Talk about massaging the data: Social Security Disability claims swelling in recession. Another unspported speculation that disability claims are increasing because people are using Social Security as a fallback when their unemployment ends.

Let me tell you why this is bunkum. I have been doing Social Security Disability and SSI work for almost 20 years. Never have I found it easy or routine to get disability approved. It is a multi-step, time-consuming process. The system is somewhat weighted against younger people -- i.e., in their prime working years -- which makes it even harder to get approved. Based on our experience, it is just completely fallacious to think that people can easily or routinely jump right into Social Security Disability if they're otherwise unemployed. It just doesn't work that way.

What makes me so sure? Just the time factor alone. Let's say you lost your job, and your unemployment is set to run out next month. It's not like you can just submit an application, be approved , and be in line for Social Security payments within a month or two. I just finished up a Social Security claim; it lasted five years. And my client was denied benefits.

Here's the other inconsistency about this trash talk. If you are on unemployment, you must certify that you are ready, willing and able to work. To apply for Social Security Disability, you must certify that you are unable to work. The two conditions, of course, are mutually exclusive.

To get Social Security Disability in Knoxville or anywhere else for that matter, you must actually have a disabling condition. I just do not believe that the Social Security administrative law judges would overlook that little detail to give charity to undeserving disability claimants. People who want to destroy the Social Security system can manipulate statistics all they want; we see what's happening on the ground, client by client, and year by year.

This type of editorial strikes me as more propaganda by those who have, aiming to -- again -- stick it to those who those who have not. Do not be fooled into believing that we need to make it harder to get what is already very difficult to obtain. If we let that happen, then we go from merely very difficult to essentially impossible (to get disability benefits). And believe me: it won't be USA Today's editors, or all these financially comfortable pundits who end up suffering when regular people find that one more government program that actually does some good has been ripped to shreds.

Cops: Dad was DUI when he came to pick son up for DUI. Like father, like son?

Big Boobs Blamed for Bad DUI Test Performance. Well, it has the virtue of being a creative argument, I suppose.

RIP Andrew Gold. I knew Andrew a little, and admired him enormously. He was an early online guy through AOL, sporting the username of "Q Brain." I had a brief email correspondence with him, and he was very kind to give some recording and equipment advice to a rank amateur [me]. I got to meet him a couple of times, when his band Bryndle playing in Knoxville in 1995 and in Nashville in 1996. He was funny, smart, and one hell of a musician.

I literally was stunned to learn -- by accident -- that he died last June from a heart attack, at age 59. Guitar Player Magazine, which I have taken to reading lately, apparently never said a word about Andrew's death. So I decided to reacho out to them. Here's the text of an email I just sent to Michael Molenda, Editor-In-Chief of Guitar Player:

Dear Mr. Molenda:

I have become a recent reader of Guitar Player, and am writing to you because I think there has been an injustice done.

I discovered by accident last night that Andrew Gold, a multi-instrumentalist, singer and producer, died at age 59 in June 2011. As you may know, Andrew had a profound effect on the shaping of the 1970s California country rock sound, which has affected almost all facets of pop, rock and country music today. As a sideman with Linda Ronstadt during her most popular years, Andrew to a large extent was her sound, for instance playing all the instruments on her hit cover of "Heat Wave," which I still consider to be the definitive performance of that song. As a solo artist Andrew scored a top hit with "Lonely Boy," and his "Thank You for Being a Friend" also was a big hit, as well as becoming iconic as the theme song to television's "The Golden Girls." His vocal performance of the theme song to television's "Mad About You" resulted in one of the most effective theme songs in that medium's recent history. While his instrumental versatility approached the genius level, his guitar playing alone was extraordinary and noteworthy, crossing genres effortlessly and creating unique amplifier settings and hardware configurations that have yet to be duplicated, so far as I know.

Where is his obituary in Guitar Player?

I went back and re-checked the June and July issues, but saw not one mention of his death. Perhaps I missed it, or maybe you reported on this sad passing in a later issue. If not, however, I urge you to prepare the appropriate tribute to this man. Anyone who came of age in the 1970s has likely heard and enjoyed his playing and singing. I strongly believe that recognition in Guitar Player of this loss is more than appropriate. It is required.

Thank you for your time in considering this email.

A sad loss. Very, very sad.

Continuing medical education for doctors on what they can do to properly document their patients' ailments relative to Social Security Disability claims. Continuing education for the rest of us on what our doctors ought to be doing, as well.

Defining Social Security Disability relative to a child's claim.

DUZ (Driving while Zamboni-ing)? Zamboni Driver Accused Of DUI. No, really, he, uh, couldn't keep his Zamboni in the right lane. Or something.

Misleading Headline: Rural communities have strongest reliance on disability benefits. Maybe so, but one reason for that is, as the article states, rural access to health care is limited, and poverty "begets bad health and greater rates of disability...."

A commenter also makes the very good point that the headline is "A classic case of confusing cause with effect. People on low fixed incomes tend to seek rural areas because of low costs of housing and living in general. Living in an urban setting requires far more income for everyday expenses such as food, shelter and transportation."

There seems to be this push to believe that people are applying for -- and getting -- Social Security Disability because the economy is bad and they are out of work. Wheile there are alsways some that attempt to game the system like this, our experience as Knoxville Social Security attorneys suggests very strongly that those undeserving claimants by and large are denied benefits. Unfortunately, the deserving people also are denied.

The average person does not realize how difficult and time-consuming it is to get approved for Social Security Disability. In at least 90% of the cases we see here in East Tennessee, you're looking at the initial application being denied, reconsideration being denied, and your best chance at an approval being at an in-person hearing before an administrative law judge. If denied there, you must appeal to the Social Security Appeals Council, and then to federal district court. And of course, the reward for perseverance leading to an approval is a relatively paltry amount of monthly benefits. Believe me when I say that most, if not all of our Social Security Disability clients would much rather work and make a living than go through the mind-numbing torture of a disability or SSI claim.

I just had a case conclude, that began in 2006. The client did not get a hearing until May 2009, almost three years after filing. He was denied by the ALJ five months later, despite that ALJ having all the evidence with which to make a decision right then and there at the hearing. The Appeals Council denied him in December 2009. We filed suit in federal court and submitted our brief in support of his position in October 2010. The federal court did not rule on this case until January 5, 2012, and denied the client his disability benefits. So, five and a half years after filing, and a year and three months after filing our brief, the client got the Social Security brand of justice. DENIED.

The next time you think that it's a snap to get Social Security Disability benefits, think again.

Huh? Personal Injury Lawyers Pounce on Cruise Ship Disaster: I know Mitch Proner; he went to college with my wife. My question is, how does a New York lawyer inject himself into a pretty clearly Italian case:

Legal experts said the plaintiffs will face high hurdles in keeping a lawsuit in a U.S. court. They point to clauses in Costa passenger tickets requiring that claims involving cruises that don’t touch a U.S. port be brought in Genoa, Italy, where the owner of the Concordia is based. Clauses specifying venue for lawsuits are widely used in the cruise-ship industry — and typically require that cases be brought near the jurisdiction where the cruise line is based. U.S. courts have often upheld those clauses. But Proner and Bern say they will argue that this case is so egregious that those provisions should not apply.

Well, I guess it's a creative argument that the contract should not apply because negligence or harm was "egregious," but let's say that it's a long shot argument, at best. I suppose one could make claim against Carnival in Florida, which is what one set of lawyers has done. But there seem to be contractual limitations on where claims can be filed for injury or breach of contract as a result of the shipboard experience. If so, I suggest that what we are seeing is a grandstanding PR campaign by these lawyers.

Frankly, I never once thought that I had any business trying to attract victims of this tragedy. Now maybe I would have if the ship had sunk off the coast of [landlocked] Tennessee, but, uh, that's not likely to happen.

In the "best defense is a good offense" department: A man who had pleaded guilty to DUI manslaughter stemming from a crash near Tampa, Fla., on Christmas Day 2007 now denies causing the crash that killed three of the four people in the vehicle he hit, and has sued the estate of the person whose death he admitted causing.

Now, when you talk about frivolous lawsuits, here's an example. By pleading guilty to a criminal offense, he essentially is admitting civil liability for the same incident. It's a bit difficult (uh, impossible) to overcome his own admission in the criminal case.

His lawyer, who is also his sister, filed the lawsuit. I wonder if she has any experience in personal injury claims or litigation, because it sounds like a real boneheaded move to me.

Man with a death wish? "A man was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence Thursday over allegations he shut down San Francisco's subway system for more than two hours after driving his SUV onto the underground tracks...."

Even more seriously, he was charged with failure to obey a traffic sign. Oooh.

Some of the ways our federal government has supported the middle class.

After 16 -- yes, 16 -- years, IRS issues final regs on exclusion of damages for personal physical injury. This is not very world-shaking, but it is noteworthy that monetary recovery only relative to physical injury or physical sickness is excluded from income. In other words, if you have a recovery based on emotional distress, then the IRS regs require you to report that as income. On the other hand, "The regulations also permit the exclusion of damages for emotional distress, to the extent the emotional distress is attributable to a physical injury or physical sickness, and also permit the exclusion of damages that do not exceed the amount paid for medical care for emotional distress."

It's unfortunate that in our supposedly enlightened world, there is still a distinction drawn between bodily injury and the just as legitimate emotional or psychological injury.

Along with terrible human tragedy, a heart-warming canine rescue story.

Here's a story on the facts of the incident.

Injured in a car wreck? In Florida, if the Republicans have their way, you will HAVE to go to the ER and not your family doctor. And, if you don't go within 72 hours, your personal injury protection insurance (no fault) claim will be denied.

At first blush, this looks like just another stupid idea by politicos who obviously need to get a life. But consider. How many of us would just not go to an understaffed, overcrowded ER, regardless of how we felt? Or, how many of us would wait a few days to see if we had any real accident-related injuries before seeking medical treatment. Perhaps, those Repubs are just trying to winnow down the number of claimants who could legitimately make a claim. Devious, and heartless. And certainly not in the best interest of the constituents the claim to represent.

Shameful.

Life Care's Colonial Hills Nursing Home in Maryville loses certification: Multiple -- multiple -- violations, including sexual molestation, medication errors, and others led to this action which in essence closes the facility and forces the evacuation of the residents.

Unfortunately, when it comes to nursing homes, these types of incidents are all too common.

Cuts to Social Security payments could cost 419,000 jobs. According to the Southern Rural Development Center, "If Social Security payments were reduced by only five percent, the nation’s economic output would decrease by $63 billion, 419,000 jobs would be lost and tax revenues would decrease by $7.8 billion."

If that is the case, then who are the geniuses who are crying wolf, demanding that Social Security gets cut down? My guess is that those critics don't rely on Social Security.

DUIs and insurance rates: This item focuses on Florida law, but the principles should remain the same even if you are in an East Tennessee or Knoxville DUI incident.

No Social Security Crisis:

It has built up a $2.5 trillion surplus, largely in anticipation of the growing numbers of baby boomers who are beginning to claim Social Security benefits. It was always expected that this surplus would shrink over time, but it is clear that the steep recession has accelerated this decline. There clearly is a need to make some changes in the program to restore its long-term funding and spending balance. But there is no crisis in Social Security and no reason to scare the daylights out of the more than 50 million Americans who depend on the program's retirement and disability benefits.

Which begs the question: who is spreading the unfounded rumor that Social Security is in imminent danger of collapse? And why are they spreading it?

Social media sites like Facebook being used to spy on injured workers. This is a growing phenomenon, which could spell real problems for personal injury or worker's compensation claimants especially. Some very worthwhile tips:

1.Make sure there is nothing you would not want your mother or the insurance company lawyer to see.
2.Search your name to see that what comes up is acceptable. Make whatever adjustments are necessary.
3.Check your privacy settings.
4.Don't answer emails or requests from people you don't know. (Keep in mind that because of the lawsuit process, the opposing legal team knows a lot about you and could send you an email that might make you think you know each other.)
5.Don’t accept a Facebook friend that you don’t know. Set up your Facebook to require an email before you will accept a new friend.

And, speaking as a lawyer who knows that most lawyers are way behind the technology curve, volunteer to your lawyer if you are prominent on Facebook, Twitter, or other social media. It could make the difference between a salvageable case and getting blindsided at trial.