Archive for Disability Law Ledger
DB Disability Law Ledger™ – July 2009
VA MEDICAL CENTER BOTCHES TREATMENT OF PROSTATE CANCER PATIENTS
Imagine you have just been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Your doctor prescribes brachytherapy (a fairly common treatment for early stages of the disease). You put your faith in the medical team responsible for your care, go through with the treatment, and later find out that you received [...]
DB Disability Law Ledger™ – June 2009
BILL INTRODUCED TO BENEFIT FERS DOMESTIC PARTNERS
On May 20, 2009, a bill was introduced (H.R. 2517) in the House of Representatives to provide benefits to domestic partners of federal employees. These benefits include health insurance, retirement and disability benefits, family, medical and emergency leave, Federal Group life insurance, long-term care insurance, compensation for work injuries, [...]
DB Disability Law Ledger™ – May 2009
Individual Disability Policy: Are You Covered?
If you have a professional practice or your are a private business owner, chances are pretty good you have an individual disability policy. When you’re in business for yourself, disability insurance almost is a necessity in order to protect your future, your family’s future and the future of your business.
However, [...]
DB Disability Law Ledger™ – April 2009
HAVE YOU HEARD THE ONE ABOUT THE GUY WHO BOUGHT DISABILITY INSURANCE?
It goes like this . . . A guy goes into an insurance office to purchase a disability policy. The agent has him sign all of the appropriate paperwork, and the guy assumes the policy will be there for him if and when he [...]
Disability Law Ledger™ – March 2009
Court Upholds Claim for Damages Due to Deceptive Business Practices
In an unusual decision, the Court denied defendants’ Massachusetts Casualty Insurance Company (“Mass Casualty”) and Disability Management Services, Inc. (“DMS”) motion to dismiss a plaintiff’s claim for damages against them for deceptive business practices under New York’s General Business Law Section 349. This decision allowed the [...]
Disability Law Ledger™ – Feb. 09
Arthritis: Disabling America
According to the Center for Disease Control, Arthritis is attributable to nearly one million hospitalizations and 44 million out-patient visits per year. It is this country’s most common disability, and its costs as well as its associated health risks are far-reaching. It has been estimated that arthritis physically limits approximately 19 million adults [...]
Disability Law Ledger™ – Jan. 09
When it Comes to Your Long-Term Disability Plan, Read it and Read it Again
When Alison first was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in her early thirties, she knew that eventually she would face total and permanent disability. She didn’t let that prevent her from living life to the fullest. In fact, the threat of being disabled [...]
Disability Law Ledger™ – Dec. 2008
THIS JUST IN . . . SURVIVING VETERANS’ SPOUSES RECEIVE RETROACTIVE PAYMENTS
Although a federal law was passed in 1996 that enabled surviving veterans’ spouses to receive and keep VA compensation or pension benefits for the month in which their husbands or wives died, until this month (December 2008), that law was not properly enforced. According [...]
Disability Law Ledger™ – Nov. 2008
VA GIVES VETERANS BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT FOR MISPLACED CLAIMS
On October 16th of this year, the Department of Veterans Affairs discovered that documents about to be shredded were, in fact, applications submitted by U.S. Military Veterans that had never been processed. This error has caused veterans and their families significant delays in obtaining the benefits [...]
Disability Law Ledger™ – Oct. 2008
U.S. Military Veterans Put On Hold . . . Once Again
Yes, Congress finally passed a new GI Bill that will, presumably,enrich the benefits plan for our Veterans. However, judging from the lack of progress thus far, it looks as if the August 2009 deadline is at risk.
At the core of this dilemma is the apparent [...]
