Social Security Disability Blog Page 6 of 13

Left Disabled After a Workplace Accident? How Having an Attorney May Help

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on January 02, 2015 in Social Security Disability

Being injured on the job and losing the ability to earn a living can inflict a devastating financial blow onto individuals and their families. While workers’ compensation or disability payments can help bridge the gap, alternative sources of income for people with disabilities can rarely come close to their former earnings when received alone. For […]

Should SSDI Benefits Offer More Than Financial Help?

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on December 22, 2014 in Social Security Disability

If you have ever applied for or received Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits, you know firsthand just how frustrating and difficult the process can be. Because of the challenges faced while applying for these benefits, many people are afraid to return to work for fear of losing their benefits. Should their disability return or […]

Compassionate Allowances Are A Little Known Way To Apply For And Receive SSD Quickly

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on December 15, 2014 in Social Security Disability

Social Security has an obligation to provide benefits quickly to applicants whose medical conditions are so serious that their conditions obviously meet disability standards. Compassionate Allowances (CAL) are a way of quickly identifying diseases and other medical conditions that invariably qualify under the Listing of Impairments based on minimal objective medical information. Compassionate Allowances allow […]

$2 Billion Dollars in Wrongly Awarded Social Security Disability Benefits Make Some Hot Under the Collar

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on December 07, 2014 in Social Security Disability

The Social Security Administration’s Inspector General is scheduled to release a new report that will show some surprising shortcomings in the agency’s approach to reviewing Social Security disability claims. The Inspector General had reviewed several administrative law judges’ (ALJs) handling of Social Security disability cases over the last seven years, focusing specifically on 44 judges […]

What to Expect If You Schedule a Meeting With a Social Security Disability Lawyer

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on November 28, 2014 in Social Security Disability

You’ve been through many things in your life, but never this. You’ve never before faced a situation where your medical condition is not only keeping you out of work now, but is also expected to keep you out of work forever. You are facing a permanent disability, and it can be frightening and overwhelming. As […]

Three Things You Need to Know Before Filing for Social Security Disability If You Have Epilepsy

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on November 27, 2014 in Social Security Disability

You have a serious medical condition as evidenced by the amount of time you spend at the doctor’s office, the medications that you take, and your medical bills. But is your epilepsy disabling? Will the Social Security Administration (SSA) consider you disabled and find that you qualify for Social Security disability benefits? Before You File […]

Understanding How the Social Security Disability Appeals Process Works

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on November 13, 2014 in Social Security Disability

Social Security disability is a federal program that pays benefits to disabled people who are “insured,” meaning they worked long enough in a job that withheld Social Security taxes. Many Social Security disability (SSD) claims are denied initially—often because the applicants failed to prove that they meet the medial requirements for disability under the program. […]

Has Your Social Security Disability Claim Been Denied? An Appeal May Be Your Best Bet.

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on November 11, 2014 in Social Security Disability

After waiting for months, you received word that your Social Security disability claim has been denied by the Social Security Administration. Now, you don’t know what to do—your disability is so severe that you are unable to work, and the bills are piling up. A friend mentioned that maybe you should just start over and […]

If You Are Depressed and Seeking Social Security, Here’s Why You Can Expect to Be Denied

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on October 17, 2014 in Social Security Disability

You’ve struggled with depression your entire life, and while some days it seems manageable, other days you find it extremely difficult. Going to work every day is not something you are able to do, between the devastating thoughts and severe physical pain you experience. However, you need to make money. You’ve considered applying for Social […]

Medical Evidence to Obtain Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Benefits

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on October 02, 2014 in Social Security Disability

Just like almost every Pennsylvanian, you pride yourself on being a hard worker. Having carpal tunnel syndrome, however, makes working difficult. Between the numbness in your fingers and the pain in your wrist, holding objects and typing are nearly impossible. You heard from a friend you may be able to receive Social Security disability benefits […]

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$10,043,952.13 Personal Injury
Schmidt Kramer, P.C.partner Gerard C. Kramer won a personal injury action for $10,043,952.13 in Northumberland County on behalf of a volunteer firefighter who was the victim of Intentional Tort. The 50-year-old volunteer firefighter was seriously injured when a barn collapsed, causing a spinal injury which left him a paraplegic. The claim was brought against the arsonist who intentionally started the fire. It is believed that the verdict is the highest ever in Northumberland County.
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$4,034,000.00 Personal Injury
Yesterday a Judge in Union County (Lewisburg, PA) awarded a couple from New Berlin, Pennsylvania, over $4,000,000 because the husband was shot while turkey hunting.You might ask yourself, how does a turkey hunting accident end up with that type of verdict? In order to understand the verdict you would have to know our clients. They are good people who had their life wrecked. Plus, you would have to know the defendant, who should not have been hunting with a gun because he was prohibited after a previous criminal conviction.It is a good verdict, because the Judge was able to do two things with his decision. First, he communicated to two very good people that their losses were something that those of us on the outside could appreciate and value. Mike Hobbins (our client) is a 51 year old guy who lost his sight because a convicted felon --who should not have even possessed a gun-- went hunting illegally, and broke with impunity the most fundamental rule in hunting: identify your target before you pull the trigger. The Judge accepted the financial loss Mr. Hobbins' suffered, but listened closely to the evidence of less tangible losses. When Mike broke down on the stand, because his daughter would end up walking him down the aisle at her wedding, as opposed to how it was supposed to go, the Judge was listening. When Mike could not keep it together, because of how emasculating it was for him not to be able to provide financially for his family, the Judge was listening. It was facts like these that the Judge cited to support the $2,000,000 award for non-economic damages. Second, the Judge wanted to send a message. Union County is a hunting county. Many of the residents hunt there, and people from outside the area come to Union County to hunt. It was my impression, from the Judge's statements as he rendered his decision, that he wanted to send a message to the people in Union County to protect them in their sport. The rules in place to restrict people convicted of crimes not to have a gun are not to be broken. Hunting is serious and you have to identify your target before you shoot. When you turn your back on the rules that are set to provide safety in a sport, you risk being an example. Here, the $1,000,000 punitive damage award sends that message loud and clear.When it really comes down to brass tacks, the right action was taken against a Defendant who may never truly appreciate what kind of impact his reckless choices caused.At Schmidt Kramer, we are injury lawyers. That means we work with people who were hurt in car accidents, who were hurt by the neglect of nursing homes, or those that were seriously injured because of the reckless, thoughtless acts of others. If you or a loved one have been injured in Pennsylvania, we may be able to help. While the verdict yesterday is not one that is representative of every case we do, it does show that serious and dedicated representation can bring good results.Joe ChapmanJanuary 18, 2013
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$2,200,000.00 Auto Accidents
On Monday, January 6, 2014, Schmidt Kramer accident lawyer Scott Cooper obtained a verdict on behalf of his client who is the widow of a man who died in a fiery crash on Interstate 78 in Lebanon County. The awarded verdict of $2.2 million was in a nonjury proceeding before a federal judge in the Middle District of Pennsylvania. That verdict includes $100,000 in punitive damages assessed against the owner of the trucking company.Kamilah Claxton won summary judgment in November after the defendants, Sukhwinder Singh and the trucking company for which he worked, failed to file a brief in opposition to Claxton's motion, which was made in September. The verdict in Claxton v. Singh was issued after the court held a non-jury assessment of damages earlier this month."Mr. Sukhchan Singh, the employer, is liable on the basis of respondent superior, but was also grossly negligent in failing to maintain his vehicle in compliance with state and federal law, particularly with regard to having required safety inspections and correcting defects in its braking equipment," said U.S. District Judge William W. Caldwell of the Middle District of Pennsylvania in his opinion accompanying the verdict."He was also grossly negligent in entrusting his vehicle to Sukhwinder Singh, an inexperienced truck driver who had failed the written test and driving test multiple times before finally earning his commercial driving license," Caldwell said.
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$1,200,000.00 Personal Injury
A Dauphin County jury has awarded a $1.2 million verdict to the parents of a 5-year-old who had an anoxic brain injury and stopped breathing after he had a tonsillectomy.2012-06-26 10:00:00 AMDate of Verdict: June 19. 2012Court and Case No.: C.P. Dauphin County No. 2009-CV-14003-MMJudge: Scott EvansType of Action: Medical malpracticeInjuries: Anoxic brain injuryPlaintiffs Counsel: Terry S. Hyman, Schmidt Kramer, HarrisburgPlaintiffs Experts: Dr. Anna H. Messner, liability; Lucille Packer, Pediatric Otolaryngology, Palo Alto, Calif.; Terry P. Leslie, vocations and earning capacity, Lancaster; Dr. Hilary B. Berlin, pediatric psychiatry, Great Neck, N.Y.Defense Counsel: Andrew H. Foulkrod, Darlene K. King, Foulkrod Ellis, Camp Hill, PADefense Experts: James C. Reilly, Pediatric Otolaryngology, Wilmington, DEComment: A Dauphin County jury has awarded a $1.2 million verdict to the parents of a 5-year-old who had an anoxic brain injury and stopped breathing after he had a tonsillectomy.The entire verdict came against Dr. Andrew M. Shapiro, the doctor who plaintiffs Reginald Graham and Tykeisha Metz alleged chose to have the boy monitored at a pediatric ward. The plaintiffs argued Shapiro failed to tell nurses caring for the baby about, and how to care for, the boy's enhanced risk for respiratory failure.The jury came back on June 19 and awarded Reginald Graham and Tykeisha Mets $500,000 in non-economic damages and $686,170 in loss of future earning capacity, according to the plaintiffs counsel.According to the statement, the baby's mother brought him to Shapiro because she was "'afraid that he might stop breathing during his sleep,'" the plaintiffs' pretrial statement said. Shapiro performed a sleep study and observed the baby's Apnea Hypopnea Index to be 43 — four times higher than what's considered severe. A tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy were performed.According to the plaintiffs, the baby's sleep study results put him at an increased risk for post-operative respiratory complications. Despite this, they argued in the statement, Shapiro ordered the pediatric nurses at the Harrisburg Hospital general pediatric ward to observe the boy as they would any other patients — about once every four hours.The pretrial statement said that one in four children who have an AHI in the 40s and oxygen desaturation below 80 have some type of respiratory problem. The younger the child, the greater the risk of a respiratory problem, the statement said.According to the statement, Shapiro took off the child's pulse oximeter, the finger-mounted device used to measure blood oxygen, and ordered a heart and respiratory rate monitor. The child was 11 months old at the time.The plaintiffs pled that the baby was last seen at 4 a.m. There was no record of his oxygen saturation for the next hour and 45 minutes. He stopped breathing a 6:40 a.m., and his brain was without oxygen long enough to cause demonstrable injury on an MRI."Immediately prior to his surgery, [the child] was a normal child, who could say mama, eat finger foods, and was just on the verge of walking," the statement said. "After his code, [he] was like a newborn. He could not lift his head or sit up. He could not talk. He could not move."In his pretrial statement, Shapiro argued that he recognized the child's pre-operative sleep study showed he was driven to breath by decreased blood oxygen saturation, which he said was typical in patients with obstructive sleep apnea.He argued the American Academy of Otolaryngology dictates that admission to the intensive care unit is not the standard of care. In the statement, he said nurses did not observe signs of respiratory distress. No alarms sounded until the child arrested, the statement said.He said the baby likely arrested as a result of hypoglycemia and/or an acute aspiration, which he argued would not have been identified by blood oxygen saturation.— Ben Present, of the Law Weekly
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$1,024,040.80 Auto Accidents
Scott Cooper settled a wrongful death case on behalf of the widow of a police office who was killed in a car accident in the line of duty for $1,024,040.80. The claim against the other driver was amicably resolved before suit was filed for the entire available policy limits for the other driver. The case took place in Adams County, PA.
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Michael Kosik was great, I couldn't have asked for a better lawyer. He worked to make sure my medical bills were adjusted appropriately to state law (since I was a victim) and worked hard to make sure I got an appropriate settlement. He is a very kind and understanding person who took the time to explain everything to me in great detail.
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