Brian Marc Mittman's Answers

Workmans compensation hearing

It is always a good idea to be present at the hearing. It has become extremely difficult in NY to get an actual live hearing. Do not be suprised if the workers compensation board actually does everything by paperwork without actually having a hearing. Also, by being at your hearing, if an issue comes up you can be there to explain or answer questions. And if an offer of settlement is presented, you could even settle your case at that time! Good luck!

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Medicare is trying to collect money from my mother for bills paid for my father.

This is a really tough issue. There is a Federal Statute known as the Medicare Secondary Payor Statute which basically says if there was some other entity that should have paid the medical expenses (such as workers compensation, lawsuits, private insurance...) then before settling a case or claim you must get Medicare's pre-authorization. Its even crazier since this has been on the books for years but has only been enforced within the last ten years. You may want to start out by speaking to the...

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SSA-1099 workers comp offset

You have a few issues going on here. The best place for you to go is to speak to a tax specialist (accountant or tax service). Normally, Social Security Disability benefits are taxed a certain way and workers compensation is not taxed. However, if Social Security lowers its payments to you because of workers compensation, even though Social Security pays you less, they tax you on the total amount of Social Security - its almost a hidden tax on workers compensation for people who can least...

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Out on workmans compensation

You have definitely asked the right questions. Bottomline, if you return to work and earn less money, if that is the cause of earning less money (you take a lower paying light duty job) then you can get a portion of the lost money. So, if you earned 1000 a week. You return to work light duty earning 400 a week you have lost 600 dollars. However, you would be entitled to possibly getting 2/3rds of the difference (another 400). You should definitely speak to your attorney about this since there...

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I had knee surgery, which was delayed by the company, and it's comp insurance carrier for a year. Can I sue the carrier?

Great question - unfortunately your answer is going to be that there is nothing you can really do. In New York it is extremely (if not impossible) to bring what is known as a 'bad faith' claim against the insurance company. Although they delayed your recovery - if they followed the steps such as having you examined, disputing the findings, taking testimony, appealing, etc. then they are within their rights. It is kind of stupid since their own doctor agreed and had they just accepted it you...

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Can a SS disability lawyer charge a minimum of 5000 when there is no back pay?

I understand your frustration. First, it is more likely an issue of not clearly understanding or being explained the fee. In essence, most social security fee arrangements will be for the 25% or retro (not to exceed $6000) or, if no retroactive benefits, a fee not to exceed a certain amount. What an attorney needs to do is if there is no retroactive, and s/he has made this arrangement with you, is file a FEE PETITION that will spell out the time and hours worked on the case. This is then...

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Unemployement

First things first, having such a payment plan definitely is better than anything you could have received in workers compensation. Although you paid taxes at this time, at some point during the course of your workers compensation case the Workers Compensation Board will likely make an 'award' of compensation for your actual lost time. Since your employer paid you for lost time, the employer can ask for its money back. They will be paid the money for the period of time in question. You should...

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Approximately 3 years ago my wife started a worker compensation case. Most of the time she was considered 100% disabled.

You have run up against a major 'inconsistency' in the laws. Workers Compensation IS tax free (see IRS Publication 525). Social Security Disability has some tax consequences. When your Social Security Disability payment is offset due to receiving Workers Compensation what happens is as follows: Your SSDB payment is reduced by the amount of the offset (lets say you were getting $1000 a month is SSDB and your workers compensation causes a $150 a month offset. You would get your workers...

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2 year old workers comp case still unresolved,Help!!

First things first - you are never a pest if you are trying to ask the right questions and boy can I agree that workers compensation is one of the most frustrating legal minefields to walk through. That being said there are the legal rules and the reality of a case. If you won your appeal then the insurance company must pay you within 10 days of the decision even if they are going to take the appeal to a higher level. If they don't lay you then there can be a penalty of 20% of the money owed...

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Workers comp case

First things first, it is a good thing you have an attorney and should direct your questions to him/her. However, as a general rule it is not really a time wasting tactic but more of an issue of them trying to find a way to pay you as little as possible. Your attorney can sort out which case is 'on calendar' and address it appropriately. The challenge you face is that you have two distinct injuries (a shoulder and an elbow) but the law is written in such a way that it looks at your arm as a...

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