| Standard of Conduct for Representatives of Social Security Claimants |
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| Those individuals undertaking to represent a social security claimant, whether an attorney or a non-attorney, must adhere to a certain standard of conduct. In particular, representatives appearing on behalf of a claimant before the Social Security Administration (SSA) must comply with the SSA's Rules of Conduct and Standards of Responsibility for Representatives (Rules of Conduct).More... |
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| Black Lung Benefits Act - Defining "Totally Disabled Due to Pneumoconiosis" |
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| The Black Lung Benefits Act does not provide benefits for a partial disability. Rather, in order to recover under the Act, a miner must be totally disabled as a result of pneumoconiosis. The miner bears the burden of proof to demonstrate that he is "totally disabled due to pneumoconiosis," although this responsibility is somewhat tempered by certain presumptions.More... |
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| Employer Misconduct |
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| Exclusivity RuleMore... |
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| Types of workers compensation laws |
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| Applicability of the LHWCA requires that the situs and status tests be met, i.e. the injury must have occurred on United States navigable waters or adjoining area by a maritime worker as specified in the LHWCA. It appears that the LHWCA was conceived to fill a gap in workers' compensation coverage by providing benefits to those employees who were not injured on land, which would then be covered under the applicable state's Workers' Compensation Act. However, the expansion of the interpretation as to what is the "adjoining area" of navigable waters has allowed for conflicts of law questions to arise for maritime workers. Caselaw suggests that when the LHWCA does not clearly apply under the status and situs tests, each case will be examined on its own facts to determine the source of the injured employee's benefits. Notably, Louisiana denies state workers' compensation benefits to an employee who is covered by the LHWCA.More... |
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| Drug and Alcohol Dependence |
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| SSI and SSDI benefits)More... |
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