Matt Fendon Law Group Legal Blog

What does an Arizona injured worker have to fulfill to meet the “good-faith effort” requirements? Meet with an experienced attorney to understand what is required of you while on light-duty status. An employee is required to look for work when he or she is on a light-duty status and has an open Arizona workers’ compensation…

Having worked in the workers’ compensation industry since 2001, it is safe to say that Attorney Matt Fendon knows a thing or two about delivering high-quality legal representation. It is because of this that he was recently named a 2015 Rising Star℠ by Super Lawyers®. This honor is indicative of all that Matt has accomplished over the…

In Arizona, Social Security Disability is typically reduced by the extent that the claimant’s disability benefits and workers’ compensation benefits exceed 80% of the average current earnings. Social Security has its own system of determining “average current earnings.” Social Security defines that to mean the largest of “the average monthly wage used for purpose of…

In a typical Arizona Social Security hearing, an administrative law judge (ALJ) will have a vocational expert present in the hearing room. It is required that the ALJ provide the Social Security claimant with written notice that a vocational expert will be present. A vocational expert is a professional witness whose job is to analyze…

Recently, the legislature in Tennessee considered allowing large employers to “opt- out” of the state workers’ compensation system. Opting out means essentially that larger employers like Wal‑Mart, for example, can essentially set up their own workers’ compensation systems that are outside the state system. This gives larger employers cost savings, but it also short changes…

The answer to this question is “yes”. Based on a case from 1990 called Burton v. Industrial Commission, Arizona injured workers can tape record Independent Medical Examiners. Arizona injured workers are required from time to time to be examined by Independent Medical Examiners, which are typically doctors hand-chosen by insurance carriers to assess the injured worker’s…

Discovery is the initial part of the legal process in an Arizona workers’ compensation case. Initially, a request for hearing will be filed by either the injured worker or the insurance carrier. Once that happens, deadlines will go into effect and the parties will serve interrogatories on one another. Interrogatories are questions that one party…

To be found disabled, a person must have a severe physical and mental impairment, and that must preclude them from not being able to do their previous work, and it must preclude them from engaging in any other kind of gainful work which is available in the national economy. In analyzing this situation, judges at…

When an Arizona injured worker attorney requests a hearing at the Industrial Commission of Arizona, within 2 to 3 months a hearing is usually set. An Administrative Law Judge is assigned to the file and the hearing is scheduled. The first hearing is usually for the testimony of only the injured worker. Sometimes nonmedical witnesses…

If you are like the majority of the people who have applied for Social Security Disability (SSDI) in Arizona, you were denied at least twice and are on your way to a hearing in front of an administrative law judge (ALJ). There is essentially a five step process in the hearing to decipher whether the…