Massachusetts Social Security Disability Lawyers Blog

There are many problems with the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) application and approval process. This is evident by the fact that the Social Security Administration (SSA) initially rejects the vast majority of all applications and forces disabled Americans in desperate need of benefits to go through a long and complicated appeals process.

One recent news feature from the National Review Online takes a look at problems with many administrative law judges (ALJs) who oversee the appeals process and conduct hearings for denied claimants.

The reporter sought records – including e-mails, internal memos, and other correspondence that might reveal the veracity of Congressional allegations of misconduct, conflicts of interest and other unethical or even illegal behavior by ALJs. However, when a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request was filed, the SSA responded it would neither confirm nor deny the existence of any such records.
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Disability can affect anyone no matter his or her level of education, amount of money made before becoming disabled, or social status. The reality is that when someone becomes disabled and can no longer work, if that individual did not have private long term disability insurance (most people don’t), he or she will have a tough time getting social security disability insurance (SSDI) benefits without the assistance of an attorney who regularly handles disability matters.

According to a recent news article for the New Britain Herald, one new program in Connecticut is aimed at helping the homeless get disability benefits and social security benefits so they can afford to live and get the medical attention they need.

The problem is that the Social Security Administration (SSA) has created a system that is geared towards denying people benefits and delaying the process. It is not merely a case of too many applicants and too few claims employees. This is evident by the fact that nearly every application is denied after being filed. It does not matter what the disability is or the claimant’s need.
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According to a recent news feature from AL.com, the Social Security disability system is virtually impossible to navigate without legal representation, according to applicants.

One disability benefits applicant waited four years for the Social Security Administration (SSA) to approve her application. She had worked as a nurse for 13 years at a local hospital but began to suffer from severe gastrointestinal issues that required bypass surgery. It is thought that bypass surgery was the cause of her developing pancreatitis.
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Moore, Jr. v. Colvin, an appeal heard in the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, involved claimant who applied for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits under Title XVI of the Social Security Act.

At a hearing by an administrative law judge (ALJ) with the Social Security Administration (SSA), the ALJ determined that claimant was not disabled, because of jobs identified by a vocational expert (VE). These jobs were identified in response to a hypothetical created by the ALJ.
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In recent months there have been an increasing number of news articles that warn us that the funding for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits administered by the United States Social Security Administration (SSA) will run out in less than two years, unless more money is allocated by Congress. This is what news commentators and politicians are referring to as the SSDI cliff, over which the program is poised to fall.

One recent article from the Huffington Post looks at a new program that may be a partial solution to the problem with the SSDI system, known as the Achieving a Better Live Experience (ABLE) bill. ABLE, which is said to have bipartisan support, would allow people who became disabled at a young age to receive training and support to allow them to work in new higher paying fields, despite their disability, while still receiving SSDI benefits.
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When we use the term disability with respect to a person who can no longer work, we normally think of a physical disability, such as one caused by an accident or medical condition like a stroke or heart disease.

However, mental illnesses, such as severe depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), can make it impossible for people to work, and this may qualify those individuals for Social Security Disability (SSDI) benefits.

According to a recent article from the New York Post, teachers may be able to qualify for disability through a union disability plan for the disability of school-related stress. While many teachers claim disability for on-the-job incidents such as falling down the stairs, or being attacked by a student, some teachers are submitting disability claims for PTSD and school-related stress.
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According to a recent article from WIVB4 News, one woman’s three-year wait for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits is finally over. Due to severe injuries to her neck and back, claimant has been unable to work since late 2010.

Claimant filed a claim after becoming disabled and, after several initial denials, was afforded the opportunity to have her case heard before an administrative law judge (ALJ) at the Social Security Administration (SSA) Office of Disability Adjudication and Review.

After a hearing before the ALJ, claimant waited well over a year, and a decision was still not released. During this time, claimant feared that she would lose everything. She had worked her entire adult life up until becoming disabled and had purchased her house. She had always made her mortgage payments on time but was now facing foreclosure. While she said the bank had been patient with her, there was not much they would be willing do, given that she was without any income for years.
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A recent news article from the New York Times takes a look at the growing trend of employers choosing to phase out providing long-term disability insurance to employees.

Historically, many employers, especially those who provide white-collar jobs, have offered employees long-term disability insurance either free or with the option to purchase coverage from a company-subsidized policy through a private carrier.

As our Boston disability lawyers know, private long-term disability insurance will typically provide up to two-thirds of an employees salary if the employee suffers from a disability that makes him or her no longer able to work in their chosen profession.
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A news article in the Wall Street Journal discusses how difficult it can be to get approved for Social Security Disability benefits (SSDI). As noted in the article, the injury or illness for which a claimant is seeking SSDI benefits must be so severe that it leaves the claimant unable to work in any job, not just the job in which the worker is currently employed. The disability must also be expected to last more than one year, or result in death, to be considered serious enough to qualify for benefits from the Social Security Administration (SSA).

In addition to the disability requirements, a claimant must also have worked and paid taxes for a considerable number of years (this is dependent on the age of the claimant) prior to submitting an application for benefits. The money a worker pays in taxes goes towards this eligibility requirement, which is termed paying into the system.

Our disability attorneys note the main point of the article was to illustrate concerns that people who aren’t really disabled are freeloading off the system are simply wrong. While there are obviously some instances of SSDI fraud, the vast majority of benefit recipients are not only genuinely disabled, but also fought a very hard uphill battle to get approved for benefits in the first place.

These misconceptions are unfortunately becoming more prevalent, as concerns rise that the SSA will run out of money for the SSDI program in the next two years unless a budget is approved.

The reason it is so difficult to obtain approval for benefits is that the SSA apparently decided long ago that the best way to run the program is to routinely deny nearly every claimant who submits an application for benefits.
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