Reaching Out to Montgomery County Teachers

Irwin | Nguyen is our new firm name, and we are opening a third office in Bethesda, Maryland in order to help even more people with disability benefits applications and appeals. Teachers and first responders are especially important to us:

• Teachers insure that our children grow up with the best chance to succeed in becoming good people and becoming productive members of society.
• First responders put themselves in harm’s way to save our lives and protect our loved ones. That is why we are so excited to be able to better serve Montgomery county teachers and Montgomery county firefighters, Montgomery county police officers, Montgomery county EMTs and other Montgomery County first responders.

Of course, if you know us you know that we serve all professions and walks of life, however some of my proudest moments have been fighting elbow to elbow for disability benefits with some of our society’s most selfless professionals.

We Understand the Challenges Montgomery County Teachers Face 

People might know Montgomery County has one of the most affluent areas in the United States. Nevertheless, the schools there are very dangerous sometimes. I just got a call from a teacher in Montgomery County that was run down by accident in the hallway by a screaming group of students who were chasing another student. I wish I could say that this kind of thing surprised me, but it didn’t because teachers are put in harm’s way a lot more often than people think. In fact, some educators need to be trained in restraints in order to help their special-needs students during very difficult times

Montgomery County teachers are no exception, This restraint training involves potentially restraining a 200 pound or more child that is having an emotional meltdown. This is not the child’s fault – it’s part of their illness. Most teachers understand this, but it sometimes still does not prevent injuries from occurring that can even be disabling. That’s why accidental disability retirement through the Maryland state retirement and pension system exists. This benefit is reserved for members of the Maryland state pension and retirement system that have become permanently disabled due to an accident or incident that occurred during the performance of duty. This may seem like an easy standard that teachers could take advantage of if they were badly hurt on the job.

Unfortunately the Maryland State Pension and Retirement System (MSPR) fights to the death against most of these claims. I’m being a little bit colorful with my language — as the MSRP does not really fight to the death in a combat arena. This is a metaphor, but if you are getting denied by the medical board through the board of trustees of the MSRP, then you probably do feel like you are in a combat arena getting accosted. The MSRP pulls out all the stops and spends significant time and money in order to deny almost every case that they see. For a teacher that has become disabled this can feel like it is David against Goliath.

Our Law Firm is Here to Help Teacher Overcome Their Hurdles

The law should be changed, but the state of Maryland is collecting so much cash from teachers’ and other workers’ contributions to the pension system that they have raked in a $4.7 billion surplus. That is partly due to the extremely aggressive tactics the MSRP uses when denying these claims. No one seems to notice that there is a real person behind the paperwork and medical records that is really suffering and really gave their heart and soul to the state’s schools and students. I hope that some of the state’s legislators figure out one day that this is just plain wrong. In the meantime, if you do need to pursue disability retirement benefits as a teacher, we encourage you to contact our law firm today for a free consultation.