Harrell and Harrell's Personal Injury law blog » lawyers

New Florida Boating Law

admin — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 19:31:57 +0000

According to an AP story, law enforcement officials will soon start increasing the enforcement of a new Florida boating law that recently went into effect. Most people don’t know about the new law and you probably don’t want to get caught by surprise. Fines will range from fifty to eighty dollars.

The new law requires Florida boaters born on or after Jan. 1, 1988 to take and pass a state approved boating education course in order to pilot any vessel with 10 or more horsepower. The new law also applies to non-Florida residents with a few exceptions like those with a USCG Master’s license.

More and more people will be affected every year since it is tied to a specific date and not an age. Being an avid boater all my life, I believe this will go a long way towards improving boating safety. It won’t end all the boat accidents out on the water but I have to believe that if more people understood the basic right of way rules – we would all be better off. Driving a boat is not like driving a car and some people shouldn’t even be driving a car. Biggest difference is that boats don’t have brakes.

Let’s be safe out there on the water and don’t forget all your required safety equipment. If you can’t swim, wear a USCG approved life vest.

Infants die in baby slings

admin — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 13:53:07 +0000

The reports of three infants deaths have been brought to the attention of the CPSC. The infants died due to suffocation in these baby slings produced by Infantino, LLC out of San Diego. Our condolences go out to those three families and any others that may have suffered the same loss.

Obviously, you should immediately stop use of these baby slings. The recall uses 4 months of age and younger wording but I would err on the side of caution and stop using it altogether. Over a million slings are being recalled in the United States and fifteen thousand in Canada.

Here’s the link to the CPSC / Infantino recall .

Aerobar recall

admin — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 20:29:24 +0000

As an avid triathlete, I could not pass this one by without a post to the blog. It’s hard enough to ride a bicycle down in the aerobars when they work but even harder when they fall apart in your hands. Imagine going downhill about 40 miles per hour and suddenly be left steering with your elbows or forearms. Yikes! Here’s a link to the voluntary recall between CPSC and the aerobar manufacturer, 3T. There is a risk of the rubber grips coming off of the end of the handlebars. The link has the information for replacing the faulty grips.

Sounds like there were only a few hundred sold so hopefully this will help spread the word before any serious injuries occur.

www.harrellandharrell.com

Great news from Social Security

admin — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 21:43:06 +0000

Read the latest press release from Social Security regarding the reduction in the backlog of claims:

Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, today announced that the number of disability hearings pending stands at 697,437 cases — the lowest level since June 2005 and down more than 71,000 cases since December 2008, when the trend of month-by-month reductions began. In addition, the average processing time for hearing decisions has decreased to 442 days, down from a high of 514 days at the end of fiscal year (FY) 2008.

“We have decreased the number of hearings pending by almost 10 percent over the last 14 months and cut the time it takes to make a decision by nearly two and a half months. This remarkable progress shows our backlog reduction plan is working,” Commissioner Astrue said. “With ongoing support from the President and Congress as well as the efforts of our hardworking employees, I am confident the hearings backlog will continue to diminish.”

Social Security has actively addressed the hearings backlog and increased the capacity to hold more hearings. The agency hired 147 Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) and over 1,000 support staff in FY 2009, and has plans to hire an additional 226 ALJs this year. The agency now has four National Hearing Centers to help process hearings by video conference for the most hard-hit areas of the country. The agency also has aggressive plans to open 14 new hearing offices and three satellite offices by the end of the year. The first of these offices was opened in Anchorage, Alaska on February 19, 2010.

Hopefully the backlogs will continue to decrease for those applying for social security benefits. If we can assist you, give us a call or visit our website.

www.harrellandharrell.com

Social Security Update

admin — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 14:57:57 +0000

UPDATE – President Obama signed this into law on 2/27/10.

Attorney Mark Papa from our Jacksonville office shared this bit of breaking news with me. Sounds like good news for Social Security Applicants.

The Social Security Disability Applicants’ Access to Professional Representation Act of 2010 is expected to be signed into law by President Obama by the end of this week. This will allow those who are denied Supplemental Security Income (”SSI”) benefits in the future to find an attorney to represent them in their claim.

Prior to the Social Security Protection Act of 2004 (”SSPA”), there was no attorney fee withholding provision for SSI claims, the consequence being that very few attorneys would agree to represent SSI claimants. SSPA included a provision whereby attorney fees would be withheld and paid directly in SSI cases. This provision in the SSPA is scheduled to “sunset” on March 1, 2010.

The signing into law of the Social Security Disability Applicant’s Access to Professional Representation Act of 2010 will ensure that SSI claimant’s who have been denied will continue to find attorney representation before the Social Security Administration.

Harrell & Harrell Jacksonville Injury Lawyers

admin — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 15:28:53 +0000

We plan on rolling out some major changes to our website shortly after we do some beta testing on the new site. It should make our site more user friendly and readable. They say the transition will be seamless – we’ll see!

Harrell & Harrell is proud to serve the people of Jacksonville and the surrounding North Florida area. Please contact us about any questions you may have concerning your car accident, trucking accident, boat accident or any other type of personal injury matter. We are also glad to speak with you about your Social Security Disability questions. We can be reached at (904)251-1111 or (800)251-1111 if you are not in the local calling area. For those of you who like the convenience of the Internet, feel free to use our online form.

We are your local team of Jacksonville trial lawyers.

www.harrellandharrell.com

More money for Social Security

admin — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 18:46:03 +0000

The Social Security Administration received a 10% increase in fiscal year 2010 over the fiscal year 2009 appropriation. Part of this increase is intended for hiring 226 new Administrative Law Judges, 950 support staff, 60 hearing office managers, and additional staff for the Appeals Council.

What this means, hopefully, for Social Security Disability Claimants is less waiting for their claims to make it to hearing. In a previous post, we stated that it was taking the Jacksonville Hearing office approximately 15 months to schedule a hearing after a Request for Hearing is filed. We hope some of those resources make it to the Jacksonville Hearing office.

Give us a call at 251-1111 or visit our website to answer any of your Social Security benefits questions.

Radiation treatment hazards

admin — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 15:13:17 +0000

Here’s a link to a lengthy NY Times article that attorney Charlie Douglas forwarded to me. His comment to me was that it was absolutely horrifying and I would agree after reading the recent article.

With advances in modern technology comes some unknown risk but to know that the risks have been knowingly hidden from the public is flat out wrong and immoral.

Call or e-mail us with your personal injury questions. Don’t settle for less than you deserve.

www.harrellandharrell.com

Big Toyota recall

admin — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 22:09:30 +0000

Do you own one of these cars or trucks? Add the 2010 Toyota Prius to the list for bad brakes

• 2009-2010 RAV4
• 2009-2010 Corolla
• 2009-2010 Matrix
• 2005-2010 Avalon
• 2007-2010 Camry
• 2010 Highlander
• 2007-2010 Tundra
• 2008-2010 Sequoia

If so, contact Toyota because they just recalled 2.3 million of them for “isolated incidents of the accelerator sticking”.

That could be bad news! Check it out before you wind up the victim of a car accident or just a scary white knuckle ride.

If we can help, please contact us at 800-251-1111

www.harrellandharrell.com

Social Security decisions – what are they looking for?

admin — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 16:19:07 +0000

In an earlier blog entry, we discussed, in general terms, how Social Security’s decision makers evaluate a claim for disability and therefore how claimant’s should look at their claims as well. The question then becomes, what evidence do I need to prove my claim and to prove what I am saying is true and/or credible. The allegations of disability need to be in line with the medical evidence.

Social Security divides evidence into two categories: “acceptable medical sources” ; and “other sources” , which include medical sources that are not “acceptable medical sources.”

Under Social Security regulations, “acceptable medical sources” are:

Licensed physicians (medical or osteopathic doctors);
Licensed or certified psychologists;
Licensed optometrists;
Licensed podiatrist; and
Qualified speech-language pathologists.

Under Social Security regulations, “other sources” include:

Medical sources who are not “acceptable medical sources, ” such as nurse practitioners, physician assistants, licensed clinical social workers, naturopaths, chiropractors, audiologists, and therapists;
Educational personnel, such as school teachers, counselors, daycare workers;
Public and private social welfare agency personnel, rehabilitation counselors; and
Spouses, parents and other caregivers, siblings, other relatives, friends, neighbors, clergy, employers.

The distinction to be made here is that only “acceptable medical sources” can establish the existence of an impairment; only “acceptable medical sources” can give medical opinions; and only “acceptable medical sources” can be considered treating sources, whose medical opinions would be entitled to controlling weight or a certain level of deference. In other words, “acceptable medical sources” is what Social Security hangs it’s hat on in approving a claim. Social security would not approve a claim, for example, based solely on a claimant’s testimony and evidence from non “acceptable medical source” such as a chiropractor. However, evidence from “other sources” is still important to paint an entire picture when used in conjunction with “acceptable medical sources.”

Call one of our Social Security attorneys with any questions you may have. We are glad to answer your questions or set up a convenient free consultation at one of our Jacksonville offices.