October 19, 2025 • 38 mins
Denied benefits don’t mean you’re not disabled — they usually mean your record isn’t saying what the system needs to hear. We sit down with disability law expert, Attorney Nancy Cavey to map a practical route through VA ratings, Social Security’s five-step test, and short- and long-term disability insurance, showing how objective medical evidence turns “I hurt” into “Here’s why I can’t work.” If you’re a veteran juggling C&P exams or a civilian facing an LTD cutoff, this conversation gives you the playbook to build a case that holds up.
Nancy breaks down the crucial differences between systems: VA pays by body-system ratings while Social Security asks whether you can sustain full-time work in the national economy. That shift makes function king — how long you can sit, stand, lift, focus, and show up reliably. We dig into residual functional capacity (RFC) forms, neuropsych testing for TBI, CPET and FCE for fatigue and pain conditions, and imaging like MRIs and CTs to anchor diagnoses.
You’ll learn why “I’m fine” in your chart is fatal, how to replace vague notes with a consistent, detailed history, and what to do when VA clinicians won’t complete forms.
We also cover timing and policy traps that quietly sink claims. From the Social Security date last insured window to LTD offsets and changing definitions of disability, the details matter. Nancy shares field-tested strategies for filing before termination to preserve coverage, coordinating multiple claims without tripping over contradictions, and navigating invisible illnesses like fibromyalgia or ME/CFS when others can’t see what you’re up against. Her three-part checklist—get a lawyer, know each system’s proof, make your records tell the story—turns confusion into a plan.
If you’re ready to stop guessing and start winning, listen now, take notes, and share this episode with someone who needs a clear path. Subscribe for more expert guides, leave a review to help others find the show, and tell us: what evidence do you still need to gather?
DISCLAIMER: The information is not medical advice and should not be treated as such. Always consult your physician or healthcare professional before pursuing any health-related procedure or activity.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_01 (00:01):
New normal big life.
SPEAKER_00 (00:04):
You know, people like you who understand the
medical um understand that firstoff, um it is the history of the
nature of their medicalcondition, the symptoms, nature,
frequency, duration, impact onfunctionality.
But just as important is thediagnosis.
(00:26):
There has to be an objectivebasis of the diagnosis.
So it doesn't matter if it's asocial security case, a VA case,
a short or long-term disordercase, the carrier, they're going
to be looking for X-rays, MRIs,CT scans, um, whatever the
objective evidence is that'sgoing to establish the
diagnosis.
(00:47):
So we want objective evidence ofthe diagnosis.
Number two, we want objectiveevidence of the restrictions and
limitations.
SPEAKER_01 (00:54):
Imagine working hard for years, paying into an
insurance plan and socialsecurity, or maybe you sacrifice
your youth, health, and incomeearning potential to do what 93%
of Americans have never done.
Serve your country in themilitary.
As a dedicated employee, aperson with a long-term or
(01:15):
short-term disability, a sick orinjured veteran, you apply for
the health benefits you werepromised, only to be denied.
Today's guest, our new normalbig life, is disability law
expert, attorney Nancy Kavey.
Attorney Kavey will unpack howto cut through the red tape to
get the benefits you need anddeserve.
(01:36):
Hi, friends, welcome to the NewNormal Big Life podcast.
We bring you natural news andstories about nature that we
hope will inspire you to getoutside in adventure, along with
a step-by-step plan to help youpractice what you've learned and
create your own new normal andlive the biggest life you can
dream.
I'm your host, Anthony Lee, theWellness Warrior.
Today I'm joined by Nancy Cavey.
(01:57):
She spent her career workingtirelessly on behalf of
Floridians who haven't receivedfair treatment or promised
benefits.
In August of 2004, her legalpeers selected her to serve as
chair of the workers'compensation section of the
Florida Bar.
She's a member of the NationalOrganization of Social Security
(02:20):
claims representatives, theAmerican Association for
Justice, and the EmployeeBenefits Section of the American
Bar Association, and theNational Employment Lawyers
Association, and the FloridaBar.
Her firm, the Law Office ofNancy L.
Kavey, has extensive experiencein helping individuals with
(02:41):
disability claims and has helpedclients with medical conditions
such as heart disease,hypertension, chronic fatigue
syndrome, fibromyalgia, spinalinjuries, post-traumatic stress,
traumatic brain injury, andmore.
Today, she's going to help youunderstand how to improve your
chances of getting the benefitsyou need.
(03:01):
Attorney Nancy Kavey unpacks thelabyrinth of disability advocacy
from decoding short-term versuslong-term insurance traps to
leveraging VA law forservice-connected health
challenges.
KV reveals how ironclad medicalevidence turns no into yes.
(03:22):
Let's meet our guest, AttorneyNancy Kavey.
Attorney Kavey, welcome to NewNormal Big Life.
Thanks for having me.
I look forward to speaking withyou.
I'm excited about this topic.
As you know, I'm a veteran, butyou may not know that I'm one of
the moderators of a veteransupporting veterans group on X
called Veterans United.
(03:42):
And this topic comes up sooften, where you have veterans
from every era just about, fromVietnam to Iraqi freedom.
We don't so much hear of anyother era generations on social
media.
But they're all complaining thatthey're still experiencing
delays with getting theirbenefits.
(04:04):
Although I think uh DouglasCollins, the new Secretary of
the Veterans Affairs, is doing apretty good job and he's making
progress.
There's still so many obstaclesto veterans seeking the benefits
they need and deserve.
So I'm very excited to have thisconversation.
So let's level the field withour discussion today and talk
(04:26):
about your father's battle withleukemia and uh what your family
went through and your path tobecoming a disability advocate.
SPEAKER_00 (04:33):
Well, my father was a naval aviator during World War
II and he fought off a Guam.
And when he came back from thewar, he uh attended Johns
Hopkins under the GI Bill,joined the family insurance
business in Baltimore, Maryland,got married, had kids, and when
I was in junior high school, hewas diagnosed with leukemia.
(04:55):
So I watched him make thatdifficult decision until the day
I graduated from high school totry to live with the leukemia
and work with the leukemiabecause he was a John Wayne kind
of guy.
And he finally realized that hehad to put his health first.
And when he did that, he leftthe family business.
(05:15):
We moved to Florida.
He became a patient at Chann's.
And unfortunately, he died threeyears after we moved.
I graduated from college sixweeks after he died.
So I accelerated my college sothat I could hopefully he could
live to see me graduate.
That didn't happen.
But he knew I was going to lawschool to represent people who
(05:38):
had disabilities, and he appliedfor his Social Security
disability, and he had anindividual disability insurance
uh policy.
And so he applied for that.
So I watched him, you know, aproud man who who who fought in
a very difficult circumstancesand you know ultimately had to
(06:01):
stop work and apply forbenefits.
And that was a change in hisidentity, and certainly it
changed our family dynamic tohave the breadwinner become
disabled.
And so that, you know, hisjourney and my experience with
that journey is what inspired meto represent people in Social
Security disability claims,ERISA disability claims.
And we do do VA work, but that'snot uh the primary focus of our
(06:24):
of our work.
SPEAKER_01 (06:25):
Well, I'm so sorry to hear that your family had to
go through this tragedy.
And I know how it is when youlose your father, it's a it's a
big deal for myself included.
My father was also a veteran.
Can you tell us what kinds ofpeople come to you for help?
What kinds of problems are theyhaving?
(06:45):
What types of insurance are theyhaving trouble getting benefits
from in terms of long-term andshort-term?
And then also what types ofproblems are people having with
applying for social securitybenefits and also VA benefits?
SPEAKER_00 (07:01):
So that's a broad perspective.
You know, we see people who havesignificant medical conditions
that range from congenitalconditions to degenerative
conditions, conditions caused byinjuries or you know, conditions
that certainly just develop as aresult of the aging process.
(07:22):
So we'll see, particularly in myveterans population, normally
what I see are people who havebeen airborne, if you will.
And so we we've got a lot ofknee injuries, a lot of shoulder
injuries, a lot of backinjuries.
I see a fair number of casesthat will also involve exposures
(07:45):
to different substances, whichresult in a myriad of different
types of medical conditions fromrheumatological to immunological
to you know, even conditionsinvolving the pulmonary system.
So we see the whole range, ifyou will, of those conditions.
(08:06):
And then, of course, most of theveterans I represent also have
psychological issues, be itpost-traumatic stress disorder,
depression, anxiety.
So I see this kind of the wholegambit, if you will, when it is
when we're with our veteranspopulation.
In terms of applying for SocialSecurity benefits, I tell my
(08:26):
veterans, and I just had thisconversation about 30 minutes
ago, this gentleman has 100%TDIU, and he is very frustrated
that his the government said hecouldn't, I mean, he was he's
disabled with the SocialSecurity system, says he isn't.
So what I try to explain to myveteran clients is I want you to
(08:48):
think about this like footballand baseball.
Different games.
Yeah, that you had to have aball in common, but beyond that,
not so much.
For veterans, they need tounderstand that in the VA
system, benefits are paid basedon ratings, based on body
systems.
Okay, we all went to highschool, we all took biology, we
learned about the cardiovascularsystem, the digestive system,
(09:10):
the pulmonary system, theorthopaedic system.
So, you know, VA uses ratingsand they'll look at the medical
records, and I'll talk about theVA records in a second.
But normally you have a CMP examwhere the doctor is doing the
physical examination consistentwith the rating, and then you
(09:31):
get rated, and your benefits arebased on the rating.
Not so in Social Security.
Social Security uses a five-stepsequential evaluation test.
And the first question isbasically, have you been out of
work for a year?
Do you have a medical conditionthat would keep you out of work
for a year?
Is that condition severe?
Do you meet what's called amedical listing?
(09:51):
Now, medical listings sound likeratings based on body systems,
but every listing has certainelements.
So, you having come from themedical field, we look at the
elements of the listing, we lookat the records, and we start
checking things off.
And more often than not, peopledon't meet a listing.
So it doesn't matter what yourrating is because you're not
(10:12):
going to meet a listing,different criteria.
Where Social Security case isdifferent also is at step four
and five.
At step four, the issue is canyou go back to the lightest job
you held in the five yearsbefore your claim has been
adjudicated?
Most of my veterans have justrecently left the military.
So the question is, can you goback to the role you had in the
(10:33):
military?
And obviously the answer to thatis heck no.
But everybody needs tounderstand it's step five where
these cases are decided.
And this is a crazy Kakamamitest.
And the test is is there otherwork in the mythical,
hypothetical, not real-worldnational economy that you
(10:53):
wouldn't want to do doesn't paya living wage in view of your
age, not a factor in VA, youreducation, not necessarily a
factor, the skills you'velearned, in other words, can you
take those skills to other workin view of whatever your
restrictions and limitationsare?
And that's in English means canyou do a dumb job like
(11:15):
surveillance system monitor,sort nuts and bolts, or address
envelopes?
But the problem that I have withmy VA clients in my social
security cases is that if you'veever read those VA records, you
know they don't say a whole lot.
Okay.
You go in and you complain.
That's part of the problem.
A lot of veterans are, you know,and I have to tell them the
(11:39):
story of my dad.
And I have to say, look, youneed to go in and tell them what
are your symptoms.
How do those symptoms impactyour ability to function?
Because if you walk in and sayyou're fine, social security is
going to say, well, why on earthis he applying for benefits?
SPEAKER_01 (11:54):
Right.
Veterans can be very stoic attimes.
SPEAKER_00 (11:56):
Oh God, you know, it's like I have to talk them
down out of that mindset.
But what's important here isthat we social security lawyers
use forms called residualfunctional capacity forms.
We I think we've developed about70 of them for 70 different
medical conditions.
(12:17):
Now, under the VA regs, the VAdoctors are supposed to fill out
these forms, but they don't.
And that's a huge problembecause those forms will address
how long can you sit, stand,walk, stoop, bend, how much can
you lift?
Do you need breaks?
Are you going to be off task?
Are you going to be absent froma psychological standpoint?
(12:37):
Do you have problems gettingalong with others?
Are you irritable?
Do you have problems withhypervigilance?
Do you have problems staying ontask?
You know, all sorts ofpsychological issues.
Now, the only way I can, with myVA clients, address that is to
say, look, maybe we need to haveyou treat outside of the VA for
(12:59):
a while and get these formsfilled out.
Maybe you can convince your VAdoctor to fill out the forms,
but it's going to be a hard,harder case because other than
the CNP exam or even the TDIU,there's not a lot of discussion
about what your functionalrestrictions and limitations
(13:19):
are.
So that leaves the CelsiusSecurity administration and the
judge to kind of figure it out,which doesn't always help the
benefit, the veteran.
SPEAKER_01 (13:29):
That's very complicated.
SPEAKER_00 (13:32):
Well, you know, VA is siloed, okay?
You know, every little medicalcondition is in their little
silo, which drives me nutsbecause nothing is moving along
at the same time, if you will.
Social Security, we can developall the different medical
conditions and it all movesalong.
Doesn't move necessarily anyfaster than VA.
(13:54):
And I will tell you that theclaims examiners at Social
Security and the VA, I thinkcame from the same mold, uh, if
you will.
I think one of the other thingsthat the veterans need to
understand is yeah, if you get100% rating, it does have some
applicability in a socialsecurity case.
It gets you fast-tracked to adenial, in my view.
(14:14):
So in the discussion I just hadwith the veteran, I said, look,
your records are awful.
I, you know, you're gettingpsych treatment outside of the
VA.
I want you to give a betterhistory of your symptoms and
functionality.
Here's the RFC form I want youto take to the doctor.
But we've got to talk aboutwhat's in those VA records or
(14:35):
what's not in those VA recordsabout your physical problems
because he was airborne.
Okay.
And I know he's got backproblems, hip problems, knee
problems.
The doctor or the VA is notgoing to fill out the forms that
would document how long he cansit, stand stoop, and wet and
bend.
Remember, I told you step five,those jobs they have in common
(14:57):
the requirement that you sit.
Okay.
And generally bilateral manualdexterity.
So we want something in thoserecords that document you can't
sit six out of eight hours.
You got to alternate sitting andstanding.
You have to, or because of yourknee or your back or whatever,
because of your shoulders.
You may have troublemanipulating things or holding
(15:19):
your arms out in front of you.
So it, you know, veterans willcome and say, Well, I got the
100%.
And I'll say, No, fast track todenial.
We've got to clean this all up.
We'll file the applicationbecause it's going to take at
least a year and a half to getin front of a claims examiner on
the first application.
So let's use this time wisely.
(15:40):
Drop that John Wayne and go inand tell them what your
complaints are and your and youryour symptoms and functionality.
Let's see if we can find a newdoctor.
Let's see if we can get someforms.
Because the the the the gamehere, if you will, is to
basically give them on a silverplatter what they need to say,
(16:00):
uh, either meets a listing,probably doesn't.
At four, he can't go back or shecan't go back to her past work.
And at five, they can't do theseother dumb jobs I just
identified.
So that's the game that needs tobe played, which is a different
game than the game you play whenyou're seeking VA benefit.
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SPEAKER_01 (17:46):
Another challenge that I've heard veterans talk
about when they're seekingsocial security benefits is that
there was some qualificationthat it had to do with when was
the last time that you collecteda paycheck into Social Security.
(18:06):
Can you explain that?
SPEAKER_00 (18:07):
Yeah, okay.
That's called date last insured.
And that's one of the firstquestions that we ask.
And normally for Social Securitypurposes, you become insured
when you've worked 20 out of thelast 40 quarters.
But when you stop working, youlose your insured status roughly
in about five years.
So I tell my veterans, applynow.
(18:29):
Don't wait.
Because if you wait until yourinsured status has ended, your
only option is to potentiallyfile an SSI claim, supplemental
security income, which isasset-based.
Now, some of my veterans who arehomeless are going to meet that
asset test, but a lot of themdon't because it's it's if
(18:51):
you're married, it's your assetsand your spouse's assets.
So we need to make sure that weare getting this application
filed as quickly as possible sothat we don't have a date last
insured.
Because if you're not insuredand you're not eligible for
SSSI, I'm going to use a legalterm.
You're screwed.
SPEAKER_01 (19:11):
About long-term and short-term disability.
Tell us when someone would beconsidered on long-term and
short-term disability, what kindof situations, and then what
type of benefits would theyapply for?
SPEAKER_00 (19:27):
Okay, so I'll I'll tell you the answer that
question in the form of a story.
I represented a female Marine uhcolonel who retired, and she had
some significant cognitiveissues as a result of her
service, as a result of a TBI.
(19:48):
And she went to work for adefense contractor in DC.
And that defense contractoroffered, as part of her employee
benefit package, short andlong-term disability benefits.
There is no uniform short orlong-term disability policy or
plan.
Everyone is different, and thedefinition of occupation and
disability is different.
(20:09):
And in this case, she began tohave very serious cognitive
issues that impacted her abilityto work basically as a
compliance officer.
She stopped work and she appliedfor her short and long-term
disability benefits.
The carrier paid her short-termdisability benefits.
But when it transitioned tolong-term disability, the
(20:31):
carrier said it's all in yourhead, and you don't meet the
definition of disability.
Well, of course, it was all inher head.
Okay.
And so we ultimately file aclaim.
But normally it'll pay apercentage of your income for a
(20:53):
specific period of time.
So it might be 60% of yourbefore monthly earnings, as that
term is defined in the policy,to mage age 65 or 67.
And you know, we we had amediation, and she came to that
mediation at my request in heruniform.
(21:15):
And I basically said, this womanhas honorably served her
country.
She was injured in the course ofserving her country.
It is in her head.
And here are the records thatsupport this particular claim.
(21:37):
And she has devoted her life andher country, her life to this
country.
She kept the promises made whenshe, you know, enlisted and in
the course of her militaryservice.
But you, the disability carrier,are not keeping the promise that
you made to her.
That's all I think.
(21:58):
And that's all I said.
And she was put back on claim.
SPEAKER_01 (22:02):
You are demonstrating the importance of
having an advocate because anordinary family member would not
know how to do this.
Can you tell us what role doesmedical evidence play in winning
any type of disability claim?
Crucial.
SPEAKER_00 (22:18):
Can't win without it.
It's as simple as that.
You know, people like you whounderstand the medical
understand that, first off, itis the history of the nature of
their medical condition, thesymptoms, nature, frequency,
duration, impact onfunctionality.
(22:39):
But just as important is thediagnosis.
There has to be an objectivebasis of the diagnosis.
So it doesn't matter if it's asocial security case, a VA case,
a shorter long-term dislikecase, the carrier they're going
to be looking for X-rays, MRIs,CT scans, whatever the objective
(22:59):
evidence is that's going toestablish the diagnosis.
So we want objective evidence ofthe diagnosis.
Number two, we want objectiveevidence of the restrictions and
limitations.
So you say you can't do it.
Well, who gives a rat ass if yousay you can't do it?
Again, that's military talk.
You know, it's it's what's whatobjectively about your physical
(23:22):
exam or your diagnostic studiesshow that you can't sit for 45
minutes.
Okay.
Or if you have MECFS orfibromyalgia, they're going to
want to see objective basis ofthe diagnosis, which can be
hard, but they're really lookingfor objective evidence of the
(23:45):
restrictions and limitations.
So they're going to be saying,have you had a CPET exam?
Have you had a functionalcapacity evaluation test?
So when I'm looking at a case,I'm always looking at the
records.
Are they strong?
Are they weak?
Where are they strong?
Where are they weak?
What do I need to do to developthis evidence?
Do I need to have my client seeanother doctor?
(24:07):
Do I need to go get anindependent medical exam?
Do I need to send them out forthese tests to prove the
diagnosis and the restrictionsand limitations?
But then the carrier is going tolook at consistency.
In other words, they're going tolook for that history of
symptoms and complaints.
So think of this as anafter-action report.
(24:30):
Okay.
That's what I tell my veterans.
Look, I want you to summarizewhat happened, like you have to
do symptoms, functionality.
And I want you to give thedetail that you would give if
you're doing an after-actionreport.
Okay?
Because this is what it is.
So they're looking forconsistency because if you say
(24:52):
that you have these problems,let's say that you say you're
fine, they're going to look atthe records and say, well, he
says he's fine, so why is hehere?
Okay.
They're looking to see, okay,he's got the or she's got these
levels of complaints, they'reconfirmed by objective studies
and diagnosis and restrictionsand limitations.
I get this whole picture.
(25:14):
Because, and this is trueregardless of whether it's via
medical treatment or not.
Medical records have to tell thestory.
Okay.
Most medical records will giveyou the medical jargon and crap.
You know, it's necessary, but itdoesn't tell the story of your
journey.
(25:37):
And that's where you need to,you know, not be the John Wayne,
but be the officer who's givingor the person who's giving the
after-action report.
That's the story in medicalrecords that will make a
difference.
SPEAKER_01 (25:53):
Before we cover the next topic in this episode, I
want to introduce you to theAdventure Sports Lifestyle with
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(26:14):
And it made me think of helpingyou to get ready for whatever
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(26:34):
homemade pumpkin cake.
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(26:55):
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(27:17):
your podcast.
I hope this inspires you to getoutside in a venture alone with
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Now, back to the show wherewe're talking with attorney
Nancy Kavey.
Often when we leave the militaryor even if you're out on some
form of short-term or long-termdisability from your work, if
you're not a veteran, but justordinary civilian employee,
(27:42):
often when you are recoveringfrom something like a traumatic
brain injury, like in my case,they will tell you to ask for
workplace accommodations and getthem in writing and negotiate
them into your contract.
And I've done all of thosethings.
And the employer is very happywith my work, except for one
thing.
I have too many medicalappointments.
(28:04):
And then the first thing they doto try to get you to quit
because they don't want you tofire you, even if you are doing
a stellar job and yourevaluations are exceptional.
The fact that you have to leavesometimes to go for appointments
because you have a number ofmedical challenges, that becomes
(28:27):
a problem.
And then they don't want tocontinue to give you the
workplace accommodations thatyou've negotiated.
And that can be one of the majorreasons for unemployability for
many veterans.
So that's one piece of it.
But the second piece of it iswhat can we do, especially when
(28:50):
you have a hidden, hiddendisability, a disability that
people cannot see.
They're less compassionate, theyoften don't believe you.
SPEAKER_00 (28:58):
There's no good answer to that.
That in part is an employmentlaw question, and I'm not an
employment lawyer, so I won't,you know, my comments to that
will be limited.
But to the extent to which youcan get the employer to
acknowledge accommodations, thatcertainly will be helpful.
And again, this is sort of acase-by-case answer.
(29:23):
If the client is having medicalproblems that will result in
them missing time from work andthey have a shorter long-term
disability claim, I'm sittingdown with them and saying, look,
we need to do some planning.
Is this really working?
Because in the world of shortand long term disability
(29:44):
benefits, there's the concept ofworking while disabled.
Okay.
But if you're working full timeand you're not losing wages and
they decide that they don't likethe color of your shirt today,
but that's really an excuse forterminating you, you will have
lost the employee.
Benefits that you have, theshort and the long-term
disability benefits.
So when I have a situation wheresomeone is having difficulty
(30:08):
with the employer, difficultywith appointments, perhaps a
progression of their symptoms,we're talking about maybe we
need to plan on filing adisability claim before they
terminate you.
Now, if you're not havingmedical problems and it's just
appointments, I don't have agood answer for you.
SPEAKER_01 (30:28):
That's that's a good enough answer for today.
So how can we navigate multiplebenefit systems at the same
time?
So VA, SSD, and LCD all at thesame time.
SPEAKER_00 (30:41):
Well, to be frank, it's very difficult to find a
lawyer who does all three ofthem.
Normally you're gonna find oneperson who does one thing and
they don't always talk to eachother.
And the elements of proof arecompletely different, and the
interaction are completelydifferent.
So, for example, in long-termdisability, there's an offset
(31:01):
generally for Social Securitybenefits.
So they'll reduce your benefitsby what you get and your
children are getting.
So I'm sitting down saying,okay, we've got three cases.
Okay, we've got the VA case,it's siloed.
Here you're at, here's whereyou're at, you know.
We're off doing that, okay.
(31:23):
Here's Social Security,five-step sequential evaluation
tests completely different thanthe VA, but here's the proof,
and here's the problems withyour VA records, and here's how
we have to go fix that.
By the way, here's your shortand long-term disability uh
policy or plan.
We gotta go get it.
Why?
Well, there's an offsetgenerally for social security
(31:45):
benefits, and depending on whatcircuit you're in, there's an
offset for your VA benefits.
That stinks, but you gottaunderstand that.
And that standard of disabilityis different than VA, that's
different than social security.
So, literally, if you will, I'msiloing each one of these cases,
saying, Today we're talkingabout this one, here's what we
(32:05):
gotta do.
Tomorrow we're gonna talk aboutthis one, and here's what we're
gonna do.
Next day we're gonna talk aboutthis one, and here's what we're
gonna do, and here's theinteraction between all those.
SPEAKER_01 (32:16):
So, if you were going to sum up maybe three tips
for someone who's just gettingstarted with their claim of any
sort, what would you tell themto do?
SPEAKER_00 (32:26):
Get a lawyer.
Number one.
You cannot.
I mean, I know you think you cando this, and some of you may
have done it, but you really atthe end of the day are learning
the hard way, and that's notwhat you learned in the
military.
That's not how you were taughtto do things.
(32:46):
So, one, get a lawyer.
Number two, I think if you havemultiple claims, you need to
understand the elements ofproof.
Okay.
What do I have to prove in thiscase?
What do I have to prove in thiscase?
What do I have to prove in thethird case?
Is there a conflict?
If there is, how are we going towork this out?
(33:09):
Number three, the medicalhistory, symptoms and
functionality.
I feel like I should give myclients a t-shirt that says
symptoms on the front,functionality on the back,
because that's what I harp on.
Your medical records have totell the story of your of your
journey, of your case, of yoursymptoms, of your functionality,
(33:31):
how it impacts your ability towork.
So those are my three tips.
SPEAKER_01 (33:34):
The last question that I have for you today is
what more do you want to leavelisteners with?
SPEAKER_00 (33:42):
Um I think that they need to understand that not
everyone appreciates the natureof their problems, particularly
if it's an invisible condition.
So I represent a lot of peoplewho have um invisible
(34:03):
conditions, primarilyfibromyalgia, MECFS.
Um, I have a lot of clientswhose conditions are not
necessarily diagnosed.
And so people will not reallyappreciate the fact that you
have a disability because youdon't look like you are
disabled.
(34:24):
And to that I say, I don'treally care what they think, and
you shouldn't care what theythink.
The only people that should careare you, your family, and
ultimately, if we're in front ofa judge, the judge.
Everybody else is irrelevant.
Okay.
You need to focus on what youneed to focus on and let all of
the distraction fall away.
SPEAKER_01 (34:45):
Thank you so much, Attorney Kavey.
This has been so insightful, andI really believe you're going to
help a lot of people uh get tothe right person to help them
with their biggest disabilityclaim challenges.
SPEAKER_00 (34:59):
Well, thank you, and thank you for what you do,
because it's not very often thatwe find an advocate of with your
expertise and your passion also.
So thank you.
SPEAKER_01 (35:08):
Thank you so much for being here today.
Until next time, friends, I'mAntoinette Lee, your wellness
warrior here at the New NormalBig Life Podcast.
I hope one day to see you on theriver, in the backcountry, or in
the horse barn living your bestlife.
Struggling with health problemsor seeking natural health
solutions, don't miss our latestpodcast episodes, exclusive blog
(35:30):
posts, and free ebooks packedwith life-changing wellness
tips.
Join our newsletter at nnbl.blogto unpack this content and start
living your biggest life today.
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SPEAKER_00 (00:04):
You know, people like you who understand the
medical um understand that firstoff, um it is the history of the
nature of their medicalcondition, the symptoms, nature,
frequency, duration, impact onfunctionality.
But just as important is thediagnosis.
(00:26):
There has to be an objectivebasis of the diagnosis.
So it doesn't matter if it's asocial security case, a VA case,
a short or long-term disordercase, the carrier, they're going
to be looking for X-rays, MRIs,CT scans, um, whatever the
objective evidence is that'sgoing to establish the
diagnosis.
(00:47):
So we want objective evidence ofthe diagnosis.
Number two, we want objectiveevidence of the restrictions and
limitations.
SPEAKER_01 (00:54):
Imagine working hard for years, paying into an
insurance plan and socialsecurity, or maybe you sacrifice
your youth, health, and incomeearning potential to do what 93%
of Americans have never done.
Serve your country in themilitary.
As a dedicated employee, aperson with a long-term or
(01:15):
short-term disability, a sick orinjured veteran, you apply for
the health benefits you werepromised, only to be denied.
Today's guest, our new normalbig life, is disability law
expert, attorney Nancy Kavey.
Attorney Kavey will unpack howto cut through the red tape to
get the benefits you need anddeserve.
(01:36):
Hi, friends, welcome to the NewNormal Big Life podcast.
We bring you natural news andstories about nature that we
hope will inspire you to getoutside in adventure, along with
a step-by-step plan to help youpractice what you've learned and
create your own new normal andlive the biggest life you can
dream.
I'm your host, Anthony Lee, theWellness Warrior.
Today I'm joined by Nancy Cavey.
(01:57):
She spent her career workingtirelessly on behalf of
Floridians who haven't receivedfair treatment or promised
benefits.
In August of 2004, her legalpeers selected her to serve as
chair of the workers'compensation section of the
Florida Bar.
She's a member of the NationalOrganization of Social Security
(02:20):
claims representatives, theAmerican Association for
Justice, and the EmployeeBenefits Section of the American
Bar Association, and theNational Employment Lawyers
Association, and the FloridaBar.
Her firm, the Law Office ofNancy L.
Kavey, has extensive experiencein helping individuals with
(02:41):
disability claims and has helpedclients with medical conditions
such as heart disease,hypertension, chronic fatigue
syndrome, fibromyalgia, spinalinjuries, post-traumatic stress,
traumatic brain injury, andmore.
Today, she's going to help youunderstand how to improve your
chances of getting the benefitsyou need.
(03:01):
Attorney Nancy Kavey unpacks thelabyrinth of disability advocacy
from decoding short-term versuslong-term insurance traps to
leveraging VA law forservice-connected health
challenges.
KV reveals how ironclad medicalevidence turns no into yes.
(03:22):
Let's meet our guest, AttorneyNancy Kavey.
Attorney Kavey, welcome to NewNormal Big Life.
Thanks for having me.
I look forward to speaking withyou.
I'm excited about this topic.
As you know, I'm a veteran, butyou may not know that I'm one of
the moderators of a veteransupporting veterans group on X
called Veterans United.
(03:42):
And this topic comes up sooften, where you have veterans
from every era just about, fromVietnam to Iraqi freedom.
We don't so much hear of anyother era generations on social
media.
But they're all complaining thatthey're still experiencing
delays with getting theirbenefits.
(04:04):
Although I think uh DouglasCollins, the new Secretary of
the Veterans Affairs, is doing apretty good job and he's making
progress.
There's still so many obstaclesto veterans seeking the benefits
they need and deserve.
So I'm very excited to have thisconversation.
So let's level the field withour discussion today and talk
(04:26):
about your father's battle withleukemia and uh what your family
went through and your path tobecoming a disability advocate.
SPEAKER_00 (04:33):
Well, my father was a naval aviator during World War
II and he fought off a Guam.
And when he came back from thewar, he uh attended Johns
Hopkins under the GI Bill,joined the family insurance
business in Baltimore, Maryland,got married, had kids, and when
I was in junior high school, hewas diagnosed with leukemia.
(04:55):
So I watched him make thatdifficult decision until the day
I graduated from high school totry to live with the leukemia
and work with the leukemiabecause he was a John Wayne kind
of guy.
And he finally realized that hehad to put his health first.
And when he did that, he leftthe family business.
(05:15):
We moved to Florida.
He became a patient at Chann's.
And unfortunately, he died threeyears after we moved.
I graduated from college sixweeks after he died.
So I accelerated my college sothat I could hopefully he could
live to see me graduate.
That didn't happen.
But he knew I was going to lawschool to represent people who
(05:38):
had disabilities, and he appliedfor his Social Security
disability, and he had anindividual disability insurance
uh policy.
And so he applied for that.
So I watched him, you know, aproud man who who who fought in
a very difficult circumstancesand you know ultimately had to
(06:01):
stop work and apply forbenefits.
And that was a change in hisidentity, and certainly it
changed our family dynamic tohave the breadwinner become
disabled.
And so that, you know, hisjourney and my experience with
that journey is what inspired meto represent people in Social
Security disability claims,ERISA disability claims.
And we do do VA work, but that'snot uh the primary focus of our
(06:24):
of our work.
SPEAKER_01 (06:25):
Well, I'm so sorry to hear that your family had to
go through this tragedy.
And I know how it is when youlose your father, it's a it's a
big deal for myself included.
My father was also a veteran.
Can you tell us what kinds ofpeople come to you for help?
What kinds of problems are theyhaving?
(06:45):
What types of insurance are theyhaving trouble getting benefits
from in terms of long-term andshort-term?
And then also what types ofproblems are people having with
applying for social securitybenefits and also VA benefits?
SPEAKER_00 (07:01):
So that's a broad perspective.
You know, we see people who havesignificant medical conditions
that range from congenitalconditions to degenerative
conditions, conditions caused byinjuries or you know, conditions
that certainly just develop as aresult of the aging process.
(07:22):
So we'll see, particularly in myveterans population, normally
what I see are people who havebeen airborne, if you will.
And so we we've got a lot ofknee injuries, a lot of shoulder
injuries, a lot of backinjuries.
I see a fair number of casesthat will also involve exposures
(07:45):
to different substances, whichresult in a myriad of different
types of medical conditions fromrheumatological to immunological
to you know, even conditionsinvolving the pulmonary system.
So we see the whole range, ifyou will, of those conditions.
(08:06):
And then, of course, most of theveterans I represent also have
psychological issues, be itpost-traumatic stress disorder,
depression, anxiety.
So I see this kind of the wholegambit, if you will, when it is
when we're with our veteranspopulation.
In terms of applying for SocialSecurity benefits, I tell my
(08:26):
veterans, and I just had thisconversation about 30 minutes
ago, this gentleman has 100%TDIU, and he is very frustrated
that his the government said hecouldn't, I mean, he was he's
disabled with the SocialSecurity system, says he isn't.
So what I try to explain to myveteran clients is I want you to
(08:48):
think about this like footballand baseball.
Different games.
Yeah, that you had to have aball in common, but beyond that,
not so much.
For veterans, they need tounderstand that in the VA
system, benefits are paid basedon ratings, based on body
systems.
Okay, we all went to highschool, we all took biology, we
learned about the cardiovascularsystem, the digestive system,
(09:10):
the pulmonary system, theorthopaedic system.
So, you know, VA uses ratingsand they'll look at the medical
records, and I'll talk about theVA records in a second.
But normally you have a CMP examwhere the doctor is doing the
physical examination consistentwith the rating, and then you
(09:31):
get rated, and your benefits arebased on the rating.
Not so in Social Security.
Social Security uses a five-stepsequential evaluation test.
And the first question isbasically, have you been out of
work for a year?
Do you have a medical conditionthat would keep you out of work
for a year?
Is that condition severe?
Do you meet what's called amedical listing?
(09:51):
Now, medical listings sound likeratings based on body systems,
but every listing has certainelements.
So, you having come from themedical field, we look at the
elements of the listing, we lookat the records, and we start
checking things off.
And more often than not, peopledon't meet a listing.
So it doesn't matter what yourrating is because you're not
(10:12):
going to meet a listing,different criteria.
Where Social Security case isdifferent also is at step four
and five.
At step four, the issue is canyou go back to the lightest job
you held in the five yearsbefore your claim has been
adjudicated?
Most of my veterans have justrecently left the military.
So the question is, can you goback to the role you had in the
(10:33):
military?
And obviously the answer to thatis heck no.
But everybody needs tounderstand it's step five where
these cases are decided.
And this is a crazy Kakamamitest.
And the test is is there otherwork in the mythical,
hypothetical, not real-worldnational economy that you
(10:53):
wouldn't want to do doesn't paya living wage in view of your
age, not a factor in VA, youreducation, not necessarily a
factor, the skills you'velearned, in other words, can you
take those skills to other workin view of whatever your
restrictions and limitationsare?
And that's in English means canyou do a dumb job like
(11:15):
surveillance system monitor,sort nuts and bolts, or address
envelopes?
But the problem that I have withmy VA clients in my social
security cases is that if you'veever read those VA records, you
know they don't say a whole lot.
Okay.
You go in and you complain.
That's part of the problem.
A lot of veterans are, you know,and I have to tell them the
(11:39):
story of my dad.
And I have to say, look, youneed to go in and tell them what
are your symptoms.
How do those symptoms impactyour ability to function?
Because if you walk in and sayyou're fine, social security is
going to say, well, why on earthis he applying for benefits?
SPEAKER_01 (11:54):
Right.
Veterans can be very stoic attimes.
SPEAKER_00 (11:56):
Oh God, you know, it's like I have to talk them
down out of that mindset.
But what's important here isthat we social security lawyers
use forms called residualfunctional capacity forms.
We I think we've developed about70 of them for 70 different
medical conditions.
(12:17):
Now, under the VA regs, the VAdoctors are supposed to fill out
these forms, but they don't.
And that's a huge problembecause those forms will address
how long can you sit, stand,walk, stoop, bend, how much can
you lift?
Do you need breaks?
Are you going to be off task?
Are you going to be absent froma psychological standpoint?
(12:37):
Do you have problems gettingalong with others?
Are you irritable?
Do you have problems withhypervigilance?
Do you have problems staying ontask?
You know, all sorts ofpsychological issues.
Now, the only way I can, with myVA clients, address that is to
say, look, maybe we need to haveyou treat outside of the VA for
(12:59):
a while and get these formsfilled out.
Maybe you can convince your VAdoctor to fill out the forms,
but it's going to be a hard,harder case because other than
the CNP exam or even the TDIU,there's not a lot of discussion
about what your functionalrestrictions and limitations
(13:19):
are.
So that leaves the CelsiusSecurity administration and the
judge to kind of figure it out,which doesn't always help the
benefit, the veteran.
SPEAKER_01 (13:29):
That's very complicated.
SPEAKER_00 (13:32):
Well, you know, VA is siloed, okay?
You know, every little medicalcondition is in their little
silo, which drives me nutsbecause nothing is moving along
at the same time, if you will.
Social Security, we can developall the different medical
conditions and it all movesalong.
Doesn't move necessarily anyfaster than VA.
(13:54):
And I will tell you that theclaims examiners at Social
Security and the VA, I thinkcame from the same mold, uh, if
you will.
I think one of the other thingsthat the veterans need to
understand is yeah, if you get100% rating, it does have some
applicability in a socialsecurity case.
It gets you fast-tracked to adenial, in my view.
(14:14):
So in the discussion I just hadwith the veteran, I said, look,
your records are awful.
I, you know, you're gettingpsych treatment outside of the
VA.
I want you to give a betterhistory of your symptoms and
functionality.
Here's the RFC form I want youto take to the doctor.
But we've got to talk aboutwhat's in those VA records or
(14:35):
what's not in those VA recordsabout your physical problems
because he was airborne.
Okay.
And I know he's got backproblems, hip problems, knee
problems.
The doctor or the VA is notgoing to fill out the forms that
would document how long he cansit, stand stoop, and wet and
bend.
Remember, I told you step five,those jobs they have in common
(14:57):
the requirement that you sit.
Okay.
And generally bilateral manualdexterity.
So we want something in thoserecords that document you can't
sit six out of eight hours.
You got to alternate sitting andstanding.
You have to, or because of yourknee or your back or whatever,
because of your shoulders.
You may have troublemanipulating things or holding
(15:19):
your arms out in front of you.
So it, you know, veterans willcome and say, Well, I got the
100%.
And I'll say, No, fast track todenial.
We've got to clean this all up.
We'll file the applicationbecause it's going to take at
least a year and a half to getin front of a claims examiner on
the first application.
So let's use this time wisely.
(15:40):
Drop that John Wayne and go inand tell them what your
complaints are and your and youryour symptoms and functionality.
Let's see if we can find a newdoctor.
Let's see if we can get someforms.
Because the the the the gamehere, if you will, is to
basically give them on a silverplatter what they need to say,
(16:00):
uh, either meets a listing,probably doesn't.
At four, he can't go back or shecan't go back to her past work.
And at five, they can't do theseother dumb jobs I just
identified.
So that's the game that needs tobe played, which is a different
game than the game you play whenyou're seeking VA benefit.
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SPEAKER_01 (17:46):
Another challenge that I've heard veterans talk
about when they're seekingsocial security benefits is that
there was some qualificationthat it had to do with when was
the last time that you collecteda paycheck into Social Security.
(18:06):
Can you explain that?
SPEAKER_00 (18:07):
Yeah, okay.
That's called date last insured.
And that's one of the firstquestions that we ask.
And normally for Social Securitypurposes, you become insured
when you've worked 20 out of thelast 40 quarters.
But when you stop working, youlose your insured status roughly
in about five years.
So I tell my veterans, applynow.
(18:29):
Don't wait.
Because if you wait until yourinsured status has ended, your
only option is to potentiallyfile an SSI claim, supplemental
security income, which isasset-based.
Now, some of my veterans who arehomeless are going to meet that
asset test, but a lot of themdon't because it's it's if
(18:51):
you're married, it's your assetsand your spouse's assets.
So we need to make sure that weare getting this application
filed as quickly as possible sothat we don't have a date last
insured.
Because if you're not insuredand you're not eligible for
SSSI, I'm going to use a legalterm.
You're screwed.
SPEAKER_01 (19:11):
About long-term and short-term disability.
Tell us when someone would beconsidered on long-term and
short-term disability, what kindof situations, and then what
type of benefits would theyapply for?
SPEAKER_00 (19:27):
Okay, so I'll I'll tell you the answer that
question in the form of a story.
I represented a female Marine uhcolonel who retired, and she had
some significant cognitiveissues as a result of her
service, as a result of a TBI.
(19:48):
And she went to work for adefense contractor in DC.
And that defense contractoroffered, as part of her employee
benefit package, short andlong-term disability benefits.
There is no uniform short orlong-term disability policy or
plan.
Everyone is different, and thedefinition of occupation and
disability is different.
(20:09):
And in this case, she began tohave very serious cognitive
issues that impacted her abilityto work basically as a
compliance officer.
She stopped work and she appliedfor her short and long-term
disability benefits.
The carrier paid her short-termdisability benefits.
But when it transitioned tolong-term disability, the
(20:31):
carrier said it's all in yourhead, and you don't meet the
definition of disability.
Well, of course, it was all inher head.
Okay.
And so we ultimately file aclaim.
But normally it'll pay apercentage of your income for a
(20:53):
specific period of time.
So it might be 60% of yourbefore monthly earnings, as that
term is defined in the policy,to mage age 65 or 67.
And you know, we we had amediation, and she came to that
mediation at my request in heruniform.
(21:15):
And I basically said, this womanhas honorably served her
country.
She was injured in the course ofserving her country.
It is in her head.
And here are the records thatsupport this particular claim.
(21:37):
And she has devoted her life andher country, her life to this
country.
She kept the promises made whenshe, you know, enlisted and in
the course of her militaryservice.
But you, the disability carrier,are not keeping the promise that
you made to her.
That's all I think.
(21:58):
And that's all I said.
And she was put back on claim.
SPEAKER_01 (22:02):
You are demonstrating the importance of
having an advocate because anordinary family member would not
know how to do this.
Can you tell us what role doesmedical evidence play in winning
any type of disability claim?
Crucial.
SPEAKER_00 (22:18):
Can't win without it.
It's as simple as that.
You know, people like you whounderstand the medical
understand that, first off, itis the history of the nature of
their medical condition, thesymptoms, nature, frequency,
duration, impact onfunctionality.
(22:39):
But just as important is thediagnosis.
There has to be an objectivebasis of the diagnosis.
So it doesn't matter if it's asocial security case, a VA case,
a shorter long-term dislikecase, the carrier they're going
to be looking for X-rays, MRIs,CT scans, whatever the objective
(22:59):
evidence is that's going toestablish the diagnosis.
So we want objective evidence ofthe diagnosis.
Number two, we want objectiveevidence of the restrictions and
limitations.
So you say you can't do it.
Well, who gives a rat ass if yousay you can't do it?
Again, that's military talk.
You know, it's it's what's whatobjectively about your physical
(23:22):
exam or your diagnostic studiesshow that you can't sit for 45
minutes.
Okay.
Or if you have MECFS orfibromyalgia, they're going to
want to see objective basis ofthe diagnosis, which can be
hard, but they're really lookingfor objective evidence of the
(23:45):
restrictions and limitations.
So they're going to be saying,have you had a CPET exam?
Have you had a functionalcapacity evaluation test?
So when I'm looking at a case,I'm always looking at the
records.
Are they strong?
Are they weak?
Where are they strong?
Where are they weak?
What do I need to do to developthis evidence?
Do I need to have my client seeanother doctor?
(24:07):
Do I need to go get anindependent medical exam?
Do I need to send them out forthese tests to prove the
diagnosis and the restrictionsand limitations?
But then the carrier is going tolook at consistency.
In other words, they're going tolook for that history of
symptoms and complaints.
So think of this as anafter-action report.
(24:30):
Okay.
That's what I tell my veterans.
Look, I want you to summarizewhat happened, like you have to
do symptoms, functionality.
And I want you to give thedetail that you would give if
you're doing an after-actionreport.
Okay?
Because this is what it is.
So they're looking forconsistency because if you say
(24:52):
that you have these problems,let's say that you say you're
fine, they're going to look atthe records and say, well, he
says he's fine, so why is hehere?
Okay.
They're looking to see, okay,he's got the or she's got these
levels of complaints, they'reconfirmed by objective studies
and diagnosis and restrictionsand limitations.
I get this whole picture.
(25:14):
Because, and this is trueregardless of whether it's via
medical treatment or not.
Medical records have to tell thestory.
Okay.
Most medical records will giveyou the medical jargon and crap.
You know, it's necessary, but itdoesn't tell the story of your
journey.
(25:37):
And that's where you need to,you know, not be the John Wayne,
but be the officer who's givingor the person who's giving the
after-action report.
That's the story in medicalrecords that will make a
difference.
SPEAKER_01 (25:53):
Before we cover the next topic in this episode, I
want to introduce you to theAdventure Sports Lifestyle with
what I call a micro story aboutan adventure that I've had.
The Adventure Sports Lifestyleand my deep connection to nature
is essential to my good health.
So here's the story.
September was disasterpreparedness month.
(26:14):
And it made me think of helpingyou to get ready for whatever
disasters might come into yourlife in the future.
So let's plan for life'scurveballs.
Survival isn't just aboutsupplies, it's about neighbors
you can count on.
My neighbor just hiked to myhouse and delivered warm
(26:34):
homemade pumpkin cake.
She left with our vine ripenedtomatoes for her Capre salad.
That exchange built trust, abond for emergencies.
Being neighborly is a lifeskill.
It's coffee and barbecues, toolslit freely, or a check-in during
a blackout.
(26:55):
These acts weave friendshipsthat become your lifeline when
disaster strikes.
Who will watch your pets?
Who will share a generator withyou, your neighbors?
This year, listen to 18 Topicsfor Survival and our upcoming
series on preparedness, a newnormal big life wherever you get
(27:17):
your podcast.
I hope this inspires you to getoutside in a venture alone with
friends or the people you lovemost.
Now, back to the show wherewe're talking with attorney
Nancy Kavey.
Often when we leave the militaryor even if you're out on some
form of short-term or long-termdisability from your work, if
you're not a veteran, but justordinary civilian employee,
(27:42):
often when you are recoveringfrom something like a traumatic
brain injury, like in my case,they will tell you to ask for
workplace accommodations and getthem in writing and negotiate
them into your contract.
And I've done all of thosethings.
And the employer is very happywith my work, except for one
thing.
I have too many medicalappointments.
(28:04):
And then the first thing they doto try to get you to quit
because they don't want you tofire you, even if you are doing
a stellar job and yourevaluations are exceptional.
The fact that you have to leavesometimes to go for appointments
because you have a number ofmedical challenges, that becomes
(28:27):
a problem.
And then they don't want tocontinue to give you the
workplace accommodations thatyou've negotiated.
And that can be one of the majorreasons for unemployability for
many veterans.
So that's one piece of it.
But the second piece of it iswhat can we do, especially when
(28:50):
you have a hidden, hiddendisability, a disability that
people cannot see.
They're less compassionate, theyoften don't believe you.
SPEAKER_00 (28:58):
There's no good answer to that.
That in part is an employmentlaw question, and I'm not an
employment lawyer, so I won't,you know, my comments to that
will be limited.
But to the extent to which youcan get the employer to
acknowledge accommodations, thatcertainly will be helpful.
And again, this is sort of acase-by-case answer.
(29:23):
If the client is having medicalproblems that will result in
them missing time from work andthey have a shorter long-term
disability claim, I'm sittingdown with them and saying, look,
we need to do some planning.
Is this really working?
Because in the world of shortand long term disability
(29:44):
benefits, there's the concept ofworking while disabled.
Okay.
But if you're working full timeand you're not losing wages and
they decide that they don't likethe color of your shirt today,
but that's really an excuse forterminating you, you will have
lost the employee.
Benefits that you have, theshort and the long-term
disability benefits.
So when I have a situation wheresomeone is having difficulty
(30:08):
with the employer, difficultywith appointments, perhaps a
progression of their symptoms,we're talking about maybe we
need to plan on filing adisability claim before they
terminate you.
Now, if you're not havingmedical problems and it's just
appointments, I don't have agood answer for you.
SPEAKER_01 (30:28):
That's that's a good enough answer for today.
So how can we navigate multiplebenefit systems at the same
time?
So VA, SSD, and LCD all at thesame time.
SPEAKER_00 (30:41):
Well, to be frank, it's very difficult to find a
lawyer who does all three ofthem.
Normally you're gonna find oneperson who does one thing and
they don't always talk to eachother.
And the elements of proof arecompletely different, and the
interaction are completelydifferent.
So, for example, in long-termdisability, there's an offset
(31:01):
generally for Social Securitybenefits.
So they'll reduce your benefitsby what you get and your
children are getting.
So I'm sitting down saying,okay, we've got three cases.
Okay, we've got the VA case,it's siloed.
Here you're at, here's whereyou're at, you know.
We're off doing that, okay.
(31:23):
Here's Social Security,five-step sequential evaluation
tests completely different thanthe VA, but here's the proof,
and here's the problems withyour VA records, and here's how
we have to go fix that.
By the way, here's your shortand long-term disability uh
policy or plan.
We gotta go get it.
Why?
Well, there's an offsetgenerally for social security
(31:45):
benefits, and depending on whatcircuit you're in, there's an
offset for your VA benefits.
That stinks, but you gottaunderstand that.
And that standard of disabilityis different than VA, that's
different than social security.
So, literally, if you will, I'msiloing each one of these cases,
saying, Today we're talkingabout this one, here's what we
(32:05):
gotta do.
Tomorrow we're gonna talk aboutthis one, and here's what we're
gonna do.
Next day we're gonna talk aboutthis one, and here's what we're
gonna do, and here's theinteraction between all those.
SPEAKER_01 (32:16):
So, if you were going to sum up maybe three tips
for someone who's just gettingstarted with their claim of any
sort, what would you tell themto do?
SPEAKER_00 (32:26):
Get a lawyer.
Number one.
You cannot.
I mean, I know you think you cando this, and some of you may
have done it, but you really atthe end of the day are learning
the hard way, and that's notwhat you learned in the
military.
That's not how you were taughtto do things.
(32:46):
So, one, get a lawyer.
Number two, I think if you havemultiple claims, you need to
understand the elements ofproof.
Okay.
What do I have to prove in thiscase?
What do I have to prove in thiscase?
What do I have to prove in thethird case?
Is there a conflict?
If there is, how are we going towork this out?
(33:09):
Number three, the medicalhistory, symptoms and
functionality.
I feel like I should give myclients a t-shirt that says
symptoms on the front,functionality on the back,
because that's what I harp on.
Your medical records have totell the story of your of your
journey, of your case, of yoursymptoms, of your functionality,
(33:31):
how it impacts your ability towork.
So those are my three tips.
SPEAKER_01 (33:34):
The last question that I have for you today is
what more do you want to leavelisteners with?
SPEAKER_00 (33:42):
Um I think that they need to understand that not
everyone appreciates the natureof their problems, particularly
if it's an invisible condition.
So I represent a lot of peoplewho have um invisible
(34:03):
conditions, primarilyfibromyalgia, MECFS.
Um, I have a lot of clientswhose conditions are not
necessarily diagnosed.
And so people will not reallyappreciate the fact that you
have a disability because youdon't look like you are
disabled.
(34:24):
And to that I say, I don'treally care what they think, and
you shouldn't care what theythink.
The only people that should careare you, your family, and
ultimately, if we're in front ofa judge, the judge.
Everybody else is irrelevant.
Okay.
You need to focus on what youneed to focus on and let all of
the distraction fall away.
SPEAKER_01 (34:45):
Thank you so much, Attorney Kavey.
This has been so insightful, andI really believe you're going to
help a lot of people uh get tothe right person to help them
with their biggest disabilityclaim challenges.
SPEAKER_00 (34:59):
Well, thank you, and thank you for what you do,
because it's not very often thatwe find an advocate of with your
expertise and your passion also.
So thank you.
SPEAKER_01 (35:08):
Thank you so much for being here today.
Until next time, friends, I'mAntoinette Lee, your wellness
warrior here at the New NormalBig Life Podcast.
I hope one day to see you on theriver, in the backcountry, or in
the horse barn living your bestlife.
Struggling with health problemsor seeking natural health
solutions, don't miss our latestpodcast episodes, exclusive blog
(35:30):
posts, and free ebooks packedwith life-changing wellness
tips.
Join our newsletter at nnbl.blogto unpack this content and start
living your biggest life today.
SPEAKER_02 (35:43):
Magnesium, an unsung hero, fuels over 300 bodily
reactions from heart health tostress relief.
Magnesium expert Natalie Girato,founder of Rooted In, found
freedom from anxiety, insomnia,and pain through topical
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It transformed my life, shesays, inspiring her mission to
share this mineral's power.
(36:06):
Cardiologist Dr.
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helping regulate rhythms, bloodsugar, and reduce inflammation.
Up to 80% of people may bedeficient facing issues like
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For women over 40, magnesiumeases menopause symptoms, boosts
(36:26):
energy, and supports bones.
Choosing the correct type ofmagnesium matters.
Real stories, Natalie's in mind,highlight its impact.
After interviewing magnesiumexpert Natalie Girato, I became
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(36:47):
Natalie explains it best in theMagnesium the Mineral
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in Alternative Health on ApplePodcasts.
Listen wherever you get yourpodcasts.
Fast forward after theinterview, I bought the Rooted
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As a spine injury survivor withseveral other health challenges,
I'm in constant pain.
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You can find magnesium innatural bodies of water like
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