By Jeffrey Freedman As seen in The Buffalo News on August 15, 2023 When Supplemental Security Income (SSI) was established in 1972, it was to provide a national standard of government support for disabled members of poor, working families. The program mainly served adults until 1990, when the Supreme Court…
By: Dan Herbeck, The Buffalo News First of two parts Kelly Page was a happy, hard-working North Buffalo woman when a brain aneurysm and a stroke rocked her world. It was spring in 2016 when her family began to notice that Page, 41, was forgetting things. She had trouble remembering…
Who hasn’t seen an ad for a law firm talking about Camp Lejeune in North Carolina? From 1953 to 1987, more than a million Marines and their families living at this base were using and drinking water that had been contaminated by the dry cleaning chemical, TCE. Years of studies…
Loss of Use Awards The amounts set for loss of use awards are usually based on the percentage of lost function in an extremity (such as a hand, wrist, elbow, shoulder, foot, knee, or hip) based on the permanency guidelines set by the Workers Compensation Board. Recently, however, lawyers for…
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, rear-end accidents make up nearly a third of all automobile accidents in the U.S. — and you could prove that by a colleague of ours whose car was a rear-end accident magnet. It got hit five times during the ten years she…
Prior to COVID-19, Social Security Disability (SSD) claimants were required to appear in person to have their hearings in front of Administrative Law Judges (ALJs). This often meant traveling long distances by car or public transportation, finding reasonable parking, and getting through a security check before reaching the hearing office…
In Western New York winters we drive around mountains of snow, and as soon as the snow is gone, the landscaping trucks show up. It is one more sign of spring. If you are a landscaper, you are likely to be happy to be outdoors, cutting lawns and planting trees…
You know it is spring in Western New York when the “Share the Road” signs pop up. Our area has a lot to offer motorcycle riders. There are miles of beautiful country scenery and small, interesting restaurants to stop at for those who love cruising the open road. But motorcycles…
Currently, Social Security Disability (SSD) claimants must wait 5 months after their disability starts to be entitled to monthly benefit payments. Then, even after they are entitled to receive payments, they must wait 2 years to receive health insurance through Medicare. These mandatory waiting periods may be over soon. U.S….
Typically, a person who has been injured at work will be entitled to some type of Workers’ Compensation (WC) benefits, especially if they can’t go back to the job. If the injury is so severe that the worker cannot do any type of job, they might also be eligible for…