Mike you are correct in that you can't get social security due to the fact that you have not paid in any quarter in the last 10 years. Lots of women that work and then become stay at home moms, never returning to the workforce, get a big surprise when they turn 62 and find out they are not eligible for social security.

Mike you really need to find someone that does this kind of work as their primary practice. Insurance companies make their money off of making it as difficult as possible to collect on a claim. Sometimes just getting the attorney and him entering his appearance on your behalf will get the adjuster to start talking. Sometimes you need to file suit to get things moving.

Sometimes us scumbag attorneys are good for something. :D

Well, I'd like to get a recommendation for a good attorney. The injury was in CA, I live in NV now and the Insurnace comany is in Portland OR.

My State Disability Insurance is running out.....

Your claim will be under ERISA, which is a federal law, so you aren't limited to local attorneys, although California state law might also provide some protection. You need to find a lawyer who specializes in ERISA law. That means he does ERISA and nothing else. It's a complicated and complex field, and anyone who does any ERISA should only do ERISA and anyone who does anything other than ERISA shouldn't do any. The good news is that ERISA has an attorneys' fees provision. If you prevail, your attorney's fees should be paid by them. The company will not back down just because you hired a lawyer. They have already denied your claim. To change their mind now would be admitting they made a mistake. You'll have to go through the entire process. Be careful and move quickly on your claim. ERISA has a very short statute of limitations. I don't remember what it is, but it's shorter than you think, and might run from the date of injury. If you let the SOL expire, you lose your claim. Period. So get on the internet and find an ERISA specialist today. Narrow the list down to three and interview each. Ordinarily I wouldn't recommend looking on the internet for an attorney, but this is an exception.

Thanks MRM.....looks like it IS an ERISA claim. Nobody in NV near me. Saw these guys in the Bay Area. Roboostoff & Kalkin, PLC,.......I would also like to thank the viewers that rated this thread at 1 or 2 stars. I guess you are going to live forever and will never suffer an injury.


FAQ>>>>>>>>>>>>.

California ERISA Law Attorney
What is ERISA?
ERISA is the acronym for the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, the federal law passed by Congress in 1974, which governs a wide range of employee benefit plans provided by private sector employers.

What kinds of benefit plans are covered by ERISA?
ERISA establishes basic rules for employment based benefit programs, which include health insurance, disability insurance, life insurance, pension and other retirement plans, and in some cases, severance agreements.

Do I need to consult a lawyer before filing a claim for benefits?
The information you include during the initial claim filing process is critical in influencing whether your claim will be approved. While hiring a lawyer is not mandatory, the right lawyer can prepare your claim in such a way that it will be approved early in the process. This may save you months of delay in getting your benefits paid. In the event your benefits are denied at this stage, use of a lawyer early in the process may also help put your case in a better position to ultimately be successful.

What do I do if my claim for benefits is denied?
The first step is to obtain the letter formally denying benefits, get a copy of all of your ERISA plan documents, and a copy of the entire claims file.

Why are the plan documents important?
The plan documents are important because they contain the rules which tell you what you must do to obtain benefits under the plan. For example, in a disability context, your plan will tell you the definition of disability and what types of proof you may need to submit to the plan administrator to obtain benefits. It may also give you information concerning time limits that may be applicable to your claim.

Why is getting the claims file important?
Obtaining the claims file will allow you to see what information the insurance company or plan administrator has, or does not have, which will support, or detract from, your benefits claim. Once this file is obtained, a decision can be made as to what additional information should be provided to the plan administrator in order to obtain your benefits during the administrative appeal process.

What is an administrative appeal?
In almost every ERISA-related case, you are required to appeal the denial of your claim for benefits to the plan administrator or insurance company that initially denied your benefits before you can pursue your claim in court. ERISA imposes this requirement because Congress intended as many claims as possible to be resolved without the need for ERISA litigation in court. This process is called exhausting your administrative remedies.

How long do I have to file an administrative appeal after claim denial?
It depends on the type of benefits you are seeking and the particular language of your plan. Several other factors may also impact the answer to this question. One important factor is whether your plan administrator denied your benefits in accordance with the Department of Labor regulations which govern ERISA-related benefits. That being said, in most cases dealing with disability benefits, you have 180 days from the denial of your claim within which to file an appeal.

How long do I have to file a lawsuit if my appeal is denied?
In California, you usually have four years from the date your administrative appeal is denied. In almost all cases, you must exhaust your administrative remedies before filing a lawsuit.

If ERISA benefits are denied, what can I recover if I file a lawsuit?
In most cases, your recovery will include the benefits due under the plan, pre-judgment interest, and attorneys fees.

Where will a lawsuit seeking ERISA benefits have to be filed?
An ERISA lawsuit can be filed in either state or federal court. However, in most circumstances the lawsuit will be removed to federal court, even if it were originally filed in state court. The court your case is litigated in will usually be in or near the county you live in.

Do I have to sue my employer to get my benefits?
No. ERISA-related lawsuits are usually brought against the long term disability benefit plan and/or the insurance company that funds the plan.

Contact our Long Term Disability Benefit Lawyers
If you have an ERISA related question or would like to schedule a free initial consultation, please contact our Bay Area ERISA law attorneys today.

Mikez, good luck. Your resume' at the beginning of this thread is pretty close to mine. I worked for the SCAQMD for a few years and left when I sat for a supervisor exam. I placed No. 1 on the exam and got passed over for every female and minority who finished below me, so I left and went into air quality, asbestos, lead, underground tank and haz. mat. consulting for the next 25 years. I'm 56, but no disabilities....yet. Good luck.

Thanks.....I was at South Coast from 87-89 then went to Santa Barbara.....liked the job but LA was getting weird(er)......

I sent you the attorney i'm using in a PM.

From the day you get your attorney, you can realistically expect to wait 6-12 months to get your first check, however, it is retroactive to the day you got hurt, so it will be a big check.

All you need to do til then is survive. The insurance company will use EVERY delaying tactic on earth to try and get you to give up and go back to work so they don't have to pay you. DO NOT GET CAUGHT FOOLING AROUND WITH PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES OR WORKING.

DELETE ALL PIX AND POSTS ON THIS AND ANY OTHER FORUM OF YOU DOING SO, NOW, BEFORE THEY KNOW YOU'RE FIGHTING THEM!!!

You must be strong, and you must rely on your friends and family to get you through this if you have no savings. (I burnt my savings up alarmingly fast waiting to get paid)

Thanks Snipe, they don't do ERISA but they sent me a referral....

Excellent. I hope it all works out for you my friend. If you want to PM me at any point and compare notes with what happened in my case, etc, etc, feel free.

I also added some bold text in my last post above, that you should definitely take heed to. The Ins. Co. will do everything it can to deny your claim, so you must make sure you don't give them any ammunition to use against you.

Good advice and already anticipated.

I practiced SSD law for a long time.

no way your company dropped social security because thats impossible. SSD has nothing to do with your company. When you qualify for SSD benefits, all you are doing is receiving the SS Retirement benefit early due to disability....

If you paid into the system and have enough credits to apply then you should. If you worked under the table most of your career, your screwed.

If you are out 1 year, or expect to be out 1 year or more, then apply now as the waiting period to get a hearing is generally 24 months!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

At your age and with documented disc herniations, you have a good chance to win. Go see an SSD lawyer now. He/she will get the medical records and review them to see if you have a good case. At your age, you are what SSA considers "approaching advanced age" which makes it easier to win.

Get a copy of your SS earnings statement to see if you have the required credits and to estimate what your monthly benefit will be.

Your education and work history will be very important. For example, if you are a high school graduate and worked as a landscaper your entire career, SSA will not expect you to go get a college degree to qualify you for a sedentary position in an office.

SSA will consider all your health issues (if you have them)...diabetes, depression, arthritis etc...

Bottom line is, you will have to prove that you are TOTALLY disabled from any and all work for which you may be qualified.

NO SSD attorney should charge you a penny unless you win...so, go talk to someone

----didnt see that you hadnt paid into system---just noticed. that sucks. yea your out of luck with SSD unless you go back to work and get the credits. sorry

get a good ERISA attorney. Very hard to win these cases

A governmental agency when they incorporate may hold an election to opt out of Social Security if the majority of the employees so vote. We went, as I mentioned, from a County enitity to a regional governmental agency due to the passage of a CA law. It gave the local cities more oversite on regional transporation issues.

So what they did was add members from the incorporated cities onto the board. Now called the Hauser Board, named after the sponsor of the bill. We went from 5 to 12 members.

As to SS, I have applied to SS and checked my contributions, they show zero since we opted out. I do show medicare contributions.

too bad. i would advise everybody to stay out of such a system. LTD carriers can and do deny claims for almost any reason. I would say ive won 98% of every SSD case I handled....LTD, not quite. And, SSD pays until your dead...or become able to work.

Sorry bout your situation.

I suggest you do a google search using the following terms "erisa arbitrary and capricious standard of review" in order to learn more about the position you are in now....

an ERISA attorney typically will not charge you for the consultation or the work performed, unless they win your case...Sorry I cant recommend someone. I dont know anyone in California. Check the local bar association for a referral perhaps. There are not alot of attorneys doing ERISA law so, it should be pretty easy to find one.

Funny, the guy I called in the Bay Area is a Pelican customer....not a poster, but has a 78 SC that he tracks. He also claims that ERISA may not be part of the issue and that it's a GOOD thing. Since the 74 passage of the act, the courts have cut the balls out of ERISA.....

oh, thats good news. dont give up

Supposedly governmental agencies are exempt. ERISA does not allow jury trials.....

First I've ever heard of opting out of SS. I wish I could have.

Mike, bone up on the EPA Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) Law.
Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule | Lead in Paint, Dust, and Soil | US EPA
The tip of the iceberg is just visible. You can work as a consultant or an instructor without going over a lot of bridges at this point. No one will hire you while you have a claim going. As an independent contractor, you could instruct, IMO. And you have the background.

Unfortunately you will need to locate where there is an abundance of old houses, the older the better. This law doesn't apply to commercial yet.

Some knee jerk environmentally friendly city like Santa Cruz would be perfect, but you don't want to live in CA. In that case, I'd look East.

Mike, how do you feel about Portland? It fits the above description.