Oregon Injury Attorney Blog

Short and sweet on this one. I have been working on a post discussing all of the problems consumers face these days, ranging from home mortgages to credit cards and baby formula. Frankly, it's hard to keep up with all the recalls and consumer scams. Now it's peanut butter.

The FDA recently posted a searchable database to check which products may contain tainted peanut butter. The list is growing, so check it out.

Other Helpful Links:

Recalls.gov provides access to several federal agencies that issue recalls.

SafeKids.org is a non-profit group advocating for child safety, and provides recall information.

Consumer Reports Safety Blog provides updates on product recalls.

An AP News Release covering the problems with agency oversight in general, including defense spending, the Social Security Disability hearings backlog, and FDA oversight.

"I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for the law."

Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail, April 16, 1963
Martin Luther King Jr.

"You can only protect your liberties in this world by protecting the other man's freedom. You can only be free if I am free."

Clarence Darrow

"The one place where a man ought to get a square deal is in a courtroom, be he any color of the rainbow, but people have a way of carrying their resentments right into a jury box. As you grow older, you'll see white men cheat black men every day of your life, but let me tell you something and don't you forget it - whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, that white man is trash."

Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 23, spoken by the character Atticus

Every time I meet a new Social Security client, I explain the elements of the claim, the appeals process, and the hearing. Then I break the news to them about the wait time for a hearing. That is a hard pill for a client to swallow when dealing with a serious medical problem, no income, and minimal to no medical care.

Social Security now has a Compassionate Allowance program, designed to target medical problems that are so obviously severe that disability is obvious, and benefits should be granted on a quick track basis. After a series of hearings, the Social Security Administration developed a list of those conditions subject to the Compassionate Allowance Program. This list is not static, and may be amended in the future

Another potential tool to avoid the long wait is an On The Record Decision. We calls these "OTRs." An Administrative Law Judge will issue an OTR Decision if the documents in the claims file clearly establish disability. Of course, what clearly establishes disability to one person may not to another. I will request an on the record decision where the medical evidence is strong, and there is little doubt on the issue of disability.

Social Security will also provide an expedited hearing where the Claimant is experiencing "dire need." To meet dire need, you must show that you have no access to food, medical care, or shelter. This is a difficult standard, but with the right evidence, the hearings office will expedite the hearing with a dire need request.

MSNBC reports that United Health Group recently agreed to pay a $50 million settlement in the State of New York after an investigation of overcharging patients for their health care. Apparently, United Health used a research firm called Ingenix to set reimbursement rates. United Health owns Ingenix. How convenient. Several other health insurers use this same company to set medical bill reimbursement rates, and New York's Attorney general promises to investigate those companies as well.

Does this impact Oregonians and Washingtonians? Maybe. Many of the companies cited in the report provide health coverage in the Northwest, and the article mentions that this using this "creative research" to set reimbursement rates may be a nationwide problem. A lot of health plans are not really "insurance" in the strict sense. They are federally regulated by a statute called ERISA, although States may have some say in how the companies conduct business. A State Attorney General decides which companies to investigate, and how to pursue any fraud complaints. Oregon's Attorney General provides a web page for consumer complaints. For insurance issues, Oregon's Department of Consumer and Business Services Insurance Division accepts complaints on line.

I always encourage folks with a legitimate claim to file a complaint. If anything, it creates a record, and the state agency should see a red flag with several complaints against the same company.

Other Helpful Links:

Consumer Protection Directory

National Association of Consumer Advocates

This is not the sexiest story in the news, but it impacts a lot of people, and for that reason is noteworthy. The Mail Tribune recently reported that many non-profit legal aid groups in Oregon face significant budget cuts due to a drop in contributions coming from the Oregon State Bar's Oregon Law Foundation.

The Oregon State Bar requires all lawyers to carry a client trust account. This is like an escrow account for lawyers. When we resolve a claim for a client, the settlement check is made out to the law firm and to the client. Each party signs the check, and it goes into the client trust account. Some or all of that money many have to sit in the account while everyone figures out disbursement of funds. Sometimes a client pays a lawyer a retainer, which must sit in the client trust account until the fee is "earned." The interest that accrues on these accounts goes to the Oregon Law Foundation, which uses the money to fund free legal clinics.

With the economy in its current state, interest rates are down, and the Oregon State Bar is predicting a 66% reduction in revenue aimed to help out non-profit legal aid groups. The State Bar has made access to justice a front burner issue, and despite the less than stellar reputation, many attorneys have volunteered, and provide many hours of "pro bono" representation each year. Keeping these important programs available when people are going to need them more than ever presents a challenge.

Helpful Links:

Legal Aid Services of Oregon Home Page

Oregon Courts Legal Aid Services Directory

.

Social Security recently announced that it will start accepting retirement benefit applications online. For some time Social Security disability applicants have had this option on the Social Security Administration web site. I have not heard a lot of client feedback on the online application process, and get the sense that most people are still more comfortable filing under the traditional paper method.

In some respects, our approach to a Social Security hearing has changed drastically in the past few years. Most all of our clients' exhibits are submitted electronically, and most exhibit packets take the form of a compact disc.

In the bigger picture, however, our job has not changed. It still comes down to keeping in touch with the client, working with the doctors and nurses to describe our clients' disabilities, and making sure Social Security has all the information it needs to make a decision.

If you have a question about your appeal, electronic or not, don't hesitate to give us a call.

The Oregonian reported that three young people driving on Highway 35 south of Hood River died
Friday night. A young woman was headed up hill and rounding a curve when her car lost control on black ice, and spun into another car in the oncoming lane. According to the Oregon State Police, black ice remained on the road, even in 38 degree weather. This is simply tragic.
Black ice is common at elevation, and out on the Coast with the damp air. Many newer cars include gauges that provide the outside temperature. Sometimes these devices, like snow chains or four wheel drive, provide a false sense of security.
Oregon DMV publishes a Winter Driving News Packet that provides great information on winter driving. Chains and studs are great, but there is no substitute for common sense driving.

Other Helpful Links:

Road Rangers: How to Drive on Black Ice

Now Public: Dangers of Black Ice

CNN reported recently about a case involving delays in processing VA disability claims. Several military groups sought injunctive relief, asking the court to impose deadlines on the Veteran's Administration to process long standing disability claims. The Judge ruled against the military groups, explaining that it is up to Congress, not the Courts, to determine whether the VA is acting in a timely manner.

An "injunction" is a certain kind of remedy that a party seeks when going to court. Sometimes, a lawsuit requests money damages, but in other cases, the party does not want money. They want a defendant to do something, or stop doing something. In this case, the veterans groups were asking a court to force a government agency to do it's job differently. However, unless the vet groups can prove that the VA is breaking one of its own laws, this can be a tough case.

We are currently seeing a similar problem with Social Security disability claims, with serious backlogs in the hearing wait times. The Oregonian is currently investigating and reporting on the backlog, which makes for some interesting reading.

Social Security disability and VA disability are two completely different benefit systems, but suffer the same disease; limited resources and an increasing case load. Vets returning from overseas are going to need a lot of help with disability claims, and they deserve every bit of it. Baby boomers who worked so hard for decades and paid social security insurance are getting older, and for the few that suffer disabling health problems should at least have the right to have their claims heard.

With so much on the new administration's plate, I hope these two important issues are not overlooked.