Social Security disability lawyers and non attorney representatives

When trying to find and choose a Social Security disability lawyer the information out there can be quite confusing. Social Security disability claims representation has gone through some big changes over the last couple of years. Many of you might not know that there are lawyers and non-lawyer representatives. Not too long ago, SSA has made it possible for non-attorney representatives to get paid directly from the Social Security Administration out of your past due benefits in the same way they do for lawyers. The purpose of this post is to make you aware of this fact so that if you want a lawyer to represent you you will not be mistakenly hiring a non-attorney company. If you watch TV you have probably seen many nationally televised commercials for Social Security advocates. There are several companies of non-attorney representatives doing this. Now there is nothing wrong with a company advertise its services on TV or the Internet. However, if you want to be represented by a lawyer and if you decide to call or send an e-mail to one of these companies you should make sure to ask them if they are a law firm. Many commercials and Internet ads very convincingly give the appearance that they are a law firm even though they are not. By law they cannot advertise that they are a law firm if they are not, so listen to or read the advertisements carefully. If you do not hear the words law firm, lawyer, or attorneys then chances are if you hire the company you will be represented by a non-attorney advocate. Now let me be clear that there are many fine non-attorney advocates out there. In fact, some non-lawyer representatives know and will be able to represent you better than many lawyers. So if you decide you want a lawyer then you certainly do not want to just choose just any lawyer or a lawyer that is handling another matter for you. You will want to make sure that the lawyer you are hiring has handled many Social Security disability claims. Some SSD lawyers have even gone a step further and become Social Security disability specialists. Not all states recognize law specialties but if someone has taken the time to go through the process you will at least know they would have had to have handled many SSDI and SSI claims, submitted copies of their briefs at all levels of the process for review, taken a test, and submitted information from judges and other lawyers in their field to get this recognition from the organization that has certified them. I went through and completed this process and can tell you it takes a lot of time, effort, and knowledge of the Social Security disability system. I became a Social Security Disability specialist through the National Board of Social Security Disability Advocacy, an ABA approved organization. To be fair I will point out that someone cannot just declare themselves to be a non-attorney representatives and start representing clients for pay. Non-lawyer advocates have to attend a certain amount hearings and take a test before they can be paid as non-attorney advocates. This is why I stated earlier that some advocates may represent you better than a lawyer who does not handle Social Security disability cases on a regular basis. The problem I see with hiring a big company with many advocates that are not lawyers is that you simply don't know what you are going to get. Do they have years of experience or are you their first real client? What you can take from this post is to do your homework and ask questions of the person or company who you are considering to represent you. I am writing this post because I have received countless e-mails recently from people who have signed up with some of these companies thinking they were hiring a Social Security disability law firm and later found out (sometimes not until the hearing) that the person representing them was not a lawyer. There is one more thing I have noticed from the e-mails I have received and the ads I have seen on the Internet. Many companies are claiming they win a certain percentage of their cases like 95%. Always read the fine print on these types of claims and if there isn't any then they are not telling you the whole story. Many of these companies drop cases that they do not feel they will win (and do not count these in there statistics) or only take cases that have a very good chance of winning. It is also worth noting that lawyers who are bound by the ethics laws of their states are not allowed to tell their winning percentages. What you can take away from all this is don't higher a representative based on the advertisement but rather on the qualifications of the person that will be representing you in your case. If you would like to ask me any questions about SSDI or SSI feel free to call me at 1-877-527-5529.

VA Benefits fo New York Veterans

As I mentioned in my previous post I am working on my veterans disability law site to include state specific VA benefits. Many veterans are familiar with VA pension and VA compensation but may not know that their own states have additional benefits available to veterans who are residents of that state. I have previously finished two pages on VA benefits in New Jersey and I have just completed two more pages on VA benefits in New York. The first page on NY state contains information about lawyers for their VA compensation and pension claims, information about applying for VA compensation benefits in NY, and appealing VA decisions. The second page which is linked to from the first page has information on NYS veteran benefits availble through The New York State Division of Veterans Affairs including nursing homes for veterans and other state programs for vets. After finishing those two pages I realized there was not enough room to add everything I wanted to so I will be adding a third page shortly that will cover the VA health system in NY. After that page is finished I will then start to work on more individual states and specific information on VA benefits for the states. As you can imagine, it will take me quite some time before I am able to make pages for every state but I will eventually get their as I did for individual states on social security disability. The new pages on New York provide a good deal of information for New York veterans about what is available to them along with phone numbers to contact for more information about particular programs. I hope that all vets in NY will find the information I provide to be helpful and hopefully you will find a program or two that you may be eligible to apply for. To see my new page file a link to NY VA benefits. The second page is linked to the first at the bottom of the page.

New Jersey VA compensation lawyer

I represent VA compensation cases all over the country and it recently occurred to me that I have never written that my office is located in New Jersey. Because I do not advertise myself as a New Jersey VA compensation lawyer I realized I had neglected to let NJ veterans know that I am a local VA disability compensation lawyer. I plan to write a page on my VA website about each state and VA compensation law. There are many benefits each state has for veterans who are residents of their particular state. I will start with my home state with a page on VA compensation in NJ. I plan to write this new page on veterans disability in New Jersey in the next few days. I will always handle VA compensation cases across the country as I also do with Social Security disability but I think I should start with my home state and let the veterans of New Jersey know of the benefits that are available to them in my own state first. I will then systematically add pages to my veterans disability website as time goes on to help veteran from all states know of additional benefits their states may offer to them in addition to VA compensation for the disabled veteran. I think all veterans will find my new pages informative and helpful which has always been my goal. After my NJ VA compensation page is finished I will link this post to it. I just added the link to my new page for information for any NJ veterans reading this. I will now start to work on the other individual states and announce them on this blog as they become available. My goal is to eventually have my VA disability website as expansive and informative as my Social Security disability website.

VA Individual Unemployability Claims, TDIU, IU

If a veteran can not perform gainful employment due to his or her service connected disabilities the the veteran can receive disability benefits at the rate of 100% even if the service connected disability or disabilities does not add up to 100%. A veteran can do this by applying for total disability based on individual unemployability. To be eligible for this type of claim a veteran in most cases would have to have one service connected disability rated at 60% or higher or if there is more than one disability then at least one disability must be rated at 40% and the additional disabilities must bring the total percentage to 70%. If a veteran does not meet these requirements they may still make a claim for IU based on extra schedular considerations. This means that even though they do not meet the rating criteria for IU if the veterans "picture is so exceptional or unusual as to reasonably raise the issue of extraschedular consideration."

The VA states that: "Total disability rating may be assigned, where the schedular rating is less than total, when the disabled person is, in the judgement of the rating agency, unable to secure or follow a substantial gainful occupation as a result of service connected disabilities." What this exactly means is less than clear. There are some things you can do to help yourself get IU. If you are found disabled by Social Security this can be helpful evidence if you were found disabled based on your service connected disabilities. However, the VA is not required to follow the SSA decision. You may also want to seek the assistance of a lawyer. Many times vocational expert evidence can help in showing you are not employable. For more information on VA individual unemployability visit my website on VA disability law.

I have recently started another Social Security disability website.

I write quite a bit on the Internet and recently started a new website on Social Security disability. It does not have nearly as much information as my ultimate disability guide website but I am in the early stages of developing it. I decided to start a new website because although my main informational website is full of great information and tips on getting your SSD and SSI disability benefits I wanted to try some new things without disrupting my current informational website which many people are already accustomed to using. Hopefully, one day it will be as comprehensive as the ultimate disability guide but more importantly by working on my website I am hoping to add additional helpful features to my other websites. I guess you could call it my experimental website. It will include good content on Social Security Disability and Supplemental Security Income and will hopefully, at the same time, be a learning tool for me to see how I can make my other websites better in the future. If you would like to see my new Social Security disability website feel free to have a look and any comments about the site are welcome. The information on that site is very general and will help explain the basics of the Social Security Disability System. If you are looking to do more detailed research then I recommend my Ultimate Disability Guide website. I will also continue to work on my website devoted to VA disability compensation. In the near future, I will be adding significant content to my veterans disability website and eventually it is my plan for it to be as comprehensive and informative as can be. There is already a significant amount of information on VA law in regards to VA compensation and pension. A list of my websites and other writings on the web can be found in the resource page on my Ultimate Disability Guide Website. So whether you are applying for SSDI, SSI or VA compensation you should be able to find a significant amount of information on all of the subjects on my various websites. I hope you find this information useful. As always I wish you luck with your claims and remember learning as much as you can about the type of disability benefits you are trying to get is extremely important in giving yourself the best chance to win.

What about Social Security?

The big debate today is about what to do about medical coverage in this country. This is an extremely important issue, but what concerns me is that politicians still seem to be avoiding the fact that the Social Security system is running out of money to pay benefits. For years politicians have known that the Social Security system, which most workers pay into and rely on for retirement or if they become disabled, is running out of money.
In these rough economic times more people are applying for Social Security disability benefits. However, there does not appear to be any effort being put into solving the problem of the dwindling Social Security funds used to pay these benefits and retirement benefits. Although some may argue that medical coverage is the important issue of our time and needs to be dealt with it is not the only issue. I agree that medical coverage for all Americans is important however, perhaps the bigger issue that appears to be ignored is the Social Security system. Most people who work pay Social Security taxes on every paycheck with the understanding that they will have money for retirement or if they unfortunately become disabled they will be able to collect this money to at least meet their basic needs.
If Social Security runs out of money and cannot pay these benefits just imagine the effect it would have on every single American. This is not a political article on the medical coverage debate. The purpose of this article is to make people aware that we must not forget the Social Security trust fund and the importance of it when other issues are grabbing the headlines.

Things you can do on the Social Security Administration website.

I answer many e-mails each day. In this post I am going to try and answer some of the more common questions I get about how to do certain things as it relates to a Social Security Disability claim. I will post the question and then give you a link to the page on the Social Security Administration website where you can get your answer or handle the task you are looking to do. One question that is frequently asked is how do I apply for Social Security disability benefits. You can apply online at http://www.ssa.gov/applyfordisability/ . Another question I get is how do I get a copy of my earnings statement that shows if you have enough work credits to qualify for disability. You can get this information at the following link http://www.ssa.gov/mystatement/ . Another question I get is, how can you check the status of your application. You can check the status of your application here https://secure.ssa.gov/apps6z/IAPS/applicationStatus . I am also frequently asked how do I find my local SSA office and phone number. You can get this information at this link https://secure.ssa.gov/apps6z/FOLO/fo001.jsp . Sometimes people ask me how do they get a new Social Security card and you can find this information at http://www.ssa.gov/ssnumber/ . If you think your Social Security number was stolen and is being used by somebody else you can find information on what you can do at this link http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/10064.html . Many of you have questions about supplemental security income also known as SSI and the following link can answer many of your questions http://www.ssa.gov/pgm/links_ssi.htm . All of the above links are from the SSA website. You can find many other answers you are looking for at this website and the homepage is http://www.ssa.gov/ . What you will not find on the Social Security website is information and tips on how to win your SSDI or SSI claim. To find this information you can visit my website on Social Security Disability. On my website, you will find information on how to apply for SSD and SSI. I also provide valuable tips and information about disability and how to give yourself the best chance to win. You will also find pages on specific medical conditions and how they are handled by Social Security. If there is any questions you cannot find the answer to on my website you will also find a way to contact me to ask your specific questions. If you decide you want representation you will also find on my website a way to contact me to represent you or I can also help you find a local lawyer if you prefer. I hope you found the links on this page helpful and know if you visit my website you will find a lot of useful information for your disability claim.

SSA Will Open New Call Center

Commissioner Astrue has announced on June 22, 2009 that Social Security will be opening a new phone center in Jackson, Tennessee. It has been 10 years since Social Security has opened a new call center. These call centers handle all of the calls that come in on SSA's toll-free number. The toll-free number is 1-800-772-1213. Anyone who has ever called this number looking for Social Security disability information knows how long it can take to get a hold of somebody to answer their questions about Social Security disability or other Social Security related questions. SSA presently has 35 of these call centers around the country. Clearly, Commissioner Astrue is spending a great deal of time and money on improving services within the Social Security administration. The baby boomer population and economic downturn have probably caused an increase in the number of calls coming into these call centers, so the opening of this new call center should help deal with that increase. My only concern is that they do not open the call center before they have a sufficiently trained staff knowledgeable in Social Security law. I say this because no information, or or having to wait longer for information, is better than wrong information. As is the case with the opening of any new operation, I am sure there will be some bumps in the road but overall it should be a positive step in getting the information to those who need it about Social Security and its benefits. The press release does not mention when this new call center will open. To see the full press release go to http://www.ssa.gov/pressoffice/pr/NewTSC-pr.html . And for more Social Security disability information visit my website.

Should you list obesity on your SSDI application?

I was at the airport today waiting for my delayed flight when I heard on the TV monitor above me a piece on one of the major news networks about whether or not obesity should be considered a disability. I listened to the segment and viewer comments that were posted by e-mail. This led me to decide to write a blog on this subject and how it applies to Social Security disability. Obesity is no longer on the medical listing of impairments for Social Security disability. Years ago, if you were a certain height and weight you could meet a listing and be granted disability on this basis. This is no longer the case. This does not mean that obesity is not considered in a Social Security disability claim. Social Security is supposed to look at the effect obesity would have on your other medical conditions. In other words, if you have a back impairment and you are obese Social Security is supposed to consider the impact your obesity has on your back condition and the limitations on your functional abilities it causes. So as you can see, even though obesity no longer has a listing it can still have an impact on your disability claim. So if you are obese and applying for Social Security disability benefits you should still list this as one of your disabling impairments. Many people who suffer from severe obesity go through great measures including surgery to try and reduce their weight. Many of these procedures for obesity have serious side effects and many times can impact the entire body and make you more disabled even if you lose weight as a result of the surgery. I have had many cases of people who have had surgical procedures to reduce their obesity and as a result of these procedures and the side effects had then become disabled. The purpose of this post is to not argue one way or the other whether obesity should be considered a disability in and of itself. I am writing this to inform those who suffer from obesity that it can have an impact on their disability claim. Anyone who suffers from obesity does not need me to tell them that there will always be those who feel obesity is the fault of the individual and should not be considered in determining disability. However, Social Security's rules clearly state obesity should be considered when determining if someone is disabled.

SSA Commissioner Receives Award.

Commissioner Astrue received the public health leadership reward from the National Organization of Rare Disorders. The commissioner's implementation of the compassionate allowance in social security disability claims and, other initiatives to shorten the amount of time people with disabilities have to wait to get a decision, appears to be one of the reasons he was given this award. The compassionate allowance allows people with certain medical conditions to be granted disability much quicker. If a person has a medical diagnosis on a list of about 50 conditions than they are automatically granted disability. I have written on the subject before. Commissioner Astrue in a short time as the head of the Social Security Administration has continually pushed for programs and technologies to speed up the process. I would like to congratulate the Commissioner, because since he was put in charge there has clearly been a focus on decreasing the backlog of disability claims. This is an uphill battle for sure, because of the increasing claims due to the economy and baby boomer generation. However, without his leadership the backlogs may have become even longer and it appears they have atleast stabilized. I hope the commissioner continues to explore new ways to decrease the time it takes to get a decision for those applying for Social Security disability benefits. If his record is any indication, then we can look forward to continued improvement in the Social Security disability process. The National Organization of Rare Disorders also played a key part in the development of the compassionate allowance initiative. Click here for the SSA official press release. For more up to date Social Security Disability information visit my Ultimate Disability Guide website.

Social Security Disability Hearing: How to Prepare to Win.

If you are not represented by a lawyer and your hearing is scheduled it is a good idea to make sure you get a copy of your file from Social Security and review it. Most files today are on a disk. When your hearing is scheduled you are supposed to receive a copy of your file with this hearing notice. If you did not receive a copy of your file you should contact the hearing office (ODAR) and request it. When you put the disc in your computer there is instructions on how to view your file. You will want to look at the exhibit list index. The most important section of the disc is known as the F section. This is where all your medical evidence is kept. You should review this section and make sure that all of your medical records have been received by Social Security. If you find there is evidence not in the file you should do all you can to get the evidence submitted to Social Security before your hearing. This will also be your first opportunity to see what the Social Security doctors and employees have said about your condition and your limitations from those conditions. You will also want to make sure there is opinions from your own doctors of your limitations from your medical conditions. Before your hearing you should take notes of what each F exhibit contains. Each medical document is given an exhibit number such as 1F, 2F and so on. If you have notes on what each of these exhibits contain you can refer to them by the exhibit number so the ALJ will know exactly what exhibit you are referring to. You may want to point out at the end of the hearing which exhibits are particularly helpful in showing you are disabled. This does take some skill, and knowledge of how Social Security determines if you are disabled. If you have read my Social Security disability website and the SSA website and studied them as it pertains to your particular case and feel you are knowledgeable enough to be able to make your arguments at the hearing, then you may be able to do this yourself. However, you have waited a long time for this hearing and you do not want to waste this opportunity to win your case. So, if you have any doubt about your ability to handle your own case at the hearing level it would be a good idea to get a lawyer at this point to do this for you. Even if you are comfortable with your ability, knowledge of your case, and the law chances are an experienced Social Security disability lawyer who has handled many disability hearings will be able to do a better job of presenting your case at a hearing. If there is a medical expert or vocational expert at your hearing this will make the hearing even more complicated. Knowing your file inside and out will be needed to have the ability to cross examine the vocational expert and medical expert if needed. Medical experts will give a summary of your medical history. They will also give their opinion as to whether or not you meet or equal any of the listed impairments. They may also be asked to give their opinion of your limitations from your medical conditions in their particular specialty. The vocational experts job at the hearing, is to give a summary of your work history and classify those jobs as to what exertional level they were performed at and the skills required to do those jobs. They will also give an opinion as to whether or not any of the skills are transferable to other types of work. The judge will also ask hypothetical questions based on the medical evidence in the file and what your file shows your limitations are. The vocational expert will then give an opinion as to whether you can perform your prior work based on that hypothetical. The vocational expert may also be asked to give an opinion if there is any other work that could be performed based on the limitations in the hypothetical. If the VE finds there is other work based on the hypothetical he or she will then give an estimation of the number of jobs available in both the local and national economy. The key to a hearing with experts is to know what questions to ask and sometimes when not to ask questions. Hearings with experts are best handled by lawyers with extensive experience in dealing with them. A Social Security disability lawyer will know how to use the evidence in the file to cross examine these experts if their testimony is unfavorable to you. This is one area where I find it particularly difficult to try and explain to a claimant without a lawyer how to handle this type of hearing. No matter what I tell you it cannot make up for three years of law school and many years of dealing with these types of cases. So if you know experts are going to be at your hearing it would be a good idea to consider a lawyer at this point. I try to provide as much information as possible on my websites and blogs, but sometimes you can make up for experience in handling certain situations that arise in a SSDI or SSI claim. Your hearing notice will say what if any experts will be at your hearing.

Are Social Security Disability Hearing Backlogs Being Reduced?

As of March 2009 Social Security has had a drop in the number of disability hearings pending for three straight months. However, the number of applicants requesting a hearing has increased this year. The probable culprit is the lagging economy and baby boomer generation. This year the number of hearing requests is up 10% compared to last year. More bad news, there is also an increase in cases at the lower levels compared to last year by about the same 10%. The majority of these cases at the lower level will begin to reach the hearing stage soon. This will cause increased pressure and backlog at the Social Security hearing offices. Now back to some good news. There is 90 more administrative law judges then there was last year. It has also been reported that the ALJ's have increased their production of hearing decisions. There has also been an increase in hearing decisions decided by attorney advisers before they are assigned to a judge. Unfortunately, I have more bad news to report. Although SSA statistics are showing that more hearings are being held, there appears to be a slowdown between the time of the hearing until the claimant gets the decision. One cause of this problem appears to be that there is a decrease in the number of decision writers compared to last year. The result of all this when factored together appears to be keeping the processing times about the same as they were a year ago at the hearing stage. From the time you request a hearing until you get a decision it still averages around 500 days. So although SSA should be commended on its efforts to reduce the backlog it appears the increase in cases is thwarting its efforts to do so. At least, the backlog does not appear to be getting any worse. This is of little comfort to those who have to wait for a hearing. This information was obtained from the NOSSCR Forum dated April 2009 and from SSA's official statistics.

Efforts to Reduce Social Security Disability Hearing Wait Times

Anyone with a Social Security disability claim and the lawyers that help them all know that it takes way too long to get a hearing. The good news, is that as part of the stimulus package the Social Security Administration will be receiving additional funds to open new hearing offices and hire additional employees including administrative law judges. The increase funding should also help with SSDI and SSI claims at the lower levels as well. SSA also plans to hire a substantial amount of new employees to handle the application reconsideration levels as well. Social Security is expected to hire at least 7000 new employees by September of 2009. The most significant backlog is still at the hearing level and this appears to be where the emphasis is being placed. There is plans to open 13 new hearing offices. The Social Security Administration has already opened two new National Hearing Centers, one in Falls Church, Virginia and the other in Albuquerque, New Mexico. These NHC will handle cases by video hearing for the most backlogged ODAR offices. There is also plans to open two new NHC's one in Chicago, Illinois and one in Baltimore, Maryland. The 13 new hearing offices are to be opened in Phoenix Arizona, St. Petersburg Florida, Tallahassee Florida, Atlanta South Georgia, Danville or Portage Indiana, Topeka Kansas, Livonia Michigan, Mount Pleasant Michigan, Fayetteville North Carolina, Akron Ohio, Toledo Ohio, Auburn Washington, and Madison Wisconsin. Although this is good news, because on paper it looks like this should certainly help those waiting for Social Security disability hearings, but it is still difficult to tell how big an impact it will have given the sharp increase in disability hearing requests, as a result of the baby boom generation and the failing economy. Hopefully, the opening of these new offices and the other initiatives taken by the Social Security Administration will have a significant impact on reducing the wait times for disabled claimants waiting for a hearing. If you want to see how long it takes to get a hearing and then a decision in your particular state visit my website. For more information on Social Security disability hearings and what happens at that those hearings you can find this information on my website as well.

Plan to eliminate backlogs for SSDI and SSI hearings.

The Social Security Administration under Commissioner Astrue has announced its strategic goal for eliminating hearings backlog and preventing its recurrence. It stated goals are to reduce the number of pending hearings to 466,000 by fiscal year 2013. Reduce the time it takes an individual to receive a hearing decision to an average of 270 days. Increase productivity by automating labor-intensive tasks necessary to issue a hearing decision and establish standardized electronic hearings business processes.

Presently over 750,000 individuals are waiting for a hearing on their disability applications. The average wait time for individual at the hearing stage for Social Security disability benefits is 500 days to receive a decision. This wait time is clearly unacceptable for those who are disabled and have no income and have to wait 500 days to get a decision. It is good to see that the Social Security Administration is putting a great deal of time, effort, and money into the problem. The SSA plan to reduce this backlog includes increased funding to employ new workers and upgrade technology.

Their first objective is to increase capacity to hear and decide cases. They plan to do this by increasing the number of ALJ's and support staff at the hearing level. They also plan to screen hearing request to quickly identify possible allowances before hearing is even scheduled. They also plan to increase the use of video hearings and make use of SSA's two new National Hearing Centers. These National Hearing Centers were set up to help reduce severely backlog hearing offices by conducting hearings from the centers by video conference.

SSA's second objective is to improve their workload management practices throughout the hearing process. They plan to do this by streamlining and automating case tasks. This will be done by the increased use of software technology. Also part of his plan is to eliminate temporary hearing sites. In my opinion, this may help reduce costs and efficiency within the Social Security Administration, however, it will cause additional burden on claimants who may have to travel further for their hearings. They also plan to establish standardized electronic hearing business processes. This again appears to rely heavily on the usage of new technologies. They also plan to prevent unintended backlogs. The effort here appears to be based on reducing the amount of time it takes for the Appeals Council to review hearing decisions.

It will be interesting to see if social security is able to reach its goals but at the very least it at least appears like they have a feasible plan in place to help reduce the backlogs. From my experience the past year has shown a sharp increase in the number of cases decided before a hearing is even scheduled. This alone should help in reducing the wait times for claimants at the hearing stage for their Social Security Disability claims. There was one thing not specifically mentioned in the report and that is, that soon lawyers will be able to access their files at the hearing level over the Internet. I am a part of a pilot program and I am presently using that system. I believe this too will have a significant impact on reducing the backlog because cases will be better prepared so that a proper determination can be made at the hearing level. The earlier a lawyer is able to access his clients files, then the earlier he can see what is in the file and what is missing. A lawyer can then help identify cases that should be decided favorably without a hearing by sending in a pre-hearing brief. I have been handling Social Security disability cases for many years and I can honestly say that SSA has made significant strides in improving the process. The only question is whether it will be enough to reduce backlogs given the sharp increase in cases due to the baby boomer population and the struggling economy.
For more information on Social Security's new initiatives see http://www.ssa.gov/asp/index.htm

For more information on Social Security Disability Hearings see my website page on what you can expect when you finally do get a hearing.

Social Security Disability for Cancer

This blog will address cancer and Social Security Disability. Many people who are diagnosed with cancer and apply for SSDI or SSI benefits are surprised and shocked when they are denied by Social Security. What many people don't realize is that even if you are given a diagnosis as serious as cancer you still have to prove under Social Security's rules that you are disabled. It is important that you know how Social Security determines if you are disabled and what evidence you will need to prove your disability. A good place to start to learn this is my website on Social Security Disability. There are some things you should know if you are applying for disability and have cancer. The type of cancer you have can make a big difference on how your claim is processed. SSA has in place a quick determination process for those with certain types of cancer and other diseases. This means if your cancer is on this list you will get a quicker favorable determination. SSA has a screening process for these types of cases. I explain the details, and provide a list of the cancers that Social Security considers in their quick determination process on my webpage dealing with Social Security Disability and cancer. Most of you will have a cancer that is not on this list and, therefore, will have to follow the normal five step process for proving disability. If you are not one of the cancers on the list (with the severity required) then you will first want to check if you meet or equal one of the listings for cancer. If you feel you might meet or equal one of these listings for cancer you should take a copy to your doctor to see if you indeed meet a listing. Even if you do not meet or equal a listed impairment you can still be found disabled if you can show that the limitations from your cancer and treatment for the cancer would prevent you from performing your past work and a significant number of any other work. This is general Information so if you are diagnosed with cancer and applying for SSDI or SSI benefits make sure to read my website and the page that is specific to cancer and Social Security Disability.

How do I find a Social Security Disability Lawyer?

To answer this question I will try and explain the different types of lawyers and representatives that are out there. There are big nationwide non-attorney companies. There are also big law firms that handle cases nationwide. You will also find local solo practitioners some who practice exclusively in social security disability and others who handle many types of law. You also have every other size you can possibly imagine between of both law firms and non-attorney companies. So how can you tell the difference if you want to be represented by a lawyer or law firm. First, if you want a lawyer working on your claim then you will have to know the difference between law firms and non-attorney companies. You can always call and ask them if they are lawyers but one easy way to tell whether the company you are considering is a law firm is if they advertise as lawyers. This might seem a little silly but any company that advertises that they are lawyers or that they are a law firm would by law have to be a law firm. You have to listen closely to the advertisement for the words lawyer, attorney or law firm. A company may have a name that sounds like a law firm but if you don't hear the words law firm or lawyer they are probably non-attorney advocates. The interesting thing here is some of the big disability firms that you see on TV all the time are no longer law firms. I noticed that many of the big firms are now calling themselves Social Security Disability advocates. This is probably because they made the switch from being a law firm or in some cases never were law firm to being non-attorney advocates. You might be wondering why one of these big companies would do this and lose their status as a law firm. There are a few reasons. One reason is purely economic. You do not have to be a lawyer to represent Social Security Disability claimants and get paid to do so. Fairly recently, a new law went into effect that allowed a non-attorney representatives to have their fee withheld by SSA from a claimants past due benefits just as they have been doing for lawyers for years. Some of the big law firms saw an opportunity to hire people who are not lawyers to represent SSDI and SSI claimants in their claims. As you can imagine the savings these big firms are able to make are huge by not having to hire a lawyers at a lawyer's salary. However, because these firms are now using non-attorney representatives they can no longer call themselves law firms. The other advantage to not being a law firm is that you are not subject to the many lawyer ethics rules on advertising. There are certain things lawyers and law firms cannot say or do in their advertising. Non-attorney advocates are not subject to the advertising restrictions that lawyers are. The purpose of this post is not to say that lawyers are better than non-attorney advocates when it comes to handling a Social Security Disability claim. The purpose of this post is only to make those who prefer to have a lawyer aware of how to distinguish between the law firms and non-attorney advocate companies. I decided to write this post because I have received e-mails from individuals who had hired some of these large non-attorney advocate companies thinking they were law firms and found out later they were not and were upset because they thought they were hiring a lawyer and did not find out they did not have a lawyer representing them until they had already hired them. In one case, the person did not know until he showed up at the hearing. So if you are looking to be represented by a lawyer for Social Security Disability I hope this post helps you to be able to distinguish between the non-attorney companies and the law firms before you sign the papers.

The stimulus package and its effect on Social Security disability and its beneficiaries.

The stimulus bill for 2009 is expected to have added funding for the Social Security Administration. Hopefully, this will help SSA deal with the increasing number of cases and the present backlog. It is also anticipated that the president a request a significant increase in funding for the SSA program in the 2010 budget. Also, as part of the stimulus package those of you receiving SSI and SSDI payments that live in the United States Puerto Rico or US territories will be entitled to a one-time payment of $250. It is my understanding, that you will get this payment automatically without you having to do anything. For those of you with SSI this $250 will not count as income. It is also my understanding that $250 will be tax exempt but you should check with your accountant. It is my hope that with the increase in funding to the Social Security Administration will help with the increased caseload and backlog SSA is experiencing due to the baby boomers and the declining economy. The key will be whether the money is spent efficiently to meet these goals.

Social Security Disability and the medical listing of impairments

If you are applying for Social Security disability benefits it is important that you read the medical listing of impairments for your particular medical condition to see if you may meet or equal any of these listings. If you feel you may meet or equal one of the listed impairments, you then should take a copy of the listing that you feel you meet and ask your doctor's opinion. If your doctor feels you meet or equal the listed impairment then you should ask him for a report. That report should contain the listing name and number and an explanation from your doctor as to why it is his or her opinion that you meet the listing. You should also include all medical documentation that supports the fact that you meet or equal the listed impairment. To meet or equal a listed impairment you must have a doctor's opinion that says you do. This is not the only way you can be found disabled but if you do meet or equal listed impairment you will be found disabled without consideration of your age education and past work experience. These listings were designed to be very difficult to meet for this reason. In many cases, people are found disabled at steps four and five of the process which take into consideration your age education and past work experience. The medical listings are at step three of the process. You can find all five steps of the process on my web page entitled am i disabled. This post is just a reminder to always check the medical listings because if your medical condition is severe enough to meet these listings then you'll be found disabled without having to go to steps four and five. This can be particularly important if you're under 50 years old because if you are under this age they can be much more difficult to win at the last two steps of the process.

The Basics of Disability Claims

If you are trying to win a disability claim whether it be Social Security disability or veterans compensation there are certain things you should do to give yourself the best chance to win. In this post I will not get into the details of a Social Security disability or VA disability claim but rather talk about general things you should do in either type of claim. Many of the things I will mention will seem obvious but sometimes the most obvious things are overlooked and can cost you your chance at winning your claim.

First, you should know what evidence SSA or the VA have. After all, the decision they make will be based on the evidence which they have in front of them. This brings me to my next point. Make sure all the evidence medical and otherwise that support your claim have been submitted to the decision makers of your claim. If you have a lawyer or representative all evidence should be sent to them so they can review it and then submit it. In VA cases you can find out what evidence they have by requesting your C-file and service medical records. In Social Security cases it can be a little more difficult to know exactly what is in your file at least until you get to the hearing stage when you can get a copy of your file. Before you get to the hearing stage you may want to call your local office to see what evidence they have been able to obtain.

Second, you should know what you need to prove to win your case. If the law is confusing to you and you are unsure of what you have to prove, then it may be time to consider getting a lawyer if you are not already represented. If you know what you have to prove and you know what evidence is in their file, you then can take the next step which is to get the additional information or medical evidence you need to prove your case. In some cases you may need to get medical evidence that is crucial to your claim that they do not have. In other cases, you may need an opinion letter from a doctor or vocational expert. Both the Social Security Administration and the Veterans Administration are often looking for very specific things and opinion letters from experts. You must know what those things are.

Lastly, the biggest mistake you can make is to think that you have a good enough case that you can leave it up to the VA or SSA to get the evidence for you. If you are not active in your case or at least have a lawyer that is, then don't expect your file to have everything you need to win. These government agencies deal with thousands upon thousands of claims. Only you or your representative have a personal stake in the out come of your claim. As I mentioned earlier, many of this may seem obvious but it does not hurt to read it because you may realize that you are not doing everything you can to give yourself the best chance to win your disability claim.

Looking for answers to your Social Security Disability Disability questions?

I have recently added a customized Google search function to my ultimate disability guide website. The Google search bar has been set up to only search my disability websites and blogs to help you find the information you are looking for for your disability claim. I decided to add this because many of you have e-mailed me that you wish you had a way to search for answers to your questions on SSDI, SSI, and veterans compensation. You can find this new helpful tool at my informational Social Security Disability website at the bottom of the navigation bar on the left side of the page. If you cannot find the answers to your questions here you are always free to e-mail me. If you are looking for help with your disability claim either from myself or a local disability lawyer you can call me at the number on the site, e-mail me or fill out one of the forms on the website. I am an experienced disability lawyer and the information I provide I believe you will find helpful in your pursuit of benefits. I think you'll find that my website is different from most of the websites you will find on Social Security Disability and Veterans Compensation. What makes my website different is that I actually give you useful information that can help you win your claim. If you spend a little time on my website and use the search function I think you'll find that I provide the best information available on the web. My websites and this blog are truly intended to help you understand the disability process and how to win your claim with or without a lawyer. If while reading my website you are having difficulty finding information you think would be of value to people reading the site please let me know because I am always adding new content to my sites.

VA doctors and SSDI claims.

There is good news for veterans who have had difficulty getting their VA medical providers to provide medical evidence for their Social Security disability claims. According to the NOSSCR Forum dated December 2008 there is a new VHA directive 2008-071. This directive makes it clear that VA medical providers are required to provide veterans with completed medical forms for non-VA issues. This is particularly helpful for veterans who are treated at VA facilities and are applying for Social Security Disability benefits. For years, many veterans and lawyers working for them on their Social Security disability claims have had difficulty getting medical evidence and opinions from VA hospital physicians. This directive should make it easier for veterans applying for Social Security disability benefits to be able to get medical forms filled out by their doctors that could help their claims for SSDI. I personally can attest to the difficulty in getting VA doctors to fill out forms for Social Security disability claims and I hope this new directive will assist our nation's veterans in obtaining the evidence they need to win their disability claims.

Doctors nexus letter in a VA disability claim.

Many veterans applying for veterans compensation benefits are aware that a nexus letter from their doctor can help prove service connection in their disability case. What I have found however, is that many nexus letters are inadequate and often times are given little weight by the VA. It is my personal opinion, that the VA relies too heavily on specific wording and other elements of the letter when determining what weight they will give that doctors opinion. But since the veterans administration is the one making the decision it is a good idea to try to include what the Veterans Administration is looking for in a nexus letter.

Oftentimes, the doctors that write these letters do not mention that they have reviewed the veteran's entire file and medical records. Believe it or not, this can be enough for the VA to disregard the doctors opinion. (This can also work to your advantage if you received an unfavorable C&P exam and the VA doctor does not mention that he reviewed the veterans file.) So if you're going to get an opinion letter from your doctor whether it be a nexus letter or an opinion of some other aspect of your claim it is important to give a copy of your file and any medical records you have to the doctor and tell him of the importance of him noting in his report that he has reviewed these documents. If the doctor references any thing from the file to support his opinion this can make the report carry even more weight.

For some issues, it is important that the doctor also perform an exam on you and state that his opinion is based on the veterans file, his medical records and his exam of you.

As I mentioned earlier, terminology can be very important in the nexus letter. You should let your doctor know that he does not have to be 100% sure in his opinion. You should provide him with the terminology the VA uses. Some examples are, if he is more than 50% sure he should use the phrase "more likely than not that the condition was caused/exacerbated during service. If he is 50% sure the terminology that should be used is "as likely as not that the condition was caused/exacerbated during service. If the doctor is less than 50% sure then the terminology that should be used is "less likely that the condition was caused/exacerbated during service. If a doctor is at least 50% sure (as likely as not) that your condition was caused or exacerbated during service then this is enough to demonstrate his opinion is that you are service-connected. More than 50% sure (more likely than not) is even better but not required.

Doctors opinion reports can be an extremely valuable tool in a be a disability claim if they are done correctly. If you have a lawyer or representative have them provide your doctor with a letter describing what is needed for your particular case. Every case is different and the type of report needed for a particular claim can vary so the above is just general information to give you an idea of what the VA is looking for. For additional information on VA disability claims or if you have any other questions you can e-mail me here or at the website linked in this sentence.

The Economy and Social Security Disability.

What do you do if you are presently working with a medical condition that causes you disabilities and you are lucky enough to be in the company that accommodates those disabilities but now you are concerned there may be layoffs at your company? This is a question facing thousands of Americans with disabilities. These fears are justified and for many of you in this position you may have to start looking at the possibility of applying for Social Security disability benefits if your company let you go. The best case scenario is that you are able to find another job that is willing to accommodate your disabilities. However, this can be a lot more difficult than it sounds depending on what your disabilities are. If you have worked for a company for many years and developed your medical condition while working for them generally they are more willing to take steps to accommodate your disability because of your relationship and experience in the job. When applying for a new job you do not have this relationship with the company, or possibly the experience the new job requires. This could lead to a frustrating search for new employment. There are laws in place to protect people with disabilities from being discriminated against when applying for jobs, however, we do not live in a perfect world and many companies will not be hiring, or will be looking to hire younger cheaper employees. In my opinion, those most affected will be those who worked for one company for many years and are now in the 50 to 65-year-old age group. The good news is for those of you who do have disabilities and are in this age group it can be significantly easier to be approved for disability benefits than for those under 50 years old. I would never recommend someone apply for Social Security Disability benefits over looking for new employment because generally working is better both financially and for one's personal well-being. But, for those who can't find employment with disabilities Social Security Disability may be your best option. If you have a disability and you have recently been let go or you expect that your company will be making layoffs now is the time to research all your options. To learn more about Social Security disability follow the link to my website so you can learn about disability and be prepared for what might lay ahead. In these uncertain times, you should learn all you can about all your options if you lose your job. My website can help you better understand one of those options. I sincerely hope that this is not your situation but if it is, you have a place to go to learn more about disability benefits.

SSA Commissioner Astrue's new intiatives.

SSA Commissioner Michael Astrue spoke at the recent NOSSCR conference. The Commissioner spoke of the decreased waiting times at the hearing offices as well as some new planned initiatives for the Social Security Administration. The Commissioner plans include opening up new hearing offices. He also hopes to be able to hire more administrative law judges and increase the usage of video hearings. Part of this initiative is also to allow lawyers and representatives the ability to conduct hearings from their office by video conference as well. The hope is that these initiatives will help deal with the increased caseload while decreasing wait times at the hearing level. There is also plans to develop new software to help with the decisions at the application level. In addition there are plans to develop a new system to deal with the occupation aspect of Social Security claims. The Dictionary of Occupational Titles also called the DOT has been the SSA's primary source for dealing with occupational issues. The Commissioner noted that the DOT is outdated. The commission also plans to update the listing of impairments on a more regular basis. The Commissioner also has a new initiative to allow "compassionate allowances". This would allow quicker decisions for claimants whose medical condition would clearly meet Social Security's definition of disabled. The above information is from my attendance at the NOSSCR conference and the Social Security Forum released by NOSSCR in the October 2008 edition. Commissioner Astrue should be commended for the decrease in wait times at the hearing level and for his active pursuit of new initiatives to make the Social Security Disability process better. The biggest question I have is whether SSI will have the funds in this new economic environment to be able to carry through on all these initiatives.

Social Security Disability NOSSCR conference

I will be attending the NOSSCR conference this week. This is a conference for members who help disability claimants get their benefits. I will be posting from the conference any interesting news about Social Security disability law that I hear about. These conferences also help me to come up with new ideas for posts for this blog. My goal is to provide you with as much information as I can about Social Security disability and attending every conference possible is part of that plan. Make sure to check back at this blog and my website for new information and tips on Social Security disability. There is many new and interesting developments in this area of law. In particular, Social Security is exploring new ways to help speed up the process. I will of course as always report on any new developments that may benefit you. In the meantime, I wish you all luck with your claims and remember to stay informed.

Experienced Social Security Disability Lawyer joins our firm.

I am pleased to announce, that in August 2008 I have hired a new experience Social Security Disability lawyer to my law firm of Kazmierczak & Kazmierczak, LLP.. Darren T. Suelto, Esq. will be working for our firm on Social Security Disability cases and long-term disability cases. Darren has eight years of experience in Social Security law and trial advocacy. He is a Brooklyn Law school graduate and was admitted to the New York bar in the year 2000. He also has a Masters degree in Business Administration which he received from Baruch College. At Kazmierczak & Kazmierczak we believe in hiring experienced Social Security Disability lawyers and Darren more than fits that bill. Mr. Suelto grew up in New York City and now lives in New Jersey. When not reviewing or developing cases, Darren likes music and cinema as well as traveling with his wife, Maila. Darren's experience and knowledge in Social Security disability law will not only benefit our firm but he will also contribute articles to this blog and my informational website on Social Security disability law. His articles should bring a fresh insight and contribution to my Web publications that are devoted to helping people understand Social Security disability law to give themselves the knowledge they need to help them in their pursuit of disability benefits.

Recent Conference on Veterans Disability Law

This past weekend I attended the NOVA conference. As usual, the conference was very informative and many topics were covered. One of the most interesting aspects of this conference was that they actually had a real case presented before the court of veterans claims. NOVA's membership has grown quite a bit, in fact, it has tripled since the first conference I attended. This is good news for the veterans as it appears more lawyers and representatives are taking the time and effort to learn how to become better advocates and representing veterans before the veterans administration. Most of the new lawyers at the conference that I met were primarily Social Security disability attorneys and workers compensation lawyers. It appears that more and more lawyers are getting involved in this field which should make it easier for veterans to find help with their claims. Conferences like this should make the transition from other fields of law into veterans law much easier. I want to thank all of the speakers at the conference for the exceptional job they did in sharing their knowledge and expertise for the benefit of veterans and the lawyers who want to help veterans. For more information on VA disability you can visit my website on the subject which will soon be updated to include more content.

I am clearly disabled for SSDI why was I denied?

What factors other than your medical condition and how it limits you affect whether or not you win your Social Security disability case? Some people make the wrong assumption that because they have a disability and medical evidence to prove it that this automatically means they will win their Social Security disability benefits. Unfortunately, this is not the case. The person who decide your case at Social Security can be as important as the disability and evidence itself. This may not be fair, but it is humans who ultimately decide whether or not you win or lose your social security disability claim. Some of these decision makers are favorable to claimants and others are not. You have no control over who decide your case. So you might be wondering, why I even mention this if you have no control over it? The reason I mention it is to keep you from being discouraged if you get an unfavorable decision. Social security has an extensive appeal process. So, even if you are denied you will have many additional opportunities to win your claim. If you know you are disabled and have the evidence to prove it then you should keep appealing. Each new appeal will be decided by a different person and your luck may change. Now I cannot say that some people who are clearly disabled have not lost all their appeals. However, chances are if you are disabled and have the evidence that shows you are disabled you will eventually have a good chance to win your claim. You should not ignore the fact that you have been denied you should look at it as a wake-up call to take additional steps to give yourself the best chance to win on appeal. If you have been denied and you do not have a lawyer you should definitely consider getting one at this point. The reason I say this is because even though you have other appeals you do not want to waste these opportunities to win. As I've mentioned earlier, it may just be the person deciding your claim but it could also be something you are missing. If you are denied you may also want to ask yourself whether you know what you have to prove to win your case. You must understand how the decision-maker at Social Security determines if you are disabled. If you know the process the decision maker goes through to determine if you are disabled you may learn what you have been missing about your particular case. You can then take steps to improve your claim.

Social Security Disability Check List

In this post, I will provide a small checklist for those trying to get their Social Security disability benefits. I hope that this will help some of you make sure that you have done some of the basic things that can help you win your benefits.

Did you collect and send in all your medical evidence? You should not rely on Social Security to get all your medical information. You should do whatever you have to do to make sure all of your relevant medical evidence is in your file for Social Security to review when deciding your claim. You can call Social Security to see what medical information they were able to get. You can also check with your doctor to see if your records were sent to Social Security.

Do you have opinion evidence from your treating doctors? This can be in the form of a report detailing your medical condition and how it limits you. You can also have your treating doctor fill out an RFC form. Without opinion evidence from your treating doctors in the file you will have to rely on what Social Security's doctors say your limitations are from your medical conditions. Your treating doctors are supposed to be given more weight than the opinions of the Social Security doctors so it is highly recommended that you get this opinion evidence from your doctors.

Do you understand what you have to prove to win your case? If you do not know what you have to prove to win your particular case you should research Social Security disability law as much as you can. You may also want to consider hiring a lawyer to help you with your claim.

Did you respond to all the letters you got from Social Security? If you received a letter from Social Security requesting specific information you should make sure you provide Social Security the information they are looking for. Read every letter you get from Social Security. You would be surprised at how many cases are held up or denied because claimants did not respond to a letter sent by Social Security looking for certain information.

Did you appeal your denial? You should make sure to appeal any denial you get within the time frame you are allowed. Most appeals must be filed within 60 days.

The above checklist is very basic and too many of you might seem like common sense but sometimes a simple reminder like this can help you realize you need to stay involved in your claim. I hope this information is helpful and wish you luck.

Social Security Disability Hearing

I will address how to prepare for a Social Security Disability hearing. The first you should know is that if you are at the hearing stage this means you have already been denied at least once and probably twice. Because of this if you do not have a lawyer yet you may want to consider finding one to help you. If you decide you still want to go it alone you will want to review your file at least one month before your hearing. In most cases you can call the hearing office were your hearing is going to be held and either make an appointment to go down there and look at your file or if your file is in electric format request a copy of your file on CD. You will want to make sure all your medical records are up to date and that you have a report or RFC form from your treating doctor explaining your medical conditions and your limitations from them. If you have any records missing or do not have a report or RFC from your doctor then you must make sure to take advantage of the time left before the hearing to get this information. You will also want to look at what the SSA doctors exams have to say about your condition. If you have a lawyer they should do this for you. To prepare for what will happen at your hearing I recommend you read my web page called Social Security Disability Hearing. You should also take the time to review the rest of my site so that you know what you have to prove to win your particular case. Keep in mind on the day of the hearing that you should not talk about your case with anybody but your lawyer while you are waiting in the waiting room. Something you say could be over heard. The two most important things you can do is make sure to be there on time and make sure your file has all the medical evidence. If you are unable to get some evidence you feel is important to your claim you can ask the ALJ for assistance in getting the information or ask for more time so that you may get it. Try not to postpone your hearing. Instead try to have the hearing and ask to get the records after the hearing so you won't have to reschedule. You should ask for a postponement if you have seconds thoughts and want to find a lawyer.

How things are going with new SSDI pilot program

My initial observations of the new pilot program that allows me to access clients files directly over the Internet are so far very positive. When accessing files at the local ODAR office I have very little trouble. I hope in the future SSA will allow access to files at the application and Appeals Council level and from what I understand this is eventually in the plans. I have not yet had the opportunity to submit a request for a fully favorable decision through the system but look forward to doing so at the earliest opportunity to see how that works. I know another post on this subject might not be of much interest to many of you but for any lawyer who practices in this field who might be reading this, I have to say it is a pleasure to be able to access my clients files at ODAR without having to wait for them. This will be my last post on this subject until I have something new to report. My next few post will be devoted to providing information helpful to those in the process of a Social Security Disability claim. I will write again soon.

Recent meeting with SSA on pilot program

This past Monday a meeting was held at SSA with the lawyers and representatives that are part of the new pilot program that will let representatives access the files at the hearing stage on-line. I am in this program and will update as to how the program is going every so often. If you want to read more on the Social Security Disability Pilot program see my website blog. One thing I was surprised to learn was that the Social Security Administration is ready to allow lawyers and representatives to hold hearings at their offices. I hope to be able to hold hearings at my office in the near future. It requires that the law firm buy the equipment and be checked by SSA for security. This should be very beneficial to claimants, lawyers and SSA in a number of ways. For claimants who live far from the closest ODAR office they will be able to have their hearing by video at their lawyers office which in many cases is closer to the claimant and a more comfortable environment. For lawyers, the advantage is they may be able to schedule more hearings even at different ODARs for the same day. It will also allow lawyers to spend more time at their office because they will not have to spend any time traveling to and from a hearing. For example, the hearing office I go to for most of my hearings is an hour away. When I have hearings I often do not get to spend any time at my office on those days. I plan to have the capability to hold hearings in my office in the near future. For SSA, the advantages are that a ALJ can hold hearings in several locations from their own hearing room thus allowing them to schedule more hearings. This does not mean that all hearings will be held from layers offices since the cost will preclude many firms from doing it and there are times when an in person hearing is important to a particular case. The bottom line is that these programs are a benefit to all claimants because it should decrease the processing time of cases at the hearing level. I must commend SSA and all the employees at Social Security who worked on these programs to get them ready as quickly as they did.

Veterans and Social Security Disability

I have noticed while answering e-mails from veterans that many veterans do not apply for Social Security Disability because they fear it will adversely affect their VA compensation. You can get both SSDI and veterans compensation. I have also heard from many veterans that they wanted to wait before applying for SSDI to see how their veterans compensation claim goes first and that they don't want to have to deal with applying for both at the same time. Now I understand that dealing with a claim before the VA and SSA at the same time can be a little overwhelming but it is important to file your claim for SSDI as soon as you are eligible if you can not work. The reason this is important is for two reasons. First, you can only get paid for SSDI for one year prior to your application. So waiting for a veterans compensation claim to be finished could cost you past due money you could be entitled to from Social Security disability. Also if you are applying for unemployability through the VA a favorable SSDI decision can be strong evidence that you should be entitled to VA unemployability if you were found disabled by Social Security on the same medical conditions you are service connected for. This post only is referring to VA compensation and Social Security Disability. SSI and VA pension are treated differently because they are needs based programs and eligibility for these depends among other things on ones financial situation. SSI and VA Pension are for those with very low income. if you have any questions about any of these programs you can contact me at VA and Social Security Disability lawyer.

Social Security Disability Article

I have an article in the July - September 2008 edition of Liver Health Today. I first want to thank the good people of the Liver Health Today for allowing me to be published in their magazine. My article covered how SSA determines if you are disabled and more specifically how cases of chronic liver disease are handled and how to give yourself the best chance of winning a Social Security disability claim for liver disease. If you suffer from liver disease I strongly recommend the magazine. You can subscribe by calling 1-800-792-6397 x133. I am making this post in hopes that some of you who suffer from chronic liver disease will know of this magazine that covers issues relevent to your condition. If you suffer from any of the chronic liver diseases and are unable to work and if you have any questions feel free to contact me at 1-877-527-5529 and ask for Karl.

Tips on how to win a Social Security Disability Claim

I will give you a few tips on how to win your SSDI or SSI claim. Many of these things I have mentioned before but if you are reading my blog and others like it then this is the information you are really looking for. I will discuss tips that help with all types of claims and you should realize that every case is very different but there are some common keys to preparing your case. First, learn enough to know what you have to prove to win your particular case. A good place to start your research on Social Security Disability is my website. Second, read the medical listing of impairments for your particular conditions. If you feel you may meet or equal one of those listings take a copy to your doctor and ask him or her. If they agree you should try and get a report from them that states the listing and why you meet that listing and have the rest of your records to support this. If you do not meet or equal a listing you will still need all your medical information but you will also need RFC forms or a report from your doctor that shows your limitations from your medical conditions. Look at the GRID Rules and see if you would be disabled under them given your age education and work experience and the limitations you have from your condition. If you do not meet a listing or fall favorably into one of the categories for the Grid rules then you will most likely have to show you can't even do a significant number of sedentary jobs (sit down work with very little lifting and standing). Important limitations to show here are any psychiatric or other cognitive limitations. Also any limitations of your arms and hands. You should also not forget your limitations from pain such as limitations in sitting long and difficulty in concentration. This is just a short list of tips but should get you going in the right direction. If you have trouble understanding what you have to prove and how to do it seek the help of a lawyer. Despite what many lawyers may tell I suggest you do not wait to be denied before getting help. Get it right from the start and your case may win at application and save you much time in the process.

Things you should know about Social Security Disability.

I have decided today to just list some things you should know about Social Security Disability. SSA uses a five step test to determine if you are disabled. Many people who write me about why they can't do the work they have been doing. This is not what determines if you are disabled or not. This is only one step in the process. See link above to see the steps the Social Security Administration takes to determine whether you win or lose.

A person applying for SSDI or SSI should not rely on Social Security to get the information needed to win your claim. They will send for some records from the information you give them but they can not be counted on to get everything you need to win. You need to be active in your case particularly with your own doctors to make sure you have all the prove you need to win your Social Security Disability Benefits.

Your age is a big factor in your chances of winning SSDI or SSI benefits. This is especially true for those with physical disabilities. If you are younger than 50 years old usually you will have a more difficult case.

If you do not speak English this can in some situations help your case but if you can speak and understand English and are trying to pretend you don't this will hurt your case tremendously as your credibility for everything else you state will come in to doubt.

If you have a letter from your doctor stating you are disabled this is not enough. ALJs and employees of the Administration often ignore these letters if they are not supported by the doctors own treatment records and the rest of the medical evidence. The decision of disability is for SSA to decide not your doctor.

If you do not understand what you have to prove for your particular case or do not have the ability to present your case well you should get a lawyer to help you. You do not have to pay lawyers upfront they get paid on a contingency bases and only get paid if you win your case.

There is much more you should know and you should research as much as you can even if you have a lawyer. For more information on what you need to know and how to win Social Security Disability follow the link.

Do You Qualify for Social Security Benefits?

You qualify for Social Security benefits when you earn enough "credits".  You earn credits by working and paying Social Security Taxes.  These credits are based on the amount of your earnings.  An individuals work history determines if you are eligible for retirement, disability, or your family is eligible for survivors benefits when you die.  For the year 2008 for each $1,050 of earnings you earn one credit, up to a maximum of 4 credits a year.  this amount needed to earn a credit goes up each year.  If you are in the military you also earn work credits.  The number of credits you need to be eligible for benefits depends on your age and type of benefit.  For all those born after 1929 to be eligible for retirement benefits you need 40 credits which amounts to 10 years of work.  For disability eligibility it depends on your age and when you became disabled.  if you became disabled before age 24 you usually need one and a half years of work or 6 credits in the three years prior to you becoming disabled.  If you are between the ages of 24 and 30 then you need credits for half the time until you became disabled.  If you became disabled at 31 years or older then you usually need 20 credits in the ten years before right before you became disabled.  i will now list the credits needed if you became disabled at the following ages:  31-42 years old you need 20 credits, at 44 you would need 22 credits, at 46 it would be 24 credits, at 48 you would need 26 credits, at 50 it would be 28 credits, at 52 you need 30 credits, at 54 you need 32 credits, 56 you need 34 credits, 58 you need 36 credits, 60 you need 38 credits, and at 62 or older you would need 40 credits.  The best way for you to know if you have enough credits is to look at the SSA statement you get every year from Social Security or simply call SSA at 1-800-772-1213.  For information see my website on Social Security Disability Benefits.

How do you prove you can't do sedentary work for SSDI?

In a Social Security Disability claim if you are under 50 years old or over 50 years old and have prior relevant work that is sedentary you will probably have to show you can't even do sedentary work to be found disabled. So how do you do this? If you don't know what I am talking about make sure to read how Social Security determines disability. To show you are limited to less than sedentary work you must think about your limitations from your medical conditions and how they would interfere with your ability to do a sit down job were you did not have to lift much if any weight. Now many of you with back problems might start off by saying you can't sit long. This is significant but will normally not be enough. The important thing here is why you can not sit long. It is probably because of pain. Pain can interfere with your ability to concentrate and focus on a task. Many pain medications can also interfere with these abilities. Many people who have chronic pain or illness also suffer from depression. If you suffer from depression make sure to get an RFC and treatment notes from your psychiatrist because depression can cause many limitations that would make even sedentary work difficult or impossible. Other things to consider are: Does your medical condition require you to take frequent breaks or elevate your legs? How frequently must you go to doctors for your treatment? Do you have days were you simply can not get out of the house? Do you have difficulty using your hands in any way from your medical condition? This is just a starting point to the types of limitations that can help prove you can't even do sedentary work. It is important to remember that it is not enough that you say you have these types of limitations it must be supported by your doctors opinion evidence and backed up by the medical record. You must think of how your particular medical conditions limit you everyday and think of how those limitations would affect you if you had a sedentary job.

OIG Looks at ALJ Productivity

There is much talk about the cause of the backlog of Social Security Disability and SSI cases. To see how long it takes at the hearing stage in your area click on this link. The Office of Inspector General recently released an audit report of the productivity of Administrative Law Judges to see if it played a factor in the backlog of cases. The Commissioner of SSA also has expressed the possibility that increasing the productivity of ALJs could decrease the backlog. SSA appears to be looking at setting some sort of minimal standard in terms of number of cases an ALJ should perform in a given year. There are several problems with SSA's ability to put a minimal standard of production on ALJs. First, Administrative Law Judges are supposed to be independent of SSA in their decision making. Therefore, SSA must be careful not to interfere with the ALJ decision making process. Second, the ALJs have a union that will probably appose any tough standard requirements for ALJs. Lastly, SSA will have to figure out what is an acceptable level of hearings per year for an ALJ. I remember the speech the Commissioner gave at the last NOSSCR conference and it was clear he was not happy about the production of some ALJs and expressed his frustration on his ability to do something about it, but it was clear he planned on working on the issue. I should note here that it has been my experience that the vast majority of ALJs are very productive, and as they should, balance that with the need for a fair hearing for the claimants. In my opinion, it is only a few ALJs that are not producing at a sufficient rate. However, SSA should have the ability to force those few to be more productive to help decrease the backlog of cases.

SSA Working on Updating Listings

The Social Security Administration has been working to update the medical listing of impairments. I will be very interested at the upcoming NOSSCR conference to see the progress they have made and the impact it will have on Social Security Disability claims. At the last conference SSA spoke about making the medical listings more current and easier to asses if someone meets a listing. There has already been a few changes to the listing. My hope is that the changes will help reduce backlogs by granting benefits to those with obvious disabilities earlier in the process. If they make the listings more understandable and more defined then the employees at SSA may be able to grant benefits earlier instead of "passing it on". I will be updating my page on the medical listing of impairments as they become available and as time permits. I will also report back anything I learn at the upcoming NOSSCR conference pertaining to the medical listings and any other topics I feel would be of interest to you.

How to win Social Security Disability benefits

Wining your SSDI or SSI claim is no different than trying to win anything else.  It takes hard work, knowledge, sometimes a little luck and almost always perseverance.  The hard work is the effort it takes to make sure you have all your medical records, RFCs, and doctor's reports.  This may not seem that hard but it often involves multiple request to your doctors and hospitals.  It can also be very difficult to get your doctor to write you a report or fill out an RFC form.  Some doctors will simply refuse to fill out forms or write reports and others will want to be paid for the time it takes them to write them.  You must acquire knowledge to know how SSA determines if you are disabled and what you need to prove your particular case based on SSA's rules.  This can be very difficult for someone who is not trained in law.  You can research the Internet but there are very few websites with any helpful information.  I do recommend my website and I have tried to make it as easy to understand as I could.  If you are just finding this part too difficult then you should consider a lawyer for your case.  Of course, there can be luck involved as well.  For example the person who is deciding your claim may be one who is very liberal in their interpretation of the rules or they may think everyone can work.  Perseverance is required because it often takes a very long time and you may be denied several times before you win your case.  It is important that you not get discouraged and keep appealing your denials.  This post may seem like very simple advice but it is also sound advice for wining your Social Security Disability benefits.

Social Security Disability Web Sites

Most of you who read my blog know that I also have a website devoted to Social Security disability information to help those trying to get benefits. I encourage you to read my website as I think it is the best resource on the web for those who are trying to win benefits on their own or who have a lawyer but want to know more about how SSA works and what they can do to help their lawyer win the case. You will find information like how to apply, how SSA determines if you are disabled, what happens at a hearing and most importantly tips on how to win your case. It even has pages on individual medical conditions like depression, back conditions, fibromyalgia just to name a few. If you want to know how long a claim takes for your area of the country you can find that as well. Take a look for yourself if you have not already and I think you will agree that the information on SSDI and SSI on this sight is second to none. If you do take a look I like to get feedback on what you like about the website and how I may improve it. Also if there is not information there that you are looking for let me know I am always adding new information, statistics, and tips. If you are thinking about applying for Social Security Disability or already have a claim going it is a great place to start your research. To view this website just click on the link at the top of the page.

SSDI and SSI Overpayment Rules Need Change

I know this is something that will never happen but SSA needs to consider changing their rules in regards to over payments in Social Security Disability and SSI payments. The way it is now even if the claimant is not at fault they will still usually have to pay the money back. Essentially if the claimant can "afford" to pay the money back then they are responsible for the pay back even if they are not at fault. I have seen over payments from a few hundred dollars up to over one hundred thousand dollars. What is almost comical to me is the payment notices that go to the claimant have way to many words and not enough information on how much the claimant is supposed to get and why. Then when SSA realises they made a mistake they act like the claimant should have known the amount they were getting is wrong. Anyway I am not suggesting that individuals who knowingly take money they know is not theirs should not have to pay it back. But sometimes you get a minor mistake by SSA that can over pay an individual just a little bit over many years and then all the sudden the government wants $20, 000 for the overpayment. The way the rules are now even though it was not your fault if you have enough money in SSA view to live on per month then anything extra should go to the overpayment. What makes matters worse is that almost no attorneys or representatives will take these cases. I made no attempt here to actually explain the exact language of the rules on overpayments. This was just a venting post on my part.

How to know if your lawyer is experienced in SSDI cases.

When looking for a lawyer or representative for your Social Security Disability or SSI case it might be wise to find out if the lawyer is experienced in these types of cases. So how do you do that? You can simply ask them how much of thier practice is devoted to SSDI or how many cases have they handled. You can also look to see or ask if they are a member of NOSSCR or NADR. NOSSCR is the National Organization of Social Security Claimants Representatives. NADR is the National Association of Disability Representatives. Some lawyers who handle SSDI claims have taken the step of getting certified in some form. Some states have certification programs and there is also certification through non-profit organizations like the National Board of Social Security Disability Advocacy. Some states do not recognise certification in the field at all. However, any lawyer who has taken the time to get certified in one form or another in my opinion is showing their commitment to this area of law. Also to get certified the programs I am aware of require a great deal of proof of a lawyers commitment to the area of law. None of this means there are not good lawyers and representatives that are not members of these groups or that are not certified by some organzation. I am providing this information so you have more tools in your home work in finding a lawyer.

Reporting Good News for Future Claims

I have recently learned that SSA by order of Commissioner Astrue will be suspending the proposed rule changes that would disadvantage claimants trying to get Social Security Disability benefits. The rule that would require evidence to be submitted 5 days prior to hearing has been halted. Also the closing of the record on appeal has also been suspended. The Commissioner after recieving concerns from Social Security representatives and lawyers about the proposed rule changes has reconsidered in light of the understanding of the difficulty claimants sometimes have in obtaining their medical records in a timely manner. It was also announced that the DSI program in the Boston region will be terminated. The DSI program was a tested new process in that region. It incorporated the five day rule on evidence and ended the claimants right to administrative review of unfavorable decisions by ALJs. This does not mean there will not be changes at some point but for now the Commissioner plans to meet with lawyer and representative organizations to discuss possible changes in system.

The Future of SSDI Hearings

I recently had a hearing were the claimant was in one state the ALJ was on video from another state and I flew in from NJ to be with the client in their state. After the hearing I started to think about the future of Social Security Disability hearings. The Social Security Administration will soon start a pilot program that will allow lawyers to have the client at there office for a video hearing with an ALJ who is at his hearing office. Will we one day see a time when all the different players in hearing are in different states all connected by video conference? I think we will and it may happen sooner than we think. One difficulty SSA has in getting hearings scheduled is when an VE, ME and or interpreter is needed. SSA is already using interpreters, VEs and MEs on the phone on occasion. You also see many claimants who are hiring lawyers in other states for their SSDI claims. So it appears logical that one day we may have hearings were the lawyer, claimant, VE, ME, interpreter and ALJ all all in a different state brought together for a hearing by video conference. This idea may scare many people that the process will become too impersonal and that this could disadvantage the claimant. On the flip side if it could cut down very significantly on how long a claimant has to wait to have a hearing it may be worth doing in some situations. As I have posted about before SSA has already set up a National Hearing office to deal with extremely long wait times of certain hearing offices by video hearings from that office. For people waiting for hearings in some areas of the country for well over two years the idea might not seem so bad if it can cut there wait time down in half. Who knows, but it seems more and more possible if not probable that this could be in SSA's future.

New budget for SSA sighned into law.

On December 26, 2007 the SSA budget was signed by the president. The Social Security Administrations new budget for 2008 will be $9,746,953,000. This amount is actually more than the President asked for. In my opinion, the amount if used properly should help deal with the growing case load and hopefully decrease the increasing wait times at the hearing level. It will now be up to Commissioner Michael Astrue to make sure the money is spent in a way that will help decrease waiting times and get better decisions. I have posted earlier on some of the Commissioner's plans to decrease these wait times and improve the SSA process. As I have stated before I like many of the new changes coming to SSA and hopefully this new budget will allow for at least the most helpful changes to be implemented. The source of the information is from the NOSSCR Forum.

Medical Listing of Impairments

In Social Security Disability claims one thing that is sometimes overlooked is the Medical Listing of Impairments also known as the Blue Book. If your medical condition is found to meet or equal a listed impairment then a finding of disabled is appropriate with out regard to your age, education or work experience. To meet or equal a listing you must have a doctors opinion that says so and it must be documented by the medical evidence. It can be extremely difficult to meet or equal a listing and it is designed that way. However, you should always view the medical listing for your medical condition and if you feel you meet the requirements have your doctor look at the listing. If the doctor agrees that you meet the listing a report from the doctor that addresses the listing and the supporting evidence on why you meet the listing can go a long way to proving it. You do not have to meet or equal a listing to win your claim but always check. To see how the medical listing fits into how SSA determines if you are disabled click on the link.