WHEN IS THE RIGHT TIME TO APPLY FOR SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY?

Today's post comes from guest author Susan C. Andrews from Causey Law Firm.

     We get many calls from folks who have been off work for a while, and are wondering if the time is right to place an application for Social Security Disability benefits. There are several program rules that should be kept in mind in making this decision.

Applications for Social Security Disability
now can be filed online.

      The first thing to know about Social Security Disability is that it is a program for people who have one or more health issues that prevent the person from working for a period of at least 12 continuous months. If you have not yet been off work for that length of time, but anticipate that may be the case, you may want to go ahead and apply, since the entire process can take months and, in some cases, a year or more, before a final decision is made. On the other hand, if you are fairly confident you will be able to get back to work before 12 months has passed, then holding off makes more sense.

  ...benefits can go back no more than one year from the date of the application. This is a matter of concern for those who hold off too long and, as a result, lose out on benefits to which they are entitled.

      To collect any benefits at all, one must satisfy the above-described 12-month duration requirement. That said, once a person has satisfied the 12-month rule, it also is helpful to know that benefits cannot begin until five full months after the date of the onset of disability. So, for example, if I am diagnosed with a cancer and, because of my treatment, I must stop working on June 7, 2013, (and I know, because of the course of proposed treatment, that I am likely to be off work for more than 12 continuous months), then I could apply right away, but benefits would not begin until December of 2013. The five full months that I must wait for benefits to begin (in this example, July through November) is called the waiting period. The month of June cannot be counted because it is not a full month.  Thus, if there is some possibility I might be able to return to work before 12 months has passed, depending on how my treatment goes, then I might want to hold off initially, to see how it goes.

Transportation Accidents: Data Recorders Will Soon Define Compensability of Accidents

Workers' compensation claims are often defined by whether the accident arose out of and in the course of the employment. New technology in the coming years maybe become critical evidence in determining the casual relationship of transportation accidents as well as whether the employee deviated from the employment at the time of the event.

Event Data Recorder

"....at the center of a growing debate over a little-known but increasingly important piece of equipment buried deep inside a car: the event data recorder, more commonly known as the black box.

"About 96 percent of all new vehicles sold in the United States have the boxes, and in September 2014, if the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has its way, all will have them.

"The boxes have long been used by car companies to assess the performance of their vehicles. But data stored in the devices is increasingly being used to identify safety problems in cars and as evidence in traffic accidents and criminal cases. And the trove of data inside the boxes has raised privacy concerns, including questions about who owns the information, and what it can be used for, even as critics have raised questions about its reliability.

Click here to read the entire article, "A Black Box for Car Crashes" NY Times

Sleep, Pain, and Hospital Workers

Today's post was shared by Safe Healthy Workers and comes from blogs.cdc.gov

Orfeu M. Buxton, PhD; Glorian Sorensen, PhD, MPH

We know that decreased sleep duration and extended shifts in healthcare workers are linked to workplace injuries.  The effects of decreased sleep on pain in the workplace are less clear.

New research from the Harvard Center for Work, Health and Wellbeing  –one of four NIOSH Centers of Excellence funded to explore and research the concepts of Total Worker Health™- examines the question: Does lack of sleep increase pain and limit function among hospital care workers? 

The study, published in the American Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, finds that sleep deficiency (including short sleep duration, insomnia symptoms, sleep insufficiency, or all three) is significantly associated with pain, functional limitations of daily living tasks due to that pain, and difficulty performing work tasks due to that pain, among hospital care workers.

OSHA announces outreach campaign to protect health care workers from hazards causing musculoskeletal disorders

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration today announced a campaign to raise awareness about the hazards likely to cause musculoskeletal disorders among health care workers responsible for patient care. These disorders include sprains, strains, soft tissue and back injuries.

"The best control for MSDs is an effective prevention program," said MaryAnn Garrahan, OSHA regional administrator in Philadelphia. "Our goal is to assist nursing homes and long-term care facilities in promoting effective processes to prevent injuries."

As part of the campaign, OSHA is providing 2,500 employers, unions and associations in the health care industry in Delaware, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and the District of Columbia with information about methods used to control hazards, such as lifting excessive weight during patient transfers and handling. OSHA is also providing information about how employers can include a zero-lift program, which minimizes direct patient lifting by using specialized lifting equipment and transfer tools.

Fashion Safety: US Endorses Bangladesh Action Plan

The following is a joint statement from the Department of Labor, Office of the United States Trade Representative, and the State Department:

"Today, the United States is outlining next steps in a longstanding effort to address in a meaningful way worker safety problems in Bangladesh — the severity of which were exemplified in the tragedies of the November 2012 Tazreen Fashions factory fire and the April 2013 Rana Plaza building collapse — and, more broadly, the ability of Bangladeshi workers to exercise their full range of labor rights.

On June 27, 2013, President Obama announced his decision to suspend Bangladesh's trade benefits under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) in view of insufficient progress by the Government of Bangladesh in affording Bangladeshi workers internationally recognized worker rights. That decision followed an extensive, interagency review under the GSP program of worker rights and worker safety in Bangladesh during which the U.S. Government encouraged the Government of Bangladesh to implement needed reforms. At the time of the announcement, the Administration provided the Government of Bangladesh with an action plan which, if implemented, could provide a basis for the President to consider the reinstatement of GSP trade benefits.

Privacy: Workers' Compensation Health Data Heading for Electronic Storage

Medical records are a significant aspect of workers' compensation claims and storing them is a significant issue. As claims are filed and litigation is pursed, medical records become critical evidence in evaluation claims and adjudicating decisions.

With the explosion of electronic medical records mandated by The Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act, the secure storage. retrieval and dissemination of medical records has become a challenge. Even though The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1999 (HIPPA) mandates a privacy exclusion for workers' compensation claims, the medical records must remain protected and secure to maintain integretary and avoid unlawful access.

Missing from the equation are regulations from workers' compensation agencies to provide for the security and integrity of the records that have been widely disseminated within the workers' compensation system.

One company has has built a "Bunker" for health records.

Detroit's Bankruptcy Signals a Failure in Disability Compensation Programs in the US

The bankruptcy of the city of Detroit reflects not only an economic and social tragedy for America, but it also marks a failure of basic disability and compensation programs for the US workers. It is a sentinel event marking the end of a booming industrial era for the US, and its disability and retirement programs, and demonstrates the consequences of a benefit scheme built on empty promises for injured workers.

"Once the very symbol of American industrial might, Detroit became the biggest U.S. city to file for

bankruptcy Thursday, its finances ravaged and its neighborhoods hollowed out by a long, slow decline in population and auto manufacturing.

"The filing, which had been feared for months, put the city on an uncertain course that could mean laying off municipal employees, selling off assets, raising fees and scaling back basic services such as trash collection and snow plowing, which have already been slashed.

Click here to read the entire article: "Detroit Bankrupt: Kevyn Orr Asks Federal Judge The Place City Under Chapter 9 Bankruptcy Protection"

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