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Brown-Hunter v. Colvin, an appeal from the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, involved an interesting issue about what an administrative law judge (ALJ) is and is not allowed to do with respect to denying Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits.

selfportrait2An ALJ is supposed to an independent hearing officer, but, in reality, they work for the Social Security Administration (SSA), hold hearings at an SSA hearings and adjudication office, and maintain a working office at the same site. For this reason, it should come as no surprise that ALJs will often side with SSA in denying benefits to a claimant, even if that claimant is suffering from a truly debilitating condition or set of conditions. Continue reading

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Stepp v. Carolyn Colvin, an appeal from the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, involved a woman who used to work as a correctional officer, a training supervisor, and parole coordinator, who applied for social security disability benefits after suffering from a degenerative disc disease. In addition to the degenerative disc disease, she also claimed a secondary disability of depression.

calculator-stethoscope-1004851-mClaimant first sought treatment for chronic neck pain in 2008. She underwent a series of MRIs, and it was determined she he a degenerative disorder to her cervical spine and thoracic spine. Doctors also found disc herniation and stenosis. The following year, she was referred to an orthopedic surgeon, and she complained of pain in her neck, chest, arms, and shoulders, as well as numbness in one hand and her legs, trouble balancing, memory loss, sleeping trouble, and other related issues. However, her doctor noted she had balanced walking, balanced standing, no problems with her grip strength, and rated her shoulder muscle strength as being four on a scale of five. He noted weakness in her upper extremities, but no serious issues. Continue reading

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Same-sex marriage has been recognized in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts since 2004, when the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) issued its opinion on the landmark case of Goodridge v. Department of Public Health. While this was a great stride forward for same-sex couples, it did not mean that they could file joint federal tax returns or claim other federal benefits as a married couple since the Defense of Marriage Act allowed the federal government and other states to not recognize same-sex marriages, even if they were entered into in a state in which same-same sex marriage was legal.

writing-a-check-2-701013-mIn other words, it was a law that overturned the full faith and credit clause of the constitution with respect to same-sex couples and their marriages. It was not until the United States Supreme Court released its opinion in Obergefell v. Hodges, that the Defense of Marriage Act, was struck down as unconstitutional for a variety of reasons, including the Full Faith and Credit Clause, as well as reasons involving equal protection for all Americans. Continue reading

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When you have a disability that was not caused by an on-the-job injury, and you do not have private long term disability insurance, Social Security disability insurance is probably your best way to get disability benefits to allow you to pay your bill and make ends meet. However, getting approved for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits is often not an easy task.

952313_gavelThe first step in the application process is to fill out a claim for Social Security Disability Insurance benefits. You submit this application to the United States Social Security Administration (SSA), along with your medical records and a doctor’s recommendation, and wait while hoping for the best. Continue reading

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According to a recent news story from ABC News, miscalculation of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) is a major problem that affects more disabled Americans than one might think.   One woman interviewed for the news article failed to get the correct amount of Social Security disability benefits for over 14 years.

duntitled-1237498-mClaimant is a 65-year-old woman who is severely disabled and can barely stand up without assistance. She became disabled following a forklift accident that occurred in 1995. To make matters even more difficult, her husband died from cancer a few years after her accident. Since the death of husband, she was having difficulty paying her bills, buying food, and otherwise making ends meet. She needed help, but did no know what do about it in her condition.   Continue reading

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It is an unfortunate reality that mass shootings happen across the United States. These horrible events happen without warning, result in the death or injury to many innocent people and capture the nation’s collective attention. There have been numerous reports of these shootings this year alone, including the incident involving the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) church in Charleston, South Carolina and the shootings at two military installations in Tennessee.

gun-1503923Following these events, there is often much debate about whether the federal government should be doing more to prevent guns from falling into the hands of the mentally ill, or, on the other hand, whether the government will use events like this as some type of justification to deprive people of their Second Amendment rights. This is not a debate that will be solved anytime soon, as both camps are very firm in their respective positions. Continue reading

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Those who watch the Discovery Chanel or National Geographic on a regular basis know that fishing reality shows have become very popular. First, there was the Deadliest Catch, which started the craze for these types of shows, and, since then, there have been numerous other similar shows about sword fishing, lobster fishing, and, of course, tuna fishing.

gomera-deep-see-fishing-1-1524248Wicked Tuna, a popular reality show filmed largely off the Coast of Gloucester, Massachusetts, in which boat crews compete with each other to see who can catch more tuna during season recently had one of its fisherman making headlines; but, unfortunately, the reason was not related to tuna fishing. According to a recent news article from the Star Tribune, Paul Herbert, Wicked Tuna fisherman from Gloucester allegedly accepted more than $40,000 in Social Security disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits at the same time he was televised hauling in fish that weigh hundreds of pounds using a huge deep sea fishing rod. Continue reading

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Aside from the budget crisis facing the Social Security program next year, one of the recurring themes is that many beneficiaries currently receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits are basically gaming the system and collecting a check when they really could be working. This criticism is often made along with assertions that Congress should not fix the 20 percent budget hit facing the program late in 2016.

1088940_2_annual_reports__3According to a recent news feature from The Economist Populist, statistics show that 99.8 percent of ally Social Security disability payments were free from any possibility of overpayment. In other words, even at the highest estimates of money from the Social Security disability benefits funds being paid out to claimants who should not be receiving benefits, this would account for only 0.065 percent of the annual budget for this disability program. This is such a small percentage, that even if the number was truly this high, and it is quite possible it is not, those speaking about people gaming the system are really making a lot of noise about what is not even a statistically significant problem. Continue reading

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With the presidential election drawing closer, Republican candidates have ramped up their number of comments about what do to fix the program. While the candidates appear resolute in their vows not to fund the program in the near future, Congress recently passed a resolution making it more difficult to shift funds from the Social Security retirement fund to the Social Security disability fund.

crack-graphic-1371406-mA recent news feature in the Huffington Post looks at how the Republican Party will have to do “something” with respect to the impending budgetary crisis involving the disability program, even though they may not yet have a clear approach.   One member of Congress featured in this article is Rep. Paul Ryan, a Republican member of the House of Representatives from Wisconsin.

Ryan is currently chairing the House Ways and Means Committee. Continue reading

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The candidates for the Republican presidential nomination have been making big headlines for the past several months talking about the problems with the Social Security disability benefits fund and how it is running out of money. While the candidates are not suggesting any specific plan for fixing the situation, they say a major overhaul is needed before agreeing to allocate additional funding to the program. Continue reading

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