Nearly Half of All New U.S. Veterans Seek Permanent Disability

On the recent news regarding the US soldiers who were sent overseas for the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, more US soldiers than ever are surviving oversea deployments. Supposedly, that is good news, but when it comes to the country’s expenditures in the long run, it brings no luck to the United States.

The injuries sustained by the US soldiers deployed to the said wars definitely mean 45 percent of the new vets seeking permanent disability benefits. Obviously, it is almost half the number of current recipients. As time goes by, the compensation may sum up to $1 trillion worth of American taxpayers’ money. 

The wars in Iran and Afghanistan have actually generated some 1.6. million new veterans, with some 72,000 of which are now seeking job-related compensation. Unfortunately, each of the new claimants demands an average of less than ten illnesses.

In contrast, only 21 percent of Gulf war veterans who were deployed to battle fields in the early 1990’s claimed permanent disability, while the average of Vietnam veterans receive compensation for lesser than four illness.  

The two major factors seen by federal authorities to have caused the significant increase in the number of new permanent disability claimants are as follows:

•    Higher survival rate due to modernly armored body
•    Improved battlefield care protection from wounds

Apparently, the said increase in figures shows that veterans return with unprecedented injuries. Some veterans come home with missing limbs, while others with traumatic brain injuries that are commonly sustained from a bomb blast.

Although everybody is aware that the federal government’s trust fund for disability benefits is draining, such survivors of war cannot be denied their permanent disability benefits due them. It is because they have contributed their entire life in serving the nation and saving other people’s life. Therefore, it’s now the duty of the federal government to pay back all the hard efforts exerted by those veterans.

In addition, veterans should never have to worry about such issue since the intensive expertise and experience that a Los Angeles disability lawyer has would provide veterans with the best legal aid that they deserve.

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Children Conceived through In-vitro Fertilization Cannot Be Supported with Social Security Income?

After seven months of battling for Social Security Income (SSI), the mother of a pair of twins that was conceived through in-vitro fertilization months after her husband died recently received an unfortunate news.

The Supreme Court ruled on Monday that children conceived with a dead father’s frozen sperm are not entitled to Social Security Income (SSI) if they were not eligible to inherit property from their father under federal law.

In a previous blog post authored by Rodney Mesriani, the full story of Karen Capato’s in-vitro fertilization was featured.

It was actually a long, complex story that started when the Social Security Administration previously denied Karen Capato’s claim for SSI in behalf of her twins prompting her to file an appeal. The case eventually reached the Supreme Court where she won.

However, the Social Security Administration (SSA), through its commissioner, Michael J. Astrue, filed a motion for reconsideration, and the higher court agreed and set a hearing for the final verdict.

The Supreme Court eventually declined her appeal, leaning on the interpretation of provisions of the Social Security Act.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said in her ruling that the technology that made the twins’ conception and birth possible was not considered valid by Congress, as evidenced by provisions enacted in 1939 and 1965. Justice Ginsburg added that the law was designed to primarily benefit those survivors supported by the decedent wage earner during his or her lifetime.

The major provision was one calling for the Social Security Administration to look into state laws regarding inheritance in determining whether an applicant is the child of the subject parent, Justice Ginsburg explained.

The Capatos resided in Florida where the decedents’ last will was signed and authenticated. Therefore, they must abide with Florida’s law concerning inheritance. Under the Florida law, a child born after a parent’s death may only inherit property of the parent if the child was conceived during the parent’s lifetime.

Unfortunately, the twin’s mother conceived the twin 18 months after the death of her husband through in-vitro fertilization.

The answer to the question “If children conceived through in-vitro fertilization can be entitled to SSI claims?” will definitely vary depending on the state’s law. Just take the case of the Utah boy who was conceived by his mother two years after the death of his father.

Although the boy’s father wished to father a child during his lifetime, he did not specify the said wish in his last will. Therefore, the boy will definitely not qualify for the SSI claims and other properties of his father as dictated under the Utah law.

Although looking to state law to decide on conceived children’s eligibility for SSI claims is burdensome, it somehow made clear that the Congress is still open for a different approach, according to a Los Angeles SSI lawyer.

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SSA Claim Fraud Now Targeting Tax Refunds from Dead Recipients

Previously, the SSA claims of dead recipient have been the latest target of scammers, but as time passed by, frauds now eye the decedents’ tax refund as their point of interest.

In U.S., a significant number of families lose not only their loved ones, but their loved one’s tax refunds as well.

Since 2008, more than 490,000 dead people have fallen victim to frauds who stole their tax refunds, according to a news report.

Usually, to get a dead person’s tax refund, frauds claim that they were the dependents of the decedent when they file for a tax refund.

Apparently, stealing a decedent’s tax refund is easy since information such as the social security numbers of the deceased are often posted online. Allegedly, other institutions such as hospitals, local governments and insurance companies posted decedents’ information, including birth dates and SS numbers online, which were sold by Social Security Administration.

Every year, the identities of about 2.5 million Americans are stolen for financial purposes such as loan and credit card applications, based from a recent study conducted by the ID Analytics.

At present, six suspects have been charged for stealing 1.7 million tax refunds from dead people. The accused could be sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment and could be required to pay monetary damages amounting to $250,000.

Nowadays, although frauds can make use of all the resources they can get for their deceitfulness, dependents can also take the same move as their advantage over frauds. Dependents could determine if their loved ones’ identity has been stolen by keeping an eye over the decedent’s credit report which can only be secured by providing the decedent’s certificate of death and proof of relationship.

Way back in 2011, more than 640,000 tax payers were affected by tax fraud; worst, in the next five years, U.S. will be more likely to issue some $26 billion in tax refunds to frauds who are involved in identity theft both from living and dead beneficiaries. This was according to the Treasury Department’s inspector general for tax administration, J Russell George.

Unfortunately, as a result of the said scam, IRS will be delaying many legitimate tax refunds.

Probably after learning that social security fund is already draining, frauds tend to look for another alternative where they can fetch plenty of cash. Leaking social security info issue has still no solid evidences, but if ever you found out that your identity was stolen, or if any of your SSA claims have been touched without your consent due to leaked information, you may consult a Los Angeles social security claim lawyer to determine your legal rights and what move you are allowed to do so under federal laws.

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Fact: Even Men can be Affected by Long-Term Disability Resulting from Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is a common condition which can cause severe disabilities in women. However, in some instances, the condition also develops in men. In fact, its effect could be more devastating in men than in women.

Approximately 1 out of 1,000 men will get breast cancer, as compared to 1 in 8 women based from figures shown by the American Cancer Society. However, men often had larger and more advanced stage breast tumors which are responsible in spreading cancer cells all over the body.

Also, males affected by breast cancer show an average lifespan that is two years shorter than female patients. Worst is that male breast cancer patients are less possible to be diagnosed at an earlier age compared to women.

A lot of researchers believe that because men are not aware that they can be able to bear breast cancer, too, such unawareness may lead to screening and diagnosis delays. Therefore, breast cancer in men becomes progressive and more advanced before being diagnosed. This is definitely the main factor behind men’s lower survival rates.

There is actually no harm in seeing a doctor to discuss if there is any abnormality occurring in the body to avoid progression, particularly if it could lead to a disabling condition. The problem here is that awareness or outreach programs for men regarding the possibility of breast cancer among them are insufficient.

When a person can no longer perform many profitable activities due to a disabling condition, he or she may be eligible for long-term disability benefits.

It should be noted that the earlier the cancer is diagnosed, the more options for treatment that can be immediately available. Although the technology has made a great leap in discovering new equipments and methods in saving lives in the health industry, still some treatments can cause disabling conditions in addition to the disorder being treated. Therefore, it is very important to gather solid medical evidences to support a claim whenever you feel like filing a long-term disability claim.

Claiming for such long-term disability benefits can be frustrating and overwhelming. Hence, Los Angeles social security disability firm will help you through the entire legal process.

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