KraftLaw Newsletter

September 2008

Why Are You Getting This Newsletter?

This free e-mail newsletter is sent to current and former clients of our law firm, to those who have specifically asked to receive it, and to those who have contacted our firm for legal advice in the past.

If the newsletter is being sent to you in error, please follow the instructions at the bottom of this page and you will immediately be removed from our list of subscribers.

If you know someone who might enjoy receiving this free e-mail newsletter, please send us that person's e-mail address.

Kraft & Associates will never sell or give your e-mail information to anyone outside our law firm.

Raising Money for Muscular Dystrophy

Our law firm recently had the honor to participate in a fundraising effort for the Muscular Dystrophy Assoc.

That fundraiser is finished, but you can contribute to MDA all year. Just click on the icon below to learn more about the great work they do, and to make a donation. No amount is too small to help the kids.

Free Legal Advice?

Yes, at Kraft & Associates we are glad to provide our clients and friends with free information on a variety of subjects. If you want details about how to lower your automobile insurance rates, Texas Workers' Compensation law or Social Security Disability claims, please contact us and we will send you any of these brochures without charge or obligation.

Suite 1300
2777 Stemmons Freeway
Dallas, TX 75207
(214) 999-9999
(817) 999-9999
(800) 989-9999

FOR THE RECORD

Basic Information for Handicapped Drivers in Texas

If you live in Texas and have a disability that requires better parking locations wherever handicapped spots are available, there are designated license plates that enable you to park as close to your destination as possible. Since these parking spaces are in close proximity to facility entrances, it reduces the distance that you must travel to get to the door.

The State of Texas deems people disabled if:

• They cannot maintain their balance without help. Forms of assistance include braces, canes, crutches, prosthetic limbs, and people flanking the disabled person’s side for support.

• They are incapable of efficient mobility without manual wheelchairs or power wheelchairs.

(These problems can be caused by a multitude of conditions, including paralysis, lung disease, cardiac deficiency, arthritis, foot disorder, or many others.)

• They have visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye with correcting lenses.

If you match the requirements, you may be entitled to receive the special license plates at no additional cost beyond the expected vehicle registration fees. Handicapped hangtags displayed on the rearview mirror are $5 and can be transferred to whatever vehicle the disabled person is driving or being transported in.

If you intend to travel out of state, your new license plate and hangtag is valid anywhere in the United States. Likewise, plates and hangtags distributed outside of Texas are certified for use in Texas as well. In the interest of preparation, you may want to contact the other state’s DMV to request a temporary hangtag just to be safe.

Regardless of whether you’d like to register for a disabled license plate or hangtag, a physician must verify the presence of your disability and specify if it is short-term or long-term. Only permanently disabled people are allowed handicapped license plates, while hangtags are assigned to the temporarily disabled. Hangtags can also be used to indicate long-term disability, and temporary ones expire after six months.

Any Texas driver wanting to obtain a disability license plate or parking hangtag must complete the Application for Disabled Person Identification Placard or Disabled Person License Plate, which is available from the Texas Department of Transportation. A portion of this document must be filled out by your doctor. Then the finished form must be mailed to your county tax assessor-collector.

If you would like to read about the Texas program for handicapped license plates and hangtags in greater detail, check out the Basic Facts for People with Disabilities brochure at the local DMV, or call the customer assistance line at (512) 465-7611.

FOR YOUR INFORMATION

Financial Conflict For Texas Doctors Affects Foster Children?

The Dallas Morning News recently published a troubling story about Texas foster children whose doctors have financial ties to drug manufacturers. The doctors prescribe drugs made by these companies. Here are the opening paragraphs of the story:

One in three Texas foster children has been diagnosed with mental illness and prescribed mind-altering drugs, including some that the federal government has not approved for juveniles, state records show.

Many of these drugs are prescribed by doctors who have a financial stake in pharmaceutical companies' success, a Dallas Morning News investigation has found. Dozens of physicians who treat children in state custody supplement their salaries with tens of thousands of dollars in consulting and speakers' fees, and they use drug company grants to fund their research projects.

Accepting this money is not illegal, nor is it frowned upon in most medical circles. Many of the state's leading medical experts receive income or grants from drug companies, money that has funded groundbreaking scientific advances. And financial ties between doctors and pharmaceutical firms are frequently self-reported by physicians on their Web sites, conference programs and journal articles.

But while the psychiatric drugs given to foster children cost millions of taxpayer dollars a year, it's hard to know how much the doctors prescribing them are making from pharmaceutical companies. Texas, like most states, does not require disclosure.

FEATURED EMPLOYEE

Sole Rodriguez
Legal Secretary

E-mail: srodriguez@kraftlaw.com

Ms. Rodriguez was born and raised in Dallas. She has worked as a legal secretary and legal assistant for more than five years at local law firms. She has experience in Personal Injury and in Medical Malpractice. She is currently working in our pre-suit personal injury department. Ms. Rodriguez joined our law firm in 2008. She is fluent in Spanish.

FEATURED CASE

Muscular Dystrophy and Social Security Disability

Muscular Dystrophy (MD) is one area of a broader group of diseases known as Neuromuscular Diseases. Neuromuscular Diseases include not only the group of Muscular Dystrophies, but also Motor Neuron Diseases, Metabolic Diseases of Muscle, Diseases of the Peripheral Nerves, Inflammatory Myopathies, Diseases of the Neuromuscular Junction, Myopathies due to Endocrine Abnormalities, and a few other difficult to categorize Myopathies. Each of these groups in turn include several diseases with strong similarities.

Muscular Dystrophy itself is a hereditary disease that causes muscle weakness and dysfunction. As time progresses, the symptoms will increase and affect multiple body systems. It will become difficult and perhaps almost impossible to perform simple activities, much less maintain employment.

Muscular Dystrophy is usually diagnosed as the result of a muscle biopsy. It can also be diagnosed through a DNA blood test. Currently, there is no known cure for MD. It is generally treated with bed rest, physical therapy, and occupational therapy.

Muscular Dystrophy is evaluated under Listing 11.13. Essentially, it is evaluated similarly to the residual effects of a stroke. Social Security will look for a “persistent disorganization of motor dysfunction.” This motor dysfunction can affect any extremity. While this is a listing level Impairment, most likely a finding of “Disabled” will be the result of exertional limitations. Because of this, it is important that your doctor help identify those exertional limitations early on in the process.

For more information on Muscular Dystrophy check out www.mda.org. There you can make a donation and learn more about the disease.

For more information about Muscular Dystrophy and Social Security disability claims, please contact our law firm.

HOW CAN WE HELP YOU?

Our law firm has helped thousands of clients over the years. Sometimes clients who use our firm for one type of case may not realize that there are other legal problems we could help them solve.

We handle most types of injury claims — including automobile collisions, "slip and fall" cases, injuries suffered as a result of defective products, injuries resulting from inadequate security, medical malpractice claims, nursing home negligence claims, prescription drug injuries and many others. We invite you to call us about any serious injury to see how we can help you.

Kraft & Associates also represents people who have been denied their Social Security Disability benefits. We can help at the Initial stage, the Reconsideration stage or the Hearing stage. We can help you, your family or friends with any Immigration question.

Our law firm represents people who have immigration problems of any kind, whether family-based immigration or employment-based immigration.

We also help people who have problems regarding family issues, such as divorce, child support, adoption, modifications, enforcements, attorney general disputes, paternity and other similar matters. We also represent clients who have been arrested or charged with committing a crime.

Please call us with any legal questions you may have. If we cannot represent you, we will attempt to refer you to another attorney or to a government agency that can help you. There is never any charge or obligation for that first phone call to us.

Share this Site with a Friend:

Friend's E-mail Address:	Your E-mail Address:

You have received this newsletter because of your previous contact with our law firm.
To remove your name from future mailings, please notify us.

Please send mail to info@kraftlaw.com with questions or comments.

Copyright © 1997- 2008 Kraft & Associates : Injury & Disability Lawyers, P.C. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Personal Injury,
Automobile Accident, Wrongful Death, Nursing Home Negligence, Social Security Disability.

DISCLAIMER: This newsletter is presented by Kraft & Associates for informational purposes only, and not as legal advice.