Andrew Kantor's guest appearances

Andrew Kantor

Uninvisible Pod with Lauren Freedman

The Spoonie Struggle

Lara Bloom

Andrew Gurza

David Mitchell

Thomas Smith

Mercedes Yvette

Brendon Lundberg

Chris Armstrong

Becca Murray

NITIKA CHOPRA

Kelsey Darragh

Damian Washington

Kendall Ciesemier

Charles Sanchez

Jessica Temple

Sheryl Chan

OwlTail

Episode 9:Disability Law With Guest Andrew Kantor In this episode, we discuss disability law (ERISA law). Disability discrimination is defined as when you need accommodations and your workplace denies you, even though it would allow you to continue to do your job. Disability law is related to when insurance companies don’t pay for disability benefits when the person is due disability. Private disability insurance through work is governed through ERISA law. In this case, even accommodations would not allow you to do your job. You cannot have a disability discrimination and disability case at the same time, as they contradict each other. Federal social security disability is the federal/national disability. You earn SSDI coverage by working a certain number of quarters in your life. If you work enough time, you are entitled to these benefits if you are unable to perform any gainful work for more than a year, earning about $1300 a month. If you can do anything to earn more money than that a month, you will not be awarded SSDI. This makes it very challenging for people who work high paying jobs. The max one can get from SSDI is about $3000 per month. You are entitled for Medicare after 2 years through SSDI. People also have short term or long term disability benefits through their employer or purchased on their own. If it is purchased through their employer, it is governed through ERISA law. ERISA strips an individual’s ability to get additional damages from the insurance company outside of the money you are already owed. This means that disability insurers don’t have any repercussions, and can more easily deny disability claims. They know a lot of individuals won’t fight it, so it makes sense for them to deny claims. ERISA was originally designed to make sure pension managers can’t steal employee’s pensions. Things are starting to get better and there are better ways now to prove your case and your disability. To be able to be successful in your case, you have to find a lawyer who can properly get your case across. It is important to be able to have the medical evidence, as symptoms are not always easy to prove. Get objective evidence and point out what you have is already objective evidence. Know at the beginning if your doctor is supportive of your claim. Make sure all of your doctors are supportive. The longer you have been with your doctor, the better.   Nowadays with COVID, insurance companies are taking the position that even if one is immunocompromised, one cannot claim disability if they are afraid of getting ill or dying at work due to COVID or something else, as they aren’t sick yet and can work. The risk of death is apparently not a good enough reason not to work. Part of the problem with disability law is that the job is the one supplying the disability insurance and they don’t care how bad the insurance is, they just care about the cost of the premiums. Andrew recommends getting copies of your medical records if you are considering disability. If your medical records are inaccurate, pick and choose your battles. If your claim has been denied, ask for a copy of your file. Make sure you have at least one doctor who is really helpful. Surveillance for someone with an invisible illness is not as big of a deal nowadays, because there is the expectation that there will be good days and bad days. Surveillance is only bad if they catch you doing something you said you couldn’t do.   Be aware of at-will states, because after FMLA is over, you don’t really have job protections. If you have disability through your employer and already filed for a claim before being fired, you continue to have disability even if you are fired. Your claim has to be made the day you are fired or before, or you will not be covered for disability. Assume that everything you tell your employer will be seen by the insurance company. Disability companies pay you a percentage of your salary. You want to get disability payments post-tax, as you will end up with more money. Note, a lot of lawyers offer free consultations. Disclose to your employer whatever is in your best interest. Make sure whatever you tell your employer lines up with what you have told your doctors and the insurance companies. If you carve out a severance with your employer, make sure it doesn’t stop your ability to get disability benefits. As far as accommodations, ask for what you need, even if your symptoms change on a daily basis. Read your policy, see what the definition of disability is, if that definition changes, look at limitations and exclusions section, your maximum benefit amount, and at the offsets. Links: Kantor Law LinkedIn Twitter Facebook Workwell Foundation       Links: Website Facebook Instagram Email Twitter     Please subscribe to our podcast in the iTunes store, or wherever you find your podcasts, Leave us a 5-star review, to help us know what you like and what you don't like, and to make sure other like-minded people find support through this podcast. Hosted by: Jessica Temple  Music by Antarcticbreeze Music Disclaimer: Our show is not designed to provide listeners with specific or personal legal, medical, or professional services or advice. Listeners should always consult their health care provider for medical advice, medication, or treatment. Copyright 2021 Jessica Temple

Episode 9:Disability Law With Guest Andrew Kantor In this episode, we discuss disability law (ERISA law). Disability discrimination is defined as when you need accommodations and your workplace denies you, even though it would allow you to continue to do your job. Disability law is related to when insurance companies don’t pay for disability benefits when the person is due disability. Private disability insurance through work is governed through ERISA law. In this case, even accommodations would not allow you to do your job. You cannot have a disability discrimination and disability case at the same time, as they contradict each other. Federal social security disability is the federal/national disability. You earn SSDI coverage by working a certain number of quarters in your life. If you work enough time, you are entitled to these benefits if you are unable to perform any gainful work for more than a year, earning about $1300 a month. If you can do anything to earn more money than that a month, you will not be awarded SSDI. This makes it very challenging for people who work high paying jobs. The max one can get from SSDI is about $3000 per month. You are entitled for Medicare after 2 years through SSDI. People also have short term or long term disability benefits through their employer or purchased on their own. If it is purchased through their employer, it is governed through ERISA law. ERISA strips an individual’s ability to get additional damages from the insurance company outside of the money you are already owed. This means that disability insurers don’t have any repercussions, and can more easily deny disability claims. They know a lot of individuals won’t fight it, so it makes sense for them to deny claims. ERISA was originally designed to make sure pension managers can’t steal employee’s pensions. Things are starting to get better and there are better ways now to prove your case and your disability. To be able to be successful in your case, you have to find a lawyer who can properly get your case across. It is important to be able to have the medical evidence, as symptoms are not always easy to prove. Get objective evidence and point out what you have is already objective evidence. Know at the beginning if your doctor is supportive of your claim. Make sure all of your doctors are supportive. The longer you have been with your doctor, the better. Nowadays with COVID, insurance companies are taking the position that even if one is immunocompromised, one cannot claim disability if they are afraid of getting ill or dying at work due to COVID or something else, as they aren’t sick yet and can work. The risk of death is apparently not a good enough reason not to work. Part of the problem with disability law is that the job is the one supplying the disability insurance and they don’t care how bad the insurance is, they just care about the cost of the premiums. Andrew recommends getting copies of your medical records if you are considering disability. If your medical records are inaccurate, pick and choose your battles. If your claim has been denied, ask for a copy of your file. Make sure you have at least one doctor who is really helpful. Surveillance for someone with an invisible illness is not as big of a deal nowadays, because there is the expectation that there will be good days and bad days. Surveillance is only bad if they catch you doing something you said you couldn’t do. Be aware of at-will states, because after FMLA is over, you don’t really have job protections. If you have disability through your employer and already filed for a claim before being fired, you continue to have disability even if you are fired. Your claim has to be made the day you are fired or before, or you will not be covered for disability. Assume that everything you tell your employer will be seen by the insurance company. Disability companies pay you a percentage of your salary. You want to get disability payments post-tax, as you will end up with more money. Note, a lot of lawyers offer free consultations. Disclose to your employer whatever is in your best interest. Make sure whatever you tell your employer lines up with what you have told your doctors and the insurance companies. If you carve out a severance with your employer, make sure it doesn’t stop your ability to get disability benefits. As far as accommodations, ask for what you need, even if your symptoms change on a daily basis. Read your policy, see what the definition of disability is, if that definition changes, look at limitations and exclusions section, your maximum benefit amount, and at the offsets. Links: <a href="https://www.kantorlaw.net/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Kantor Law</a> <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/kantor-&amp;-kantor-llp/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewMKantor" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/kantorandkantor/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook</a> <a href="https://workwellfoundation.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Workwell Foundation</a> Links: <a href="https://www.thespooniestruggle.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Website</a> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/thespooniestruggle" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook</a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/thespooniestruggle" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Instagram</a> <a href="mailto:thespooniestruggle@gmail.com">Email</a> <a href="https://www.twitter.com/thespooniestruggle" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a> Please subscribe to our podcast in the iTunes store, or wherever you find your podcasts, Leave us a 5-star review, to help us know what you like and what you don't like, and to make sure other like-minded people find support through this podcast. Hosted by: Jessica Temple  Music by Antarcticbreeze Music Disclaimer: Our show is not designed to provide listeners with specific or personal legal, medical, or professional services or advice. Listeners should always consult their health care provider for medical advice, medication, or treatment. Copyright 2021 Jessica Temple

Disability Law With Guest Andrew Kantor

Andrew Kantor is an Associate at Kantor &amp; Kantor, LLP. The son of the founding namesake attorneys, his practice is focused primarily on helping individuals obtain wrongfully-denied disability and life insurance benefits in both ERISA and non-ERISA (bad faith) policies. A client-centered attorney, he has emerged as one of the US’s leading experts on fighting disability denials, with a particular focus on chronic-fatigue-related illnesses like ME/CFS and Lyme disease. Andrew serves on the Board of The Elder Law and Disability Rights Center, and he was named a 2019 Rising Star in Southern California by Super Lawyers. In this episode, he shares his passion for advocacy, the logic behind disability rulings, and how to read between the lines when communicating with insurance companies and physicians. Tune in as Andrew shares…  how he began his legal career, and his focus on ME/CFS cases (and unidentified chronic fatigue cases) the wider range of illnesses he’s come across in his practice: MS (multiple sclerosis), Parkinson’s, EDS (Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome), TBI (traumatic brain injury), autoimmune disease (including lupus), mental health issues, and lots of back injuries that insurance companies are 20 years behind medical science, and won’t push themselves to the cutting edge until someone else pushes them to that so much of the outcome among disability cases comes down to the treating physicians information about CPET (cardiopulmonary exercise testing), which is an objective test used to prove the extent of disability, and often used in ME/CFS cases why the pain scale is totally subjective in legal defense that the CDC is behind on information with regard to ME/CFS — and that there’s nothing more harmful to individuals than when the government takes a bad position patients’ difficulty in acquiring needed drugs — particularly opioids for those in need that workers’ comp is creating more harm than good in CA — blocking inroads to proper medical care a discussion of gender disparity in believing women’s pain that he has yet to lose a disability case — and that most settle to avoid litigation how his firm makes their services affordable to those in need (i.e., no upfront fees) — and free consultations why it’s so critical you read your employer’s insurance policy in detail before signing off on it (paying special attention to mental health allowances)  This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit uninvisiblepod.substack.com/subscribe

Andrew Kantor is an Associate at Kantor &amp; Kantor, LLP. The son of the founding namesake attorneys, his practice is focused primarily on helping individuals obtain wrongfully-denied disability and life insurance benefits in both ERISA and non-ERISA (bad faith) policies. A client-centered attorney, he has emerged as one of the US’s leading experts on fighting disability denials, with a particular focus on chronic-fatigue-related illnesses like ME/CFS and Lyme disease. Andrew serves on the Board of The Elder Law and Disability Rights Center, and he was named a 2019 Rising Star in Southern California by Super Lawyers. In this episode, he shares his passion for advocacy, the logic behind disability rulings, and how to read between the lines when communicating with insurance companies and physicians. Tune in as Andrew shares… <ul> <li>how he began his legal career, and his focus on ME/CFS cases (and unidentified chronic fatigue cases)</li> <li>the wider range of illnesses he’s come across in his practice: MS (multiple sclerosis), Parkinson’s, EDS (Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome), TBI (traumatic brain injury), autoimmune disease (including lupus), mental health issues, and lots of back injuries</li> <li>that insurance companies are 20 years behind medical science, and won’t push themselves to the cutting edge until someone else pushes them to</li> <li>that so much of the outcome among disability cases comes down to the treating physicians</li> <li>information about CPET (cardiopulmonary exercise testing), which is an objective test used to prove the extent of disability, and often used in ME/CFS cases</li> <li>why the pain scale is totally subjective in legal defense</li> <li>that the CDC is behind on information with regard to ME/CFS — and that there’s nothing more harmful to individuals than when the government takes a bad position</li> <li>patients’ difficulty in acquiring needed drugs — particularly opioids for those in need</li> <li>that workers’ comp is creating more harm than good in CA — blocking inroads to proper medical care</li> <li>a discussion of gender disparity in believing women’s pain</li> <li>that he has yet to lose a disability case — and that most settle to avoid litigation</li> <li>how his firm makes their services affordable to those in need (i.e., no upfront fees) — and free consultations</li> <li>why it’s so critical you read your employer’s insurance policy in detail before signing off on it (paying special attention to mental health allowances)</li> </ul> This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://uninvisiblepod.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_campaign=CTA_2" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">uninvisiblepod.substack.com/subscribe</a>

067: Disability Attorney Andrew Kantor on Patient Advocacy & Playing To Win