Social Security Disability is a special area of practice. Attorneys who are well-versed in Social Security Disability law often have a large volume of social security disability clients. While a large-volume, specialized practice can be beneficial for clients because attorneys in this area are familiar with the procedures relating to the Social Security Disability process, the human touch and special…
As we draft blogs for our website, our attorneys attempt to identify practical, real life issues, that our clients are experiencing so that we can help others who may find themselves in similar situations. Within recent weeks, I have had the opportunity to meet...
Step Two (for Step One see previous blog) The Social Security Administration evaluates claims using a Five-Step Sequential Evaluation. The first step is – are you, the Claimant, substantially gainfully employed or are you unable to work at what we the Social Security...
Step One Many people use the term “disability“ in broad strokes. Some people are referring to private long-term disability benefits secured through private, non-government insurance companies. These benefits are the result of years of either an individual or a company...
On Saturday, August 26th, Burton McKinnish hosted a benefit for Rusty Jenkins of Gracie Barra Madisonville Brazilian Jiu Jitsu during the Mayweather v MacGregor boxing match. Rusty and Ben train together and recently while training for the World Championships Rusty contracted a serious staph infection and has overwhelming medical-related bills as a result. We were honored to present Rusty with…
Ethics rules in most states are strict when it comes to attorneys referring to themselves as a “specialist” or “specializing.” What does it mean if your attorney is a board certified specialist. In the age of social media and rampant attorney advertising, any attorney can bring in clients. Often potential clients see a pop-up ad of their Facebook page…
Potential clients, even friends and family often ask – do I need an attorney to obtain disability benefits? To answer this question I like to make the analogy of a dentist and having a tooth pulled. You don’t need a dentist to remove a tooth but the process probably goes a lot smoother with a professional rather than using a…
Our firm recently was successful in U.S. District Court on a Social Security case where the Social Security judge misidentified the claimant’s past relevant work. In Social Security disability cases the burden is on the disabled person to prove that they can no longer perform their past relevant work. Once it is proven that a claimant can perform the past…
There was an interesting case out of Michigan last week that could potentially affect Social Security disability applicants in Tennessee. The case is Blankenship vs. Commissioner of Social Security. Blankenship applied for disability in 2002 claiming she was unable to work due to impairments with her feet. She appeared before a Social Security Judge in 2004 who denied her claim…