Craig Jarvis

I moved to Vermont after completing law school in Colorado in 2000 and immediately started representing injured workers in their Workers' Compensation claims. Since then, I have presented and argued cases before the Vermont Department of Labor, the Vermont Superior Courts, and the Vermont Supreme Court on issues related to Workers' Compensation. I get great satisfaction from holding insurance carriers responsible for injuries that occur at work and from making sure injured workers get the benefits to which they are entitled.

One case that stands out in my mind is of a woman who twisted her knee while at work. Her doctors took her out of work, and she underwent arthroscopic surgery. I represented her through the initial process. She received temporary disability benefits, medical treatment and permanent disability benefits. Eventually she improved as much as she was going to improve and she eventually went back to other work. However, the pain never went away. A few years later the client returned to me saying that her pain had only worsened, and she now required a knee replacement. The insurance carrier sent her to a medical examination with a doctor it selected. That doctor said the pain she experienced was no longer related to her work injury. We challenged that doctor, with the help of my client's own treating doctor, and eventually the Vermont Department of Labor sided with us and concluded that her need for a knee replacement was related to the injury at work which had accelerated the degenerative process in the knee.

Very soon after starting a career in Workers' Compensation litigation, I also became interested in representing disabled people. My work with the disabled has been some of the most gratifying of my career. People who make disability claims often face extreme financial hardship. They cannot work and cannot support themselves. Many times a medical impairment takes away a claimant's job that he or she held for years and that provided a great measure of pride and satisfaction. Helping people get back on their feet brings me great joy.

I have represented claimants with just about every type of medical condition: spinal degeneration, multiple sclerosis, asthma, heart disease, diabetes, fibromyalgia, depression, anxiety, neuropathies, chemical sensitivities. I take a particular interest in people who may have intellectual disabilities. Often, people with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities try to work. They may work in a number of unskilled jobs for many years. They may have a hard time holding down a job or may need special supervision or circumstances to be successful in a job. Many times a person with this type of background will suffer a physical injury which prevents him or her from doing past jobs. Often, however, the intellectual disability is more important to the overall claim for disability. Many times people with this type of background will claim disability for the physical injury alone. Social Security denies them because it does not know to look for an underlying intellectual disability that makes the claimant unable to do other sorts of work. It is gratifying to win them, because intellectual disability is easily overlooked. I like looking for these types of cases, and find it gratifying to win them.

Because of my work with the disabled, Super Lawyer has honored me three times by naming me as one of the top attorneys in New England in the field of Social Security Disability law. I have received this honor in 2012, 2013 and 2014.

If you have a disability or injury and want to know if you might be entitled to Social Security, Workers' Compensation, or to damages due to a personal injury, call me at (802) 540-1030 for a free consultation.

When I am not being a lawyer, I usually spend time with my wife, who is also my law partner, and our four children. I also enjoy CrossFit and playing in the Vermont band, Anachronists.

Education:

Undergraduate Degree: B.A., 1993 University of California, Berkeley; honors: magna cum laude

Law Degree: J.D., 2000 University of Colorado, Boulder; honors: order of the coif

Universicy of California at Berkeley
Bachelor or Arts, 1993

University of Colorado at Boulder
Juris Doctor, 2000

Amy Modun

Advocating for the disabled and injured is not only my passion, it is part of my family history. My mother represented disabled people in Texas long before I attended law school and became a representative myself. Growing up, I remember her striving to improve the lives of those who needed it most. Her work helped people make meaningful, lasting changes, and it shaped my desire to do so as well.

It is my honor and pleasure to help injured and disabled workers get the benefits the government owes them. Most are under the impression that they will receive their disability benefits by simply filing a claim with Social Security. More often than not, this is not the outcome. Denial rates are high through the initial and reconsideration phases of the disability determination process, which is based on a five-step evaluation. Having an attorney who specializes in Social Security law ensures that a disabled individual gathers and presents all of the crucial facts. I guide my clients through the maze of government laws and regulations while helping them to understand the intricacies of the decision process. I am dedicated to winning claims and am a strong advocate through the appeals process.

Prior to becoming an advocate, I worked for the largest construction trades union in the United States. I watched employers take advantage of workers who did not know their rights or how to assert them. This experience inspires my desire to see that hard-working people receive fair compensation for their work-related injuries.

Though I am a native Texan, I have called Vermont home since 2006. I live in Montpelier with my husband, who is also a lawyer for the disabled and injured, and our four children. When I am not lawyering, you can find me pulling Bishop's Weed in the backyard, or trying to satiate my craving for any number of Tex-Mex dishes.