Testimonials

What some of our clients are saying:

I would not have been able to get my benefits without the help of Sims, Stakenborg and Henry. I want to thank everyone at the law firm, both attorneys and staff, and I will be telling anyone who needs a great attorney to hire your firm.
Mary Capallia

I want to thank you for winning my case for Social Security Disability. I would like to say that your staff did a great job on my case. They were professional and polite throughout my whole waiting period. I was treated with respect and courtesy. Again I want to thank you for handling my case.
E. Williams, Newberry, FL

I want to take the opportunity to thank you for all your dedication and help provided to me during my appeal process for the Social Security disability claim. Be assured that I will certainly recommend your firm to others in the future for their needs. Again, thanks for your help!
Angel M Abrams

While waiting for an administrative hearing some 16 months in the offing I received a Notice of Attorney Advisor Decision- Fully Favorable from the Social Security Administration. A call to my Lawyers office confirmed, we had won! There was a conference call later to explain all the particulars. My case was presented in such a concise and professional manner that Social Security realized that a hearing would not be necessary, Hallelujah! I am so totally ecstatic there are not enough thanks in all of creation for my Attorneys and their staff (Thanks Christine). It was an office where I never felt like just another number and our Victory was just that our Victory. Thanks again and God Bless!
Robert L Turchioe

When Golda contacted the law firm of Sims, Stakenborg & Henry, in July of 2006, her claim had already been going on since September of 2003. Her claim was denied initially and at the reconsideration stage. She went to a hearing on December 15, 2005 where her claim was again denied in a decision dated January 25, 2006. She filed a timely request for Appeals Council review of the decision. On April 21, 2006, the Appeals Council denied the request for review. Golda appealed to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida. On May 2, 2007 the District Court granted a motion to remand the claim for a new hearing. This was nearly 5 years after her disabling motor vehicle accident and nearly 4 years after she filed her initial claim for disability benefits. She contacted Sims, Stakenborg & Henry to represent her at her new hearing.

Since her car accident in 2002, Golda saw numerous physicians and went through many different types of treatment including medications, physical therapy, epidural injections, etc. After all other treatment failed, Golda eventually underwent an anterior cervical diskectomy, anterior decompression, and anterior interbody fusion with spinal instrumentation at the C6-7 area on June 2, 2004. Unfortunately, the surgery was unsuccessful and Golda’s neck pain persisted. She continued to have hand numbness as well due to her carpal tunnel syndrome. She underwent carpal tunnel surgery but the surgery failed most likely because of her failed cervical fusion. Her doctors are currently recommending an additional surgery on her neck. At the time of her accident, Golda was a single mother with 3 children aged 13, 4 and 2.

Because of her pain, Golda is limited in nearly every aspect of her life. She had difficulty doing household chores and needed to take frequent breaks. Some days, she was unable to get out of bed and needed assistance from family to help her make sure her children got to school She did not respond well to her medications, which make her nauseous. She remains constantly fatigued due to difficulty in sleeping as a result of her pain. She also felt guilty and depressed because she did not know how she was going to care for her children.

Finally a supplemental hearing was held on November 26, 2007. The claimant appeared and gave testimony with her attorney, Elizabeth Stakenborg, representing her at the hearing. Finally, nearly 6 and a half years after her motor vehicle accident, the Claimant prevailed on her claim for disability. The law firm was asked to write the order for the Administrative Law Judge and now Golda will have the security of an income along with medical care which she has needed for so long.
Golda H., Orange City, FL


"Ms. Henry and Staff, I would like to take a moment to thank you and your outstanding staff for your recent personal disability assistance. Your professionalism and concern is the epitome of an outstanding customer oriented legal firm. I am grateful for your help. You guys are the best!"
John P

"I can't thank you guys enough. I am so ecstatic regarding not having to worry so much about "proving" my case and about money. I feel like a huge vise has been released from my head and chest. I can't even begin to tell you. I will recommend your firm to everyone I know who has a legitimate case. The fact that your firm had to fight harder because I have a Master of Science degree and had a higher earning level just goes to show the discrimination in the system your team had to work to overcome. Thank you, Thank you!"
Dana C - Vogel

"There is nothing I could write that would express my thanks and gratitude to your staff of professionals, who helped me obtain a better life. I saw a spark of trust from your TV commercial, and a degree of caring about people. My instinct was correct, two and a half years ago. Being your client honestly led me to patience, blind faith, and to victory. My Sincere thanks to you all."
Richard C - Silver Springs, FL

"Everything I needed to know or wanted to know was explained to me in good detail with courtesy and professionalism. When I came into the office I never saw a frown always saw generally happy people and faces and helpful people. Thank you for your dedicated help."
Randolph M - Ocala, FL

Dear Elizabeth,
It is with Honest Gratitude, to you, for standing with me & helping my life become better. I will always think of you, & "your work" completed on my behalf, which opened the eyes of the United States Veterans Appeals Court. By following "your lead, & great works," I was awarded 100% Service Connected Disability on 7th of November 2007. Elizabeth, thank you for the rest of my life.
A Grateful Vietnam Vet,
Richard C – Ocala, FL

Ms. Dorothy Clay Sims & Firm
My husband and I, as well as our families and friends, can't begin to find all of the right words to congratulate all of you on the completion of my case. All of your combined efforts and kindness will never be forgotten. We wish you and your families a very blessed and safe holiday season that carries all of us into the New Year. Thanks to all of you from the bottom of my heart!
Connie T. – Williston, FL

Dear Dorothy:
In the matter of Mitchell v. MetLife, you were kind enough to take the deposition of MetLife's medical records reviewer, Dr. Tracy Schmidt. We recently received the Court's decision in the case, which was completely in our client's favor. The findings of fact issued by the Court focused in large part on both the inadequacy of Dr. Schmidt's review of the medical records, and the inaccuracy of her findings. I firmly believe your analysis of the weakness of her report, and the testimony you were able to elicit from Dr. Schmidt during her deposition, were critical factors in our ability to achieve victory for our client. I look forward to using your services again any time the opportunity presents itself.
Thank you again,
Glenn Kantor
Kantor & Kantor, LLP

If anyone needs assistance deposing or cross examining a defense CME, I would strongly suggest seeking the assistance of Dorothy Sims. To make a long story short (if possible), the defense hired a psychiatrist to examine the defendant himself, and he concludes the defendant suffered "dissociative amnesia", to explain why he doesn't remember leaving the scene of an accident after he cut the deceased off and left him dying in the road. (I represent the estate). This is even in the face of the fact the Defendant remembers everything else of that day, both before and after the accident. He just conveniently doesn't remember the accident itself. He does, however, remember pulling into his driveway right afterwards, doing laundry, getting a drink, watching TV, and his girlfriend calling later that night.

Dorothy deposed the doctor for almost 4 hours, and was more prepared then you could possibly imagine. She tore him apart and ripped him a new one. She killed him with kindness, if you will, instead of going for the jugular. In the end, there were more holes in his opinion than Swiss cheese. She also got the doctor to admit that the reason he never wrote a formal report was because the defense attorney told him not to.

While I can not wait to get this good doctor on the stand, I truly wouldn't be surprised if the Defense does not end up calling him at trial after having been exposed to Dorothy. I believe I have good grounds to keep him out on a Frye hearing after Dorothy had gotten thru with him. But, I would rather him give his testimony and subject him to Dorothy's cross. I have no doubt after she gets thru with him, no jury in the world would give an ounce of credence to his testimony. That is how good a job Dorothy did.

Dorothy, thank you again for your help in this case, I could not have done that without you.
Carl J. Wald, Esq.
LaBovick & LaBovick, P.A.,
Jupiter, FL

I am a cancer survivor; you would never know it by looking at my face. At 42, Cancer changed my life forever. My name is Robin, and prior to Cancer, I was a Small Group Account Manager for the top health insurance company in the state of Tennessee. I loved the company I worked for, and I loved my job. I loved the people I worked with, both in and out of the office. To me, it was the ultimate job, tailor-made just for me.

As an account manager for small groups (employers with 26-150 health insurance enrollees), I worked directly with insurance agents and employers to secure healthcare benefits packages that were custom made to fit the needs of the individual employer. I was proud to be a spokesperson for my company. My job basically was to become the right arm of all the groups, and the insurance agents that my company had entrusted to me. I was the main vein of communication between my company and these groups and agents, regarding all aspects of their healthcare benefits packages. I worked very hard, long hours to be the best that I could be.

In October of 2001, I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. I was devastated, but also thankful for the mammogram covered by my own group healthcare benefits, which ultimately saved my life. I took 6 rounds of Chemotherapy, and 33 rounds of Radiation. I worked all through my treatment, missing only occasionally due to sickness from the treatments. I thought I could see the light at the end of the tunnel by the end of July 2002. My treatments completed, I could set about the process of healing my body, which had taken a lot of chemical and radiation abuse. I had my port-a-cath removed as a promise to myself that I would survive. A few days later I was hospitalized with a diagnosis that would change my life in a way that Cancer had not…I had cardiomyopathy and Congestive Heart Failure as a result of the Chemotherapy I had taken. My heart had been permanently damaged, and would never function normally again.

I was unable to work after being released from the hospital. Again, I was so thankful for the Short and Long Term Disability provided to me by my employer. At least I was able to afford the very expensive medication I had to take on a daily basis, and pay the bills, which were mounting due to the percentage of medical expense not covered by my health insurance. For the next year, I continued to receive monthly Long Term Disability benefits, and struggled with my health. I was no longer the person I was before or after Cancer. Then my LTD benefits abruptly ended at the end of one year. The LTD carrier had decided that I was no longer disabled and that my heart function was acceptable enough to go back to work. I couldn't. For the next 3 years I appealed the decision the LTD carrier had made to discontinue my benefits. I wrote letters, I got medical records together to help prove my position. My health and heart function declined over those 3 years, I was even on the heart transplant list. I was desperate for help. I struggled, going deeper and deeper into debt, even cashing in my 401K to pay my medical bills and refinancing my house. I had finally exhausted all financial means of paying my medical bills.

My life changed yet again when I saw a TV commercial for Sims, Stakenborg, and Henry, PA. One of their specialties was to assist people like me in cases of Short or Long Term Disability benefit disputes. One call to their office was all it took. After the initial interview, they agreed to take my case. I was thrilled!! However, I was disheartened when advised there was a small fee to be paid up front, because I had no money. They worked with me on that too! Ms. Henry, who is not only a lawyer but was also a nurse who worked in cardiac intensive care, understood my medical conditions and limitations right away! She met with my doctor, got a statement about the effects of cardiomyopathy and Congestive Heart Failure on my ability to function. Not only did she compile all my medical records she provided medical research about my conditions and legal research to support my appeal. The dedication and diligence in their efforts to have my LTD benefits reinstated never wavered. I will never forget the day I got the call from their office with the news of the outcome of my appeal. I had surgery to implant a pacemaker/defibrillator into my heart, and was home recovering from that procedure. I HAD WON!!! Not only had I won; I would be receiving 3 years of back benefits, and continuing monthly benefits. Needless to say, I cried tears of joy! And so did the employee of Sims, Stakenborg and Henry, PA who placed that wonderful call to me.

I have Congestive Heart Failure, you would never know it by looking at my face. I have Sims, Stakenborg and Henry, PA on my team; you would never know it by looking at my face, until you see me smile!

Results are not necessarily representative of results obtained by the firm, and the prospective clients' individual facts and circumstances may differ from the matter(s) in which the results are provided.