Articles

Social Security Guidelines

The Social Security Administration administers two (2) kinds of disability programs — which provide monetary assistance for people in different situations.

Dealing with Attorney-Client Privilege and Work Product Doctrine Objections to Discovery Requests

In our judgment, receiving Answers To Interrogatories or responses to Requests For Production in which opposing counsel objects to answering certain questions or producing documents, stating that…

Indiana Supreme Court Refuses to Allow Insurance Carriers to Circumvent Subrogation Statutes

On May 30, 1997, the Indiana Supreme Court handed down its opinion in Erie Insurance Co. v. George…

Dealing with Non-Party Defenses

In our judgment, plaintiffs’ counsel should take an offensive posture with regard to nonparty defenses that are asserted by defendants and aggressively seek to force defense counsel to properly identify nonparties in a timely manner and move to strike inappropriate nonparty defenses.

Did You Know That Health Care Providers Who Accept Assignment of Medicare Must Reduce Their Bills?

It has been estimated that 77% of the doctors in Indiana currently accept Medicare assignment in all cases. If Medicare has paid a portion of your client’s medical expenses, can the client’s doctors and other healthcare providers still have outstanding balances which they can collect…

Indiana Recognizes a New Cause of Action: Spoliation of Evidence

On December 29, 1998, the Indiana Court of Appeals handed down its opinion in Thompson v. Owensby, et al, in which it recognizes an independent cause of action for spoliation of evidence…

The Law Against Frivolity

In 1986, the Indiana legislature passed a law against “frivolous, unreasonable, or groundless” actions or defenses on a claim…

New Tax Law Changes Affect Trial Lawyers

Under the new Internal Revenue Code Section 6045(f), which was passed last summer by Congress and signed into law by President Clinton, the method by which trial lawyers report contingent fees has been changed…

Mental Impairment Claims – Should You Survey Listing 12.00 or Focus on One Particular Listing?

Before discussing strategies of what to focus upon within the mental disorders listing, a brief review of the structure of the mental disorder listing may be helpful.

Mental Impairment Claims – Personality Disorders-Are They Real, How Can You Prove your Case?

The mental disorder listing does contain a separate listing for personality disorder. That listing is set out at 12.08. The section A criteria is…

Mental Impairment Claims – Intelligence Quotient (IQ) – Can You Prove the Client’s Listing IQ?

The basis of this listing is to award benefits to claimants who meet SSA’s definition of mental retardation. It is important to note that Social Security has its own definition for mental retardation…