Hoglund Law Blog » disability

An Alternative Treatment for Arthritis

admin — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 17:13:23 +0000

A procedure known as platelet rich plasma, or PRP injections, are being used to alleviate arthritis and other joint pain. Avivia Gianetti is an active golfer who is in her late 50s. However, soreness and pain running down her arms left her unable to play her favorite sport. Not keen on the idea of surgery, her doctor suggested a new procedure known as PRP. The procedure allows the patient to be relieved of pain without having to go under the knife. In the procedure, the patient’s own plasma, a natural nutrient found in blood, is separated from the blood cells and injected into the damaged joints. The PRP injection helps repair damaged cartilage and joints.

Notable athletes such as Kobe Bryant and Matt Forte have been using PRP to alleviate joint pain; however, baby boomers may want to take advantage of this alternative to surgery as well. Due to the aging baby boomer population joint replacements are rapidly growing. Knee replacement surgeries have doubled over the past decade. Although many experts contend that PRP injections are not a proven substitute for surgery, they may be a good option for some. Dr. Jazrawi states, “This is certainly, potentially one treatment option that may be utilized, but it’s not the magic bullet.”

Dr. Jazrawi uses the PRP injections most often in the treatment of chronic arthritis. Patients are able to schedule a quick visit with Dr. Jazrawi to receive the injections. And more often than not, one quick injection in Dr. Jazrawi’s office will allow a patient to get right back to their active lifestyle. Dr. Jazrawi notes that PRP should not be the first-line of treatment. Instead, he suggests that patients maintain an active and healthy lifestyle with dieting and exercise. There is always a risk in applying new technology, and Dr. Jazrawi asserts that he does not want to apply this new technology in a haphazard manner.

Source:

Lara Salahi, Cutting Edge: Joint Injections Heal Baby Boomer Arthritis, http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Wellness/cutting-edge-joint-injections-heal-baby-boomer-arthritis/story?id=15214643 (accessed 12/22/2011)

Beating Type 2 diabetes may be just that simple

admin — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 23:01:12 +0000

In an astounding study presented at Chicago’s Radiological Society of North America, a team from the Leiden University Medical Center found that Type 2 diabetes can be eliminated in patients in just four months. What is the cure for Type 2 diabetes? The answer to that question is simpler than you might think. A low-calorie diet has shown effectively to cure Type 2 diabetes in just four months.

The Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands conducted a study that included seven men and eight women with Type 2 diabetes. Each subject consumed just 500 calories a day for four months. At the end of the study, the low-calorie diet effectively eliminated insulin dependence and reduced the amounts of dangerous fats around the heart in all 15 of the patients. “It is striking to see how a relatively simple intervention of a very low-calorie diet effectively cures Type 2 diabetes,” said lead researcher Sebastian Hammer.

This extreme dieting may have long lasting effects as well. In a similar study conducted by Newcastle University in the United Kingdom, many patients in the study remained disease free even several months after completing the program and returning to a normal diet. Although the results of these tests are very promising, doctors warn that this type of therapy is not for everyone, and patients should consult with their doctors before beginning this type of reduced-calorie diet.

Source:

Yahoo! News, Reduced-calorie diet could beat diabetes in four months, http://news.yahoo.com/reduced-calorie-diet-could-beat-diabetes-four-months-164141607.html (accessed 12/6/2011)

Mixed Reviews in light of Social Security Administration’s Changes

admin — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 22:58:17 +0000

Earlier in the year, the Social Security Administration in Baltimore decided to implement changes in the federal disability benefits program to reduce the straining backlog of applications. The Social Security Administration implemented new medical examination policies, which Social Security Administration spokesman Mark Hinkle contends, “decisions are timelier… but this does not mean we are sacrificing quality for speed.” However, some doctors have criticized some of the new policies.

New policies resulted in a vast increase in the number of people receiving benefits. Doctors have been working harder and faster to meet the Social Security Administrations new standards. The new policy resulted in a pay cut for doctors unless they were able to work faster to get through more cases. Additionally doctors were required to stray farther from their areas of expertise. As a result of the policy change, 45 of the 140 doctors working in the Baltimore offices either quit or were fired.

After implementation of the new procedures in Baltimore, eye doctors were assigned back-pain cases, dermatologists reviewed strokes, and gastroenterologists reviewed cases of deafness. Although doctors receive extensive training in a broad range of cases, some of doctors have not examined certain medical issues in years. As a result, Dr. Novin notes that some people who shouldn’t be getting benefits are getting it, and some people who should be getting it aren’t getting it. Dr. Novan, the former chief of surgery at Baltimore’s Harbor Hospital contends that he was fired because he was pressured by a supervisor to change his medical opinion and award benefits when he did not believe the person was prevented from working.

The Social Security Administration previously has tried to improve the medical screening process; however, little success has resulted. The Social Security Disability program certainly has not been an easy program to fix. The agency is under extreme political pressure to reduce the backlog of cases, but at the same time, the changes in medical procedures is creating problems of its own. Whatever, the final consensus is in Baltimore will surely affect the program in the rest of the country. Many consider the Baltimore the flagship office of the Social Security Disability program.

Source:

Damian Paletta, Doctor Revolt Shakes Disability Program, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204621904577016221945984492.html (accessed11/22/2011)

Nigh shift workers are at greater risk for Type 2 diabetes

admin — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 21:39:39 +0000

In a two decade long study, 177,184 women between the ages of 42 and 67 were followed as part of the Nurse’s Health Study. One of the remarkable findings of the study was the increased likelihood of developing type-2 diabetes as the result of periodic night shift work. Nurses who worked periodic night shifts for three years or less were 20% more likely to develop type-2 diabetes than those who only worked days. Those who worked periodic night shifts for at least 20 years were at even greater risk for developing type-2 diabetes at the rate of 60% more likely than those who only worked days.

Doctor Frank Hu, a professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health notes that although the increased risk is not huge, it is still substantial enough considering one-fifth of the workforce has some rotating night shift work. The increased risk is not attributable solely to the hours you work but may result from the side affects that are associated with periodic night shift work. Doctor Hu contends, “Irregular work hours tend to disrupt the body’s circadian rhythms (also known as the “body clock”), which play a critical role in maintaining healthy blood-sugar metabolism and energy balance.” This internal clock influences our ability to metabolize certain foods at certain times. Thus if you go on a late night raid of the refrigerator, the enzymes needed to turn high-fat foods into energy may not be alert enough to handle the barrage, and result in those calories ending up as fat rather than fuel.

David Earnest, Ph.D., states that, “In the past 25 years, we’ve focused a lot on lifestyle issues such as maintaining a healthy diet and avoiding a sedentary lifestyle. But regardless of whether you’re a shift worker or not, that may not be enough to avoid these health issues.” The study is not conclusive as to how much night shift work affects the risk of type-2 diabetes, but there is considerable evidence that periodic night shift work shows some increased risk of type-2 diabetes. There are a combination of factors at play including family history, diet, weight, smoking, and exercise. Now periodic night shift work may be another factor to add to that list.

Source:

Amanda Gardner, Night shift work may raise diabetes risk, http://www.cnn.com/2011/12/06/health/night-shifts-diabetes-link/index.html?hpt=hp_t2 (accessed 12/8/2011)

Nigh shift workers are at greater risk for Type 2 diabetes

Source:

Amanda Gardner, Night shift work may raise diabetes risk, http://www.cnn.com/2011/12/06/health/night-shifts-diabetes-link/index.html?hpt=hp_t2 (accessed 12/8/2011)

Past Relevant Work

admin — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 22:50:18 +0000

Video Transcription:

Hi, my name is Andrew Kinney. I’m an attorney at Hoglund Law offices. I practice Social Security Disability Law. Today I wanted to talk about past relevant work.

It’s a phrase that Social Security uses a lot. It means the work you used to do within the last 15 years. Why is past relevant work important to your case? Well, when social security makes decisions about disability insurance and supplemental security income they go through a process. They decide first if someone is currently working, it’s called SJ issues. Then they look to what medical problems affect work in a basic way. It’s called a severities step. The third step is deciding if the individual meets or equals any sort of definition or listing of disability. The fourth step finally is can you return to you past relevant work; what you used to do? And they have definitions of what you used to do exactly as opposed to what you used to do in the general category. There is another step after that as to your ability to perform other work. But in terms of performing past relevant work social security evaluates your past relevant work in every single case.

Now the essence of past relevant work is you probably know you can’t return to your past work if you’re applying for benefits, the medical standard is can you work full time at either your past work or other work. That generally applies to most people depending on age. So practically speaking, most people who are considering disability or have applied for social security disability benefits don’t think they can return to their past relevant work.

Now here’s the crux of the problem. Social Security, at least when you’re under 50, now will consider if you can return to not just what you used to do perhaps a specialist in something, skilled craftsman, maybe a lawyer. Social security will look not to whether you can return to that job let’s say you had a stroke and can’t concentrate too well they’ll consider that people under 50 whether they can return to other work as well. So you can benefit greatly from having some legal advice as to whether you should apply or if you have applied how do I meet my definition of disability because if the only thing you can’t do is your past work you can probably perform some other part time work in some other capacity. Your attorney is going to need to make arguments that you are by definition disabled. You are by definition disabled if you meet certain criteria. And again I’ll mention stroke but it can be any matter of health problems. A lot of the health problems are listed under our disability library at www.HoglundLaw.com

The other instance where past relevant work actually is very important though is if you are over 50 or within 6 months of age 50. And this can happen after you apply or can happen after you have your pending appeal. In that case social security looks to see if you have physical restrictions first. If physically you’re limited to sit down work or sedentary work. And the definition of sedentary is within social security’s regulations. As absorbed to the dictionary of occupational title. Social Security looks to see if you can’t return to your past work and you’re limited to sit down work, if you’re over 50, and you don’t have skills that could shift into other sort of sedentary work you can be what’s called gridded out. There are some guidelines that social security uses for people over 50 and that’s again an instance where past relevant work is crucial.

If you have questions about past relevant work please feel free, if you don’t already have an attorney call our office at 1-800-850-7867 you can also go on our website at www.HoglundLaw.com. Hopefully this information can help you. If we can actually represent you that’s wonderful. But keep in mind that these concepts are specific to Social Security so getting to know them is very important. Thank you.

Submitting Evidence After Social Security Hearing

admin — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 22:42:40 +0000

Video Transcription:

Hi my name is Andrew Kinney and I’m a Social Security attorney at Hoglund Law offices. Today I wanted to talk about submitting evidence after your social security hearing.

Social security has hearings for people who are applying for disability insurance and supplemental security income. First, there is an application, in most cases a reconsideration stage, and then a hearing. The hearing is with a federal administrative law judge that looks at your medical records and decides your case based on that your testimony and other factors.

The subject today is unique because most times you should get your medical evidence in before your social security hearing, not after. But sometimes you don’t have a choice. Usually, what I see if we get involved in a social security claim and someone is unrepresented is that all the evidence was not to the judge on time. Usually, when that happens we’re helping at the level after the appeals counsel level. So we’re submitting evidence that should have been available before the hearing way too late, I would argue. In social security claims its important all along the way to make sure social security has all the updated medical records at all the stages I talked about. But what is particularly important, at least by when your hearing is scheduled, is that you do a final push and get all the updated records from all the medical sources so that they’re available at the hearing.

In the situation at hand here, when I’m talking about submitting records after the hearing, one of challenges is that at some point after the hearing the judge will have a written decision. The date of that written decision will be the last day the judge will look at this stuff for now. You have an unknown deadline after a hearing to submit medical evidence. What do you do about it? Well, if you have an attorney with you at the hearing the attorney should ask to hold a record open. Typically, we ask the judge “Don’t make a decision your honor until we can get these specific records.” Generally, judges have a deadline for that. Now if you don’t have that agreement then you really don’t know if you’ll have time to get updated medical evidence. So a backup option, particularly if you’re unrepresented is to call your hearing office after the hearing and talk to the assistant to the judge and ask can the judge not make a decision because there was some evidence that I forgot.

The basic idea here is you can get evidence in after a hearing at least according to the current law, but it’s not ideal in fact by any stretch of the imagination. You should at all cost try to get evidence in before. If you do submit records after your hearing your attorney should submit a brief if at all possible explaining why these record are relevant in fact. Also it should be explained why they’re relevant and that the judge should look at them when the judge may have made a decision in the case but has not committed it to writing. If you have more questions about Social Security benefits, applying for social security, or in the case of here, how should I handle my evidence in my social security claim well be happy to talk with you. You can call 1-800-850-7867. You can also go online at www.HoglundLaw.com and look up these sorts of issues. Hopefully this helped today. Thank you.

Top 5 Things To Know About Your SS Hearing

admin — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 21:57:54 +0000

Video Transcription:

Hi, my name is Andrew Kinney. I practice Social Security Law at Hoglund Law offices. Today I wanted to talk about the 5 top things you need to know about your Social Security hearing.

Number one: Why do you have a Social Security hearing? Well at the Social Security process you have an application, reconsideration, and then you get to a hearing. The hearing is different than the prior 2 stages because at the hearing you get to talk to the decision maker. Who is the decision maker? A judge. You talk directly to a judge about your medical problems. The hearing itself can be an informal process. It’s a private conference room in which you can explain your situation and your day-to-day limits to someone.

The next thing you know: Two. Who is at the hearing? There’s the judge that I mentioned, you’re certainly there, it would be good to have an attorney there to cross-examine the experts. There’s always, almost always I should say, a vocational expert. Sometimes there is a medical expert either a psychologist or a medical doctor. And finally there is a hearing monitor. That hearing monitor makes sure a hearing goes smoothly. There can be your family members sitting in back. Keep in mind that I’m giving general ideas.

The third thing you need to know about your social security hearing is what happens at it? As I mentioned you’re giving testimony at the hearing. You’re talking to the judge under oath about why you can’t work and specifically how you’re limited. The medical records tell the judge what’s wrong with you. But, you’re saying well here’s how much I can lift, here’s how much I can carry, here’s how much I can walk, here’s how my depression affects my daily life, here’s how many anxiety attacks I have per month, or per week. There are many reasons people can’t work. The medical reasons involve functional limitations. Keep in mind these is a video on what’s called an RFC about that topic.

The fourth thing you need to know about your hearing, how long is it? Well that’s easy. Generally hearings are between a half hour and an hour. Now, that can vary as well. In the hearing there is at least one expert, the vocational expert. The judge will ask you questions, then your attorney will ask you questions. Then the judge turns to at least the vocational expert ask questions and your attorney follows up with that as well. The attorney should give a closing argument. Hearings last about an hour, but different judges have different styles, and these judges are federal judges and whatever style they have its their hearing. Just make sure you ask your attorney what’s this judge like? An experienced attorney will let you know if they ask questions and maybe you need to ask what they mean again. What’s important is that there is a personality to each of these judges and what’s important for your attorney to do is explain what the judge is like so it helps you have fewer questions at the hearing.

Finally, the fifth thing that you need to know about your hearing is when you get a decision. I get this question a lot, usually before the hearing. Sometimes it’s the cart before the horse because you need to get the hearing done first but it’s good to know what happens next. Generally decisions are made between 2 and 4 months after the decision is in writing but there are exceptions to that, some judges use what’s called bench decisions. That would mean that you would get a decision from the judge, on the record at the hearing. Generally those are always favorable decisions. But, ultimately you get a decision in writing after the hearing. And if you have an expectation you can always be surprised if these is a decision that comes sooner.

Hopefully these 5 things you need to know about your Social Security hearing was helpful. If you have more information about what to expect at a Social Security hearing, I happen to write a guide called a client’s guide to Social Security hearings. You can just look at the search with those as search terms. Look under client guide to social security hearings and hopefully you see the Hoglund law guide that shows a step-by-step more detailed than this video.

If you have more questions about just wanting help with your Social Security claim, about applying or appealing were happy to talk with you, you can call us at 1-800-850-7867, the number on our screen. If there is any way we can help you we want to. Thank you.

Social Security Disabiltity Listed Impairments Information

admin — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 18:19:14 +0000

Video Transcription:

“Hi, my name is Andrew Kinney. I’m an attorney at Hoglund Law offices. I practice Social Security Disability law. Today I wanted to talk about listed impairments.

What does that mean? Well in the world of social security law, social security takes any medical reason that you might be unable to work full-time and they define it. There are certain levels of problems you can have either physically or emotionally that if they’re bad enough with enough measured criteria, you could be by definition disabled, so listings are essentially definitions of disability. On our website at www.HoglundLaw.com we go through some of those definitions of disability and you can also find those on the ssa.gov website as well.

What does it matter that you have a listed impairment? If you may have a listed impairment then you want to make sure that your doctor has perhaps documented this well or even written a letter laying out why it meets the definition of disability. That could really make or break a case. Otherwise if someone is not by definition disabled under the listings, you have to prove you are unable to perform past relevant work. We have a video on past relevant work. So if you understand what a listed impairment is or a listing you can understand that its social security’s way of saying that you get a pass, you’re approved.

There are two ways you can meet the definition or at least be approved under a listing. One is called meeting a listing. All the elements of a listing laid out by the law are all in your medical record. An alternative way that you can do that is what’s called equaling a listing. If you’re at a hearing and there’s a medical expert testifying whether you meet or equal a listing that’s what that means, and ive even recently done this, you can argue why doesn’t my client equal a listing? Equaling means that you don’t meet all the criteria but you meet most of it. That’s very important, and allows a little fudge room. If you have more questions about listings or more questions about help an attorney help you with ym case, feel free to go to our website at www.HoglundLaw.com. You can also call us a 1-800-850-7867. Thank you.”

Will Social Security Checks Be Paid If Debt Ceiling Is Not Raised

admin — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 19:07:08 +0000

Will Social Security Checks Be Paid If Debt Ceiling Is Not Raised

Around 28 million Americans are expecting to receive their Social Security checks on August 3, and 27 million are expecting their checks later in August. However, if Congress does not reach a deal to raise the national debt ceiling by the deadline of August 2, it is unknown if Social Security checks will be sent out. President Obama has warned Americans that the federal government may not be able to pay Social Security beneficiaries if a deal is not reached.

This is one of the few times Congress has failed to raise the debt ceiling when it has become necessary. Therefore, it is unclear what will happen if the debt limit is not raised by August 2. It is clear that the government will not be able to pay its bills in August. Estimates claim the government will be $134 billion short by the end of August.

Some have suggested that Social Security should use money from its trust fund to pay beneficiaries in August. However, Treasury Department officials do not support drawing from the trust fund. The trust fund holds IOUs, not actual money, that would have to be redeemed by the Treasury Department. Many Americans disagree and believe that President Obama can use the trust fund to make Social Security payments if necessary.

Source:

Tami Luhby, Debt Ceiling: Will I Get My Social Security Check?, http://money.cnn.com/2011/07/28/news/economy/debt_ceiling_social_security/index.htm?iid=HP_River (accessed July 29, 2011).

Social Security Law and Diabetes

admin — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 16:24:37 +0000

Transcription:

“Hi, my name is Andrew Kinney and I’m an attorney with Hoglund Law. I practice Social Security Disability Law and also Supplemental Security Income Law.

One of the things I wanted to talk to today is, as of this filming, something that happened about a week ago. Social Security has changed one of its laws and it may raise some questions about whether you can be approved based on this law. Social Security has definitions of disability that describe what sort of elements you need to meet the criteria for certain kinds of problems. Halo back problem to meet what’s called a listing would need to meet certain elements. What Social Security has recently done as of June of 2011 is remove the diabetes listing, so this certainly causes concerns and the American Diabetic Association is one of the groups that had not wanted this to happen, but despite that the law has changed. So, what does it mean?

One thing it does not mean: It does not mean you cannot be approved of Social Security benefits, do not believe that. One of the things in my practice at Social Security hearings in particular, I’ve noticed that when someone has diabetes I generally look for side effects of diabetes, for instance is someone has neuropathy of their toes or their hands or they have other problems like retinopathy. Diabetes as people that have it well know, can affect other parts of the body. Generally what I would argue in hearings isn’t necessarily diabetes listing anyway. What I would argue is the symptoms from diabetes that despite regular insulin and regular care have still risen, so don’t worry about that. As far as with Social Security and going to a hearing, one of the things that happen is that Social Security, at the first two lower levels –state agency levels — they make decisions too.

There’s an application, reconsideration, and then a hearing level. It’s at the hearing level that you generally see more of the attorney work. At Hoglund Law Offices, we help people apply, we help people appeal, and we help people in any stage. Generally we consider where they are and their chances of approval.

If you have questions about diabetes or you have questions about getting approved of Social Security benefits, feel free to call our office at 1-800-850-7867. You can also visit our website at HoglundLaw.com. Thank you very much.”