Worker’s Compensation – what’s the deal? Worker’s Compensation is designed to provide employees with rehabilitation services and compensation from a work related injury regardless of fault.
Some quick facts about Worker’s Comp in Ok:
- In 2009, Oklahoma saw over 15,000 claimant filings. That’s roughly 1.06 filings per one hundred employees.
- Back injuries constitute the majority of filings.
- Most claimants, 31 percent, are between the ages of 45 and 54.
Things to know about the lingo. Worker’s Compensation uses some words and acronyms that might be less than intuitive. Here’s a primer:
- T.T.D. stands for Temporary Total Disability. This means that the employee currently cannot perform their job, but are expected to recover.
- P.P.D. stands for Partial Permanent Disability. This means that the employee cannot ever perform at full capacity.
- P.T.D. stands for Permanent Total Disability. This means that the employee is injured and will not recover.
- Death benefits are payable to widows and children in some cases.
Consider this the bare bones starter course. For more information… keep reading our blog.
We file a lot of bankruptcy petitions here at the Kania Law Office. People come in for an initial interview, and some of the big concerns that we hear pertain to what property can be kept.
Questions usually sound like:
I’m ready to file bankruptcy, but I need to know if I can keep my car. I need to get to work, and my car is the only way that I can get there!
Or something like:
I’m ready to file bankruptcy, but there is one more thing that I need to know. Please, please, please tell me that I can keep my house.
Or, more rarely:
I’m ready to file bankruptcy. But, I don’t want to file unless I know that I can keep my flock of one hundred chickens.
Filing for bankruptcy is an emotional process. Families desire to maintain, as much as possible, the life that they lead prior to petitioning for bankruptcy. Maintenance of business as usual means keeping the items that the family associates with fond memories. Sometimes those memories are about how Mom marked how tall the children grew on the kitchen wall. Sometimes those memories are how the family drives to see Grandma and Grandpa every summer. Sometimes those memories are collecting eggs Sunday mornings and making a mess o’ scrambled eggs. Well, to be fair, we have yet to receive the question about the chickens.
The State of Oklahoma has set of a series of categories that outline what a debtor can keep after filing for bankruptcy, and between you and me, the list is pretty generous. We’ve simplified the list below:
1. Homestead.
Even a king who has run into financial difficulty can keep his castle in Oklahoma. As long as the house in question is the primary residence, you can keep it. Yes, this includes mobile homes and any land the mobile home rests on.
2. Household items.
Any furniture use by the family unit, including a computer and computer accessories can be kept after a bankruptcy. Worried about books and pictures? Don’t be, you can keep those too. We are going to, even if ill-advised, lump guns into the household items category. In Oklahoma, you can keep $2,000 worth of gun.
3. Jewelry and Clothing.
These items have price limits. You can keep clothing items up to $4,000. Wedding and anniversary rings can be kept up to $3,000.
4. Automobiles.
This may be the most common concern that we hear in connection to filing a bankruptcy petition. Here is the bright line rule: if the vehicle is equal to or less than $7,500, you can keep the vehicle. You are allowed to keep one vehicle per debtor, meaning that couples can keep two vehicles worth $7,500 each.
5. Burial Plots.
Oklahoma allows petitioners to keep burial plots held for the purpose of sepulcher. So, what is sepulcher? Just a fancy term of latin origin meaning for the purpose of burial. The breakdown: if you are holding the burial lots for the purpose of burial, you can keep them. Any and all plots held for sale cannot be kept.
6. Animals and their accoutrement.
You are able to keep ten hogs, twenty sheep, five milk cows and their calves, two horses and one hundred chickens. Animal accoutrement is limited to two bridles, for the horses, and forage. Forage is defined as enough for the exempt animals for one year. Worried about Sparky, an animal of more domestic purpose? As a note, we’ve never had a problem keeping our clients’ Golden Retrievers.
7. Money.
The bankruptcy court cannot take all of your monetary assets. You are entitles to keep 75% of your wage earnings in the last 90 days. Further, alimony, retirement plans established after 1987, any earned tax credit, interest in an established Oklahoma College Savings Plan and interested in a lawsuit up to $50,000 are exempt.
Don’t see an item that you are interested in keeping after your bankruptcy? Call us; walk in; we love a challenge.
So you’re ready to apply for social security, and you are wondering what you can expect. Applying for social security is a long process. The Tulsa, Oklahoma Social Security Lawyers at Kania Law can guide you through your application for social security disability or supplemental security income benefits.
Step One: The Initial Application
The first step in pursuing a Social Security claim is to apply to the Social Security Administration. Initial application includes a short explanation of the disability. It is possible to obtain a “protected filing” status by calling the Social Security office. The date of the phone call is used as the date of filing. The Social Security Administration follows up with a letter that verifies the date of the phone call. The Kania Law Office recommends that you call in to secure protected filing status. The majority of Social Security cases are dismissed from the initial application, as only the most obvious cases are accepted.
Step Two: Reconsideration
If you are denied social security benefits at the initial step, then you are eligible for reconsideration. Reconsideration involves the Social Security Administration taking a second look at the previous decision. It is helpful to have a lawyer from the Kania Law Office to guide you through the reconsideration process. Often cases that are denied at the initial step are denied again at reconsideration. Reconsideration might appear to be a redundancy, in light of the likelihood of the same result. This is an important step. Without denial at the reconsideration stage, you cannot proceed to a hearing.
Step Three: A Hearing before an Administrative Law Judge
The next step is a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge. The Administrative Law Judge’s job is to review the previously submitted paperwork, request new documentation as needed, and obtain testimony to determine the reality of disability. The Judge’s task is to make an impartial decision as to disability based on the facts presented. An attorney from the Kania Law Office will prepare you for your hearing before an Administrative Law Judge on your Social Security petition. Claimants receive a notice of decision after the hearing that grants or denies benefits. It is possible to receive a partially favorable decision, in which the claimant receives a partial grant of benefits.
Step Four: The Appeals Council
Both partially favorable and denied benefits are able to reach the Appeals Council. Your Tulsa, Oklahoma Social Security lawyer can help you in this process. The Appeals Council is the last step in the process under the Social Security Administration umbrella. Any decision presented by the Appeals Council is considered the final decision by the Commissioner of Social Security. The Appeals Council is composed of administrative judges who oversee decisions made in the hearing. If the claimant is denied by the Appeals Council, the next step is to appeal to the United States District Court.
Step Five: The United States District Court
Taking a social security case to the United States District Court is to challenge the Social Security Administration for not following the law in denying benefits to the claimant due to them under the law. This is a lawsuit in the federal court, but not one that involves a trial. The responsibility of the district court is to review the paperwork available to the Social Security Administration and decide if the administration made any legal or factual errors. In the event a legal error, the district court will remand, or send the case back to the Social Security Administration to correct the error. Representation by a Tulsa, Oklahoma social security lawyer will be helpful in the event that your petition reaches the United States District Court.
Step Six: The Circuit Court of Appeals
In the event that the District Court agrees with the decision that the Social Security Administration in the denial of benefits or the award of partially favorable benefits, the next option is to appeal the case to the Circuit Court of Appeals. The role of the Circuit Court is similar to that of the United States District Court. A Tulsa, Oklahoma social security attorney can help your case in the event that it reaches the Circuit Court of Appeals.
Step Seven: The United States Supreme Court
While it is possible to appeal the denied benefits to the Supreme Court, it is unlikely that a social security case will reach the Supreme Court of the United States. The Supreme Court would only hear a case that presented an important legal issue.
Ok, so the ultimate lesson culminates in one golden nugget of information: bureaucracy has added a whole lot of red tape to the social security application process. Yes, we that that this is unfortumate too. Give us a call, we’d be happy to talk to you about your social security question.
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