Hermann Law Group, PLLC

Focus and practice areas

The firm concentrates on disability benefits law, and it covers five programs within that field. Social Security Disability is one part of that work. The firm also runs long term disability cases, which involve people whose benefits an insurance company has denied or terminated. Three further programs complete the list: Railroad Disability claims filed through the Railroad Retirement Board, Veterans Disability claims, and cases under the federal Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program.

These programs run through different parts of the benefits system. Railroad workers claim disability through the Railroad Retirement Board, and the rules there turn on rail industry service. The Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program applies to law enforcement officers, firefighters and other first responders, and it pays a federal benefit in cases of death or serious injury in the line of duty. Veterans disability runs through the Department of Veterans Affairs on its own schedule of ratings.

In my opinion, a firm that names this many separate disability programs is telling clients where it puts its time. The firm works on both stages of a claim. It files initial applications, and it handles appeals after a denial, including the hearings that can follow.

The attorneys named on the site

Two attorneys appear on the firm's pages. Gabriel J. Hermann is the founding partner, and he began practicing disability law in 1997. The site states he has represented thousands of disabled claimants over that time, which places the bulk of his career inside the benefits field.

Michael E. Quiat works with the firm as Of Counsel. He has practiced for more than 30 years and holds a senior partner role at Uscher, Quiat, Uscher & Russo, P.C. The site describes him as a New Jersey state disability lawyer, which fits the firm's presence in that state. An Of Counsel arrangement gives a firm access to a lawyer's experience on particular matters while he keeps his own separate practice.

Where the firm works

The firm lists four offices across three states. Its main office is in Tarrytown, New York, and it keeps further offices in Wappingers Falls, New York, in Hackensack, New Jersey, and in Danbury, Connecticut. That spread matches the firm's stated reach: it represents claimants across New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

Location works differently depending on the claim. Social Security and veterans benefits run on federal rules, so where a claimant lives inside the region has limited effect on those cases. State level disability questions in New Jersey are a closer fit for a lawyer who works in that state's system, and Michael E. Quiat fills that role on the roster.

The firm offers virtual consultations, which lets it work with clients who live far from any of the four offices. It also publishes a Spanish language section of its site for Spanish speaking claimants. As a reviewer, I read those two choices as practical ways to widen who the firm can help.

How the firm groups its claim pages

The firm builds a second layer of pages around specific medical conditions. These include claims tied to anxiety, arthritis, asthma, back injury, congestive heart failure, Crohn's disease, diabetes and stroke. A disability claim usually turns on medical evidence for a named condition, so this structure points a claimant with, say, a stroke or Crohn's disease straight to material about that diagnosis.

This kind of organization suggests the firm handles a steady volume of medical records work. The programs it takes on all depend on proof of a medical condition and its effect on a person's ability to work. A page written around one diagnosis can speak to the tests, the treatment history and the functional limits that a decision maker looks for in that specific claim.

How disability appeals generally proceed

Most disability claims start with an application to a government agency or an insurer, and a first denial is common across this field. That pattern is why appeal work carries real weight for a disability firm. For Social Security Disability, an appeal can involve a reconsideration and then a hearing before an administrative law judge. Long term disability claims under an insurance policy often run through an internal appeal with the insurer before any court step, and veterans claims follow the review paths set by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Because Hermann Law Group handles the appeal stage in each of these programs, a claimant who has already been turned down can bring the file to a firm that works these hearings. The firm pairs that appeal work with help at the application stage, so a person can come in before a first filing or after a denial. Gabriel J. Hermann has practiced disability law since 1997, and the firm applies that experience at both points in the process.

Insurance categories in the directory

The directory record places Hermann Law Group under insurance law as well as disability benefits. More specifically, it assigns the firm to life and disability insurance and denied insurance claims. The life insurance category adds a separate type of coverage to the public record. The supplied description gives no narrower account of that work, so this reviewer would treat the category itself as the stated extent of the firm's life insurance practice.

The record also identifies SSDI claims separately within its practice classifications. That label gives prospective clients a more precise directory route than the broader disability wording in the firm's name and website address. Someone searching the directory by claim type can find the firm through the SSDI category or through the insurance categories, depending on the benefit involved.

The Tarrytown listing details

The directory gives 150 White Plains Rd as the firm's street address. That detail is useful for anyone who wants to confirm the location before sending documents or arranging an in-person visit. The formal business name in the record is Hermann Law Group, PLLC, while the shorter Hermann Law Group appears as the directory name. The PLLC designation identifies the exact name clients should expect on formal correspondence.

The listed website is nymetrodisability.com. Its domain uses a regional description rather than the firm's legal name, so readers comparing search results may not immediately connect the address with Hermann Law Group. The directory record makes that connection explicit.

Telephone information

The record provides several telephone entries. The first is 877-773-3030, and another toll-free entry is 1-888-496-2911. A further number appears as (888) 299-7113. Since the record does not assign a department, office or purpose to any one number, this reviewer would avoid attaching a particular function to them.

Clients who encounter different numbers in directory results or on firm materials can use the supplied record to recognize each one as associated with the listing. The presence of multiple toll-free numbers may also explain why two prospective clients reach the same firm through different contact details. The record does not state whether every number follows the same intake route.