Author Archive

Get Ready for the Social Security Disability Insurance Tsunami

August 10th, 2009. By janem

Increasingly, as aging and injured baby boomers make claims, a Social Security Disabilities Insurance tsunami will likely make landfall soon. Compound that with the recession and at least 10 states ready to furlough hundreds of employees who process initial benefit claims: more waves are predicted.

According to unions.org, two out of every three Social Security Disabilities Insurance applicants initially are denied. And the Associated Press reports that since last October, the number of people waiting to have a claim processed has jumped a whopping 30 percent, from about 556,000 eight months ago to more than 736,000 in July of this year. Some applicants wait years to resolve their claim, but about 61 percent of those who appeal are ultimately approved for benefits. So if you are initially denied, DON’T GIVE UP.

What You Can Do—Here are some great tips from disabilitysecrets.com:

1: Take everything you are told about your Social Security Disability claim with at least one grain of salt.

2: Get copies of your medical records and supply these with your SSD or SSI disability application.

3: Respond to letters and notices regarding you disability case promptly–from social security, DDS, or your attorney.

4: The rule of three always applies–for those who are applying for benefits or appealing a denial.

5: If you are denied for Social Security Disability or SSI, you will need to file an appeal.

6: Call DDS for updates on your SSD or SSI claim, not the local Social Security office.

7: If you have dire financial problems and have a Disability case, let people know.

8: If you have child support obligations which you cannot fulfill, ask your attorney or representative to help.

9: Contact your congressman or senator to help you with your Social Security Disability or SSI claim.

10: If you have been approved for Social Security Disability or SSI, you will receive…

11: Get your doctor to write a supporting statement for your Social Security Disability or ssi case.

12: Make sure your doctor REALLY DOES support your SSD or SSI disability case.

AND 2 more important tips: you may want to consider legal help:

13: Representation will increase your chance of winning Social Security Disability or SSI benefits.

14: If you have representation on a Social Security Disability or SSI disability case, keep your attorney fully informed.

Tags: health insurance, social security disability insurance, SSDI
Posted in Insurance | No Comments »

Shoulder Pain Pumps: Career Breakers for Young Athletes?

August 8th, 2009. By janem

Amazingly, shoulder pain pumps are still in use, even though over 2 years ago (July, 2007) the American Journal of Sports Medicine associated postarthroscopic glenohumeral chondrolysis (also known as PAGCL) with ” intra-articular pain pump catheters eluting bupivacaine with epinephrine”, i.e, shoulder pain pumps. In fact 12 out of 19 patients who were treated with this pump developed PAGCL-AKA dead cartilage.

The American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine concluded that “Intra-articular pain pump catheters, especially those eluting bupivacaine with epinephrine, should be avoided until further investigation.” And they’re the experts, so why has the FDA only slapped a black box warning on pain pumps?

It’s bad enough suffering a serious shoulder injury. But say you’re a healthy young athlete, at the height of your career, and your doc gives you a medical device to feel better. Instead, it makes you worse-forever. But for the use of the pain pump, you could have recovered, you could’ve been a contender!

Now, this medical device has prevented you from playing and competing in the sport you love. Shoulder pain pumps can be career breakers. Do you blame the doctor? Allegedly, pain pump manufacturers directed doctors to use the pumps in a manner not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. But I’d be wondering why the FDA approved this device in the first place…

Tags: shoulder pain pump
Posted in Drugs/Medical | No Comments »

Foodborne Illness: The Proof is in the Poo

August 7th, 2009. By janem

If you have contracted a foodborne illness, the last thing on your mind is getting a stool sample—you just want to stop the nausea and diarrhea and all the other nasty symptoms that are associated with food poisoning. And chances are, your doctor may not ask for one; he is focusing on getting you better. But if you are contemplating a lawsuit, insist on getting a stool sample, before taking any antibiotics.

If you want to pursue a foodborne illness lawsuit you must prove that (1) the food product you ate was contaminated and that (2) the contamination was the cause of your illness.

Determining the specific food culprit sometimes isn’t so easy, particularly if there is a time delay between eating the food that made you sick and developing the food Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: foodborne illness
Posted in Emerging Issues, Personal Injury | No Comments »

Young People use Denture Cream Too

August 6th, 2009. By janem

Everyone associates dentures with old age, but many young people lose their teeth for various reasons, from sports injuries to cosmetic concerns to fisti-cuffs. According to AFFORDABLE DENTURES®, denture demand is expected to boom, and with it, denture cream.

For example, the Charleston Gazette reported that 21-year-old Todd Joseph had broken his upper denture and it didn’t fit right. Joseph said his four front teeth got knocked out after a robber struck him with a baseball bat. AFFORDABLE DENTURES®  fixed him up with a new upper denture for $140. (The Gazette said the denture clinic was very busy: “patients were coming and going”.)

Young people may be more self-conscious about wearing a denture or partial denture than older folks and likely concerned that their denture may not stay in place (and it may not fit properly). So what do they do? Chances are, wear more denture cream, and herein lies the problem: Zinc overdose.

Marianne Chapman, a 31-year-old from Florida is suing Procter & Gamble, the company that makes Fixodent denture adhesive cream, alleging she suffered and continues to suffer injuries including zinc poisoning and neurological damages. She said her dentures haven’t fit properly since 2001. Her advice: “Be very careful [with denture cream], make sure you don’t use a lot of it.” How many young people, especially guys like Joseph, are going to be “very careful”?

And how much is a lot? A study in Neurology reports that some people who used denture cream were exposed to at least 330 milligrams of zinc daily-the maximum daily allowance is 40 milligrams. Hence denture cream lawsuits.

Tags: denture cream
Posted in Emerging Issues | No Comments »

Avandia and Liver Damage: Who’s Keeping Score?

August 4th, 2009. By janem

Researchers working with Public Citizen must feel like they’re banging their heads against the FDA wall when it comes to Avandia and liver failure. Their recent study of adverse events (called “Case series of liver failure associated with rosiglitazone and pioglitazone” ) reported 11 deaths due to liver toxicity between 1997 and 2006 associated with the use of Avandia. Public Citizen has also been petitioning the FDA since October, 2008, to ban Avandia, saying the drug’s risks outweigh its benefits.

You’re probably thinking that 11 deaths are rather insignificant in the big picture: Public Citizen reported that in 2006, the number of prescriptions filled for the drug peaked at 13.2 million and dropped to 3.1 million in 2008, which means about 8,500 prescriptions a day are still being filled for Avandia.

But those same researchers have pointed out that reporting rates to the FDA are low; most patients who develop liver disease from Avandia likely never report it: They believe 1 in 44,000 patients who take Avandia are at risk for developing liver failure. And Dr. Sidney Wolfe, acting president of Public Citizen, director of Public Citizen’s Health Research Group and co-author of the report, said “The research [on Avandia and liver failure] is yet another indication that Avandia is too dangerous to remain on the market”.

Still, the FDA hasn’t taken this dangerous drug off the market, even though there are safer alternatives. Perhaps the agency is taking into account the manufacturer’s take on all this. According to latimesblogs.com (July 25, 2009), GlaxoSmithKline argues that no scientific study has linked the drug to liver toxicity. After all, 8500 prescriptions a day=cha ching…

Tags: Avandia
Posted in Emerging Issues | No Comments »