In order to keep your Social Security benefits, you’re going to need to prove to the Social Security Administration that your disabilities and symptoms are as severe as you claim. This can be difficult to prove when symptoms such as exhaustion, memory loss, and difficulties with communicating or your senses are based on your word. However, there are things you can do to prove that you are being adversely affected by your symptoms.

If you show that you are visiting a doctor and following their advice, it demonstrates that your symptoms are bad enough to require medical intervention. It also demonstrates the need for the advice in the first place. For instance, if your doctor prescribes that you wear a knee brace, wearing the brace will prove that your knee pain is bad enough to warrant one. On the other hand, if you are not seeking treatment or following advice, Social Security will assume that your injuries are not as bad as you say.

However, there are a few reasons that you might not follow your doctor’s advice, and Social Security does take these into consideration.

1. You are uninsured or unable to afford treatment.
2. Treatment worsens your condition (e.g. because of side effects).
3. Your doctor believes that treatment will not help you.
4. You find alternative treatments (e.g. changing routines to alleviate pain, exercising, etc.)
5. The prescribed treatment is against your religion.

Mental illness is considered a special case when dealing with Social Security Disability benefits. It is fairly common for those with mental illnesses to miss appointments or neglect treatment. In many cases, these are symptoms of their mental illness. Therefore, Social Security is likely to make exceptions for those with mental illnesses.

Seeking medical treatment and following your doctor’s advice is the best thing you can do to make sure you maintain your social security benefits. If you have any questions, be sure to contact an attorney for a free consultation.

This is a fair question. Especially because a claim denial probably means your budget is pretty tight — with potential lost wages and medical bills to deal with. However, the attorney’s fee is an important part of how most firms work.

When explaining why you need to pay an attorney’s fee, many attorneys give the “but for” answer: Basically you wouldn’t get anything but for the work that your attorney does for you. If you chose not to hire a lawyer and didn’t seek any kind of appeal, then you would definitely not be awarded any money.

However, if you hire an attorney, they may be able to convince the Industrial Commission to have our fees shifted to their insurance company for a frivolous denial. At Oxner + Permar, we do our best to make sure that you are not victimized by these frivolous denials. The law penalizes parties for “stubborn, unfounded litigiousness,” so we can be pretty aggressive about making sure that these penalties are enacted against wrongful denials.

Unfortunately, due to recent laws enacted by former Governor McCrory, there’s been a decline in these kinds of awards. This could be a temporary phase though. Regardless, we’re still filing claims when we think the defendants are being ridiculous. We know your rights and we’re passionate about defending them.

It’s 2017. New year, new president. And with the inauguration of the president last month, it’s worth taking the time to take a look at what Trump’s policies mean for workers’ compensation. Whenever there’s a change of power, there’s bound to be a change in policies. So far, Trump’s policies seem like they’re going to impact workers’ comp in a much different way than Obama’s did.

Of course, it’s really too early to tell exactly how Trump’s policies will affect workman’s comp. There’s always a disconnect between what a candidate promises on the campaign trail and the reality of what they can achieve while in office. But based on what Trump has said, there are a few concerns regarding the future of workers’ compensation.

One of the main concerns is Trump’s desire to repeal the Affordable Care Act (more commonly referred to as “Obamacare”). The ACA goes a long way to ensure that workers’ comp costs are kept low and affordable. Thanks to the ACA, people are able to visit the doctor for less serious injuries knowing they will be covered by their health insurance. In that way workman’s comp money is saved for those who truly need it.

Moreover, Trump’s desire to cut back on funds for national health insurance programs such as medicare and medicaid will also put a strain on workers’ comp. Premiums are likely to go up as medical costs increase.

Only time will tell exactly how the Trump presidency will affect workers’ compensation. Regardless of how things might change, it’s always best to follow work safety guidelines. If you are injured at work, file for workers’ compensation and contact an attorney to help you through the process. If you sustain a work related injury, you are entitled to compensation. Make sure you have someone on your side to defend your rights.

At Oxner + Permar we are passionate about protecting our clients and their rights. No one should go it alone. Make sure you have someone fighting for you.

If you’re a nurse who got injured while lifting a patient, chances are your injury would be covered by workers’ comp. If you’re a construction worker and you broke your arm while working at a construction site, you’d expect this to be covered by workers’ comp as well. But what if you were a professional football player who sustained brain injury from multiple concussions? Should that also be covered under workers’ compensation?

When you think of “injured on the job” and “workers’ compensation,” football isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. Fair enough: Playing a sport doesn’t exactly seem like work, does it?

But let’s look at the law. In North Carolina, you are generally eligible for workers’ compensation if you are injured while “performing the duties of employment.” Technically, for a professional football player, taking the brunt of a head-on collision from a defensive lineman is what they’re hired to do — they’re performing a duty of employment.

This is the argument that’s being made by several former NFL players. Tony Gaiter (formerly of the New England Patriots and the San Diego Chargers) and 141 other former NFL players are suing the NFL for damages from brain injuries. Currently, NFL players affected by brain injuries are not covered by workers’ compensation despite the fact that these injuries occurred as a result of their profession. The hope is that this case will bring about reform to the way the NFL handles brain injuries and the treatment of the players.

Regardless of your profession, you deserve to be covered by workers’ compensation. If you are injured on the job, contact an experienced lawyer at Oxner + Permar for a free consultation.

When it comes to our health, we want to be able to trust our doctors. Especially when dealing with a workers’ compensation case. You want to make sure your doctor truly has your best interests at heart. So is it legal for your employer talk to your doctor behind your back? Doesn’t that seem like a breach of trust?

It’s an unfortunate truth, but yes, it is legal. And they do — all the time. It wasn’t always allowed, but very often it happened anyway. However, successful lobbying with former Governor McCrory lead to a huge change in the law. Thanks to these new laws, employers can talk to your doctor, and are not required to tell you that the conversation occurred or what they talked about.

Under the old laws, the adjuster or employer had to not only submit their inquiries in writing, but also had to share a copy with you before they sent it to your doctor. This would give you a chance to look it over and ask any questions you might have. You could even ask for something to be added — which seems like a very fair arrangement. They could communicate with your doctor, and you still knew what was going on.

So why did insurance adjusters and employers want this changed? Well, based on the fact that they lobbied the government to change the law, it doesn’t seem like a huge leap to infer that they had a motive. And that motive seems to be their desire to communicate with your doctor without your knowing.

The system isn’t always fair to you, so make sure that you have someone on your side looking out for your best interests. If you’ve been injured at work, contact an attorney who will fight for you and defend your benefits.