Karen L. Levian

More About Karen L. Levian

Ms. Levian grew up in Baltimore, Maryland, in a medical family. The daughter of a nurse and a doctor, Ms. Levian said, “all I ever heard at the dinner table was about psychiatric nursing and surgery. When the phone would ring on a Saturday night, it was usually the Emergency Room calling about a stabbing or gunshot wound.” From a young age Ms. Levian accompanied a parent on rounds at the hospital, and age 14, she began working in the same hospital. 

Ms. Levian completed her nursing studies at the University of Wisconsin where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree. During a particularly cold Wisconsin winter, an Air Force recruiter visited the School of Nursing and asked, “who wants to go to Florida?” The Air Force base was located on country club-like grounds with the Bachelor Officer's Quarters on the beach with palm trees. After five winters in Wisconsin, Ms. Levian said, "where do I sign?" Years later Ms. Levian went to work with a Baltimore attorney who saw the wisdom in training a nurse to handle claims for Social Security disability benefits. Social Security disability benefits are awarded to people who meet the criteria for eligibility. The Social Security Administration bases its decision on medical evidence. It was no accident, therefore, that the Baltimore attorney who offered to teach Ms. Levian Social Security's disability saw the potential in having a nurse work in his office. The ability to read and understand medical records, especially when the documents were handwritten, was a tremendous resource. Ms. Levian worked with a number of Baltimore attorneys as a nurse-legal consultant and graduated from the University of Baltimore School Of Law. 

Ms. Levian has a long history of working with people needing assistance. She is especially sensitive to the needs of chronically ill people, the health of caregivers, and the impact of chronic illness on families. Nurses who are injured or too ill to work frequently contact the Maryland Social Security disability lawyer who, as a nurse-attorney, understands what is required of a nurse on the job and who knows the law related to Social Security disability benefits. Veterans also feel an immediate kinship with Ms. Levian. 

The most common words Ms. Levian hears from clients are, “I called you because I knew you would understand.” Ms. Levian’s practice focuses solely on Social Security disability benefits. As a nurse, veteran, and attorney, Ms. Levian says, “Working with people who have physical and mental health problems, which are severe enough to keep them from maintaining a job, is the best way to use my education and skills. I am blessed and grateful to have this education, my health, and the opportunity to help many people.”