When a person is injured at work in Pennsylvania, are they entitled to pain and suffering? Are they entitled to future lost wages? What about punitive damages? There seems to be an assumption that an injured worker in Pennsylvania is entitled to be paid for time out of work (wage loss benefits), have their medical bills paid, and receive pain and suffering and other damages. The reality is that injured workers in Pennsylvania are entitled to benefits outlined in the…
At Mooney Law, we handle both Pennsylvania and Maryland workers compensation cases and I have provided a Maryland workers compensation blog that focuses on Maryland job injuries. This blog is mostly focused on Pennsylvania workers compensation. Pennsylvania and Maryland workers compensation benefits, procedures, and systems are quite different from one another. If you have been injured at work in Maryland, check out our new MarylandJobInjury.com blog by clicking the link. No matter if you were hurt at work in Pennsylvania…
When you are injured at work in Maryland, there are specific statutory deadlines that injured workers must comply with to get compensated for the work injury. There are statutory deadlines for providing your employer notice of injury and for filing a claim with the Maryland Workers' Compensation Commission. Notice of Injury to the Employer When an employee is injured on the job, he/she must provide notice of injury to the employer. In Maryland, an injured worker must provide notice of…
As we begin to wrap up 2019 and head full steam to 2020, we wanted to bring your attention to our top six Workers Comp posts of 2019. Here they are in no particular order. 5 things to NOT DO when you are injured at work Today, I will go over 5 things you should NOT DO when you are injured at work. Pennsylvania workers compensation cases can be quite complex and messy. Don’t contribute to making a mess in…
Sometimes I get a new client calling to inquire about social security disability benefits because the have been diagnosed with diabetes, or MS, or fibromyalgia, or any medical diagnosis of a medical condition. I think some clarification is needed about what the Social Security Administration (SSA) and/or the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) consider in awarding or denying an applicant social security disability benefits. It is important to know that it is not the diagnosis itself that is disabling. It is…
As we sit at the doorstep to 2018, I want to provide you the top five posts from my blog this year in Social Security Disability (SSD). These posts I chose due to traffic and due to the information we provide to clients seeking SSD benefits. If you missed them, well, link to them here. Our firm represents disability clients throughout all of Pennsylvania and Maryland. That being said, here are the Top 5 Social Security Disability posts for this…
Mooney & Associates has beefed up our Social Security disability staff. We always filed appeals to denials and effectively represent our clients in appeal hearings in front of the Office of Adjudication and Review (ODAR) in Harrisburg. However, with staffing changes, we are now able to expand that practice. Not only can Mooney represent you in your appeal hearing for your denial, but we now can do the initial application process as well. You will always stand a better chance of winning your appeal hearing…
Mooney & Associates representing social security clients in Pennsylvania and Maryland
So why is a Vocational Expert at my social security hearing? When you go to a Social Security Disability hearing, in most normal circumstances, besides myself and you, also in the hearing room is the Judge, a Court Reporter, who records all testimony, and a Vocational Expert. A what?
Purpose of a Vocational Expert
A Vocational Expert (here in referred to as the ‘VE’) is called by the Social Security Administration to be an expert in your hearing. There are several purposes for a VE.
First, the VE helps the Judge classify your past relevant work. That is specifically work you have performed over the past 15 years. It is important to classify it correctly. The work you performed will be classified not only as ‘customarily’ performed, but also as ACTUALLY performed. For example, a job you may have performed in the past may be classified as Light work, but you may have actually performed the job as medium, depending on how heavy you had to perform the job. That classification can be critical. I can of course help solidify proper classification. (more…)
A common question that I am asked is what will be my social security disability amount of benefits? It is a question that I am frequently asked, and an important one, at that. Most individuals I represent for Social Security Disability can no longer work because of their medical condition(s), so the amount of social security disability benefits is important to them. So how are amounts calculated? Online Help First, you can link over to the Social Security website and…
I was recently a guest on ABC 27 in Harrisburg on Good Day PA to discuss Social Security Disability. Specifically, I discussed with Amy Kehm, the host of Good Day PA, why applicants for Social Security Disability benefits who have been denied benefits, needs experienced attorney to represent them before the Social Security Administrative Law Judge. Contrary to popular opinion, winning Social Security Disability cases is no east task. Pressure is on Social Security ALJs to deny benefits. You can…
