
• Make sure to take an acceptable form of identification, a list of medications that you take and the bottles they come in, and any glasses, canes, or other assistive devices that have been prescribed by a doctor.

REMEMBER: BE COOPERATIVE AND HONEST DURING THE EXAMINATION. DOCUMENT EVERYTHING THAT OCCURRS FROM THE MOMENT YOU ARRIVE TO THE MOMENT YOU LEAVE THE OFFICE.

Copyright (c) 2008 by John V. Tucker and Tucker & Ludin, P.A. All rights reserved. For assistance with your Long Term Disability claim, ERISA Disability benefit claim, Social Security Disability claim, or Veterans Disability compensation or pension claim, call Disability Lawyer John Tucker at (866) 282-5260.