Elliott Andalman
E-mail » | Download vCard
My practice focuses on disability law, with an emphasis on disability benefits. I litigate at all levels from initial applications, through administrative appeal and court appeal: (1) federal employee and postal worker claims for disability retirement annuities; (2) Social Security Disability benefit claims; (3) Long Term Disability (LTD) and Short Term Disability (STD) insurance applications including ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act) claims and (4) Teacher, State and County employee Disability Retirement benefits. I also handle other insurance disputes including life insurance claims and health insurance claims.
I have represented hundreds, if not thousands, of workers on disability claims arising out of numerous emotional and physical illnesses, including, for example, MS (multiple sclerosis), chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, immune system disorders, lyme disease, diabetes, heart disease, back injuries, depression, bi-polar disorder and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
I assist federal employees and postal workers around the country on claims for disability retirement. I also assist in a broad range of related federal employment issues such as obtaining Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) or other approved leave, obtaining reasonable accommodations, fighting AWOLs, fighting proposed removals and other discipline, and obtaining removals for medical inability to work. I also handle federal worker compensation claims for scheduled awards.
I handle a wide array of serious personal injury and employment cases. I have successfully litigated damage claims for individuals who were carelessly injured by their care givers at group homes, by drivers of cars, by defective car design, by defective sidewalks, by the use of medical products such as the drug Rezulin, or by sexual harassment or disability discrimination at work.
I have worked on cases with the Maryland Disability Law Center, the Maryland American Civil Liberties Union, University Legal Services, the Maryland State Teachers Association and the Washington Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs. These cases have included claims for freedom of speech, freedom from racial discrimination, equal access to public facilities for individuals with disabilities, and enforcement of rights under IDEA for students with disabilities.
I am founding co-chair in 2008 of the Maryland Trial Lawyers Association (MTLA) Section on Disability Benefits Law. I am co-editor of the MTLA Trial Reporters magazine for 2006-2007 and 2007-2008. I was chair of the 2003-2004 American Trial Lawyers Association (ATLA) Section on Social Security Disability Law, and was an executive committee member of this Section for five (5) years. I have presented seminars on disability benefits law at national meeting of the ATLA and the National Organization of Social Security Claimants’ Representatives (NOSSCR). I have lobbied Congress on behalf of Social Security disability claimants, and represented a claimant in testifying before the House of Representatives Subcommittee with oversight of the Social Security Administration. I am a faculty member of the Social Security seminar sponsored annually by the District of Columbia Bar Association. I mentored other attorneys handling Social Security disability claims through the District of Columbia Bar Association for tne (10) years. I have been on the Board of Directors of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Maryland for ten years and was President from 2005 to 2008.