Massachusetts Social Security Disability Lawyers Blog

In towing the line under the Budget Control Act, the U.S. government has been feverishly battling over what programs or individuals will most suffer with the $85 million in mandated cuts on the table.

Our Boston Social Security Disability Insurance lawyers understand that the Budget Control Act, which went into effect March 1, 2013, will affect different programs differently. Some will feel the pain slowly, subtly.

Others, like SSDI, may feel the burn of those reductions swiftly and intensely.

The program, which maintains a budget of $11.5 billion, will have to be cut by 8 percent, according to a report from The Baltimore Sun. That is going to deliver a harsh blow to the program. Those likely to be most acutely affected are those waiting with pending disability claims or those who are planning to soon file.

As the Sun put it, the checks will continue to arrive on time, but just about every other task that the administration has a hand in is going to be delayed.

For example, let’s say you need to call the SSDI hotline to have a question answered. The wait to reach a representative is expected to take at least 10 minutes longer.

Or, if you need to stop by a field office to drop off some paperwork. In the last year, some 19 field offices have been closed – including one just outside of Boston. Many more have implemented severely limited hours of operation. Wait times in offices could top more than an hour before an individual is put in contact with an employee.

And waiting for work on a disability claim decision, the agency said, is probably going to take at least a month longer on average. This is deeply troubling, as such claims can already take a year or longer. In the meantime, claimants are just barely scraping by, unable to work and often relying on help family members and friends while they wait for a determination.

As it stands, the Social Security Administration has for years battled to clear a backlog of disputed disability claims. It appears some progress has been made.

In December of 2010, there were nearly 706,000 disability claims appeals pending. That actually represents a decrease, as it meant the wait time for that hearing was, on average, 390 days. Two years earlier, the wait time had peaked at more than 530 days.

The goal set forth by the federal government was that the administration was going to have that backlog reduced to a working total of 500,000 at any given time. Former Social Security commissioner Michal Astrue has indicated that an 8 percent budget reduction for the agency was going to have a detrimental impact on that progress.

The proposed budget would have the program cutting some 5,000 jobs through attrition and then letting go of approximately 1,500 temporary workers and pretty much doing away with all overtime for all employees.

While it’s always been in a claimant’s best interest to hire an attorney to handle the claim for you, now is not the time you can take any chances.
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DART Therapeutics Inc., a Massachusetts-based medical testing firm, is currently conducting research on a drug to be used for muscular dystrophy patients. The drug, called DT-200, may be able to significantly increase both muscle size and strength for individuals suffering from muscular dystrophy.

Our Boston Social Security Disability Insurance attorneys are excited about the potential this drug has, as this disease has resulted in lifelong struggles for millions of families.

Clients who come to us with a diagnosis of muscular dystrophy often have a strong chance at obtaining disability benefits because it inherently affects a person’s ability to carry out a wide range of very basic tasks.

Muscular dystrophy is actually a group of about three dozen genetic diseases that all are characterized by the increasing degeneration and weakness of muscles that control movement.

Sometimes, we see muscular dystrophy emerging in infancy or childhood. Other times, we don’t see it appearing until suddenly in middle age or even later.

The most common adult form is called Myotonic muscular dystrophy. Sufferers usually have prolonged muscle spasms and they may also suffer from heart problems, cataracts and endocrine disorders.

As of yet, modern medicine has yet to come up with a solution that will halt or reverse any of the variations of muscular dystrophy (though we are hopeful this new research from Cambridge will change that).

People who are diagnosed with muscular dystrophy may suffer to varying degrees. While some will experience mild symptoms and slow progression, others will find the onset has come about rapidly and suddenly causes severe weakness in the muscles, functional disability and an inability to walk. Additional muscle weaknesses in the respiratory system may cause individuals to require ventilation, while those suffering heart muscle weaknesses may require a pacemaker.

The Social Security Administration requires that in order to meet the impairment listing for muscular dystrophy, a person must have a disorganization of motor function as described in listing 11.04B. That is, the individual should display persistent and severe loss of motor function in at least two extremities, the result of which has been a long-term disturbance of your movements or ability to walk. The assessment will depend on the degree of interference with your ability to move.

However, even if your condition doesn’t meet this exact criteria, you may still be eligible for benefits on the basis of your residual functioning capacity. That is, has your condition significantly affected your ability to complete basic, everyday functions such as walking, sitting, standing, lifting, grooming yourself, driving, etc.

Muscular dystrophy has been known to affect both your gross and dexterous movements, which are those that specifically allow you to do things like reach, crawl, run, jump, lift or hold a pen, type, button your clothing, count change or tie your shoes.

The administration is also going to look at your earning capacity. If you have been able to earn more than $1,040 a month in the past year, even with your condition, you won’t be considered eligible. Progression of your disease could rapidly change your ability to make that much.

If you have questions about how to proceed with your claim, call us today.
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A Social Security Disability Insurance field office located in Greenfield, just outside of Boston, was one of 19 shuttered last year, according to the Social Security Administration.

Our Boston SSDI lawyers understand the agency has been aggressively seeking ways to pare down expenses and balance budgets over the last several years.

In addition to closing offices altogether, the agency has slashed business hours at most other disability offices and has trimmed overtime allowances for the employees who remain.

Since the 2010 fiscal year, the agency has “consolidated” (closed) some 41 field offices and nearly 500 contact stations, according to testimony given by the administration’s acting commissioner to Congress.

In addition to the Boston-area closure, other field offices closed last year include:

• Norwalk, Conn.;
• Montclair, N.J.;
• Chinatown, East New York, Rome and Long Beach, N.Y.;
• Pittsburgh Northside, PA.;
• Jenkintown, PA.;
• Washington D.C.;
• Palatka, FL;
• Moultrie, GA;
• Swainsboro, GA;
• Biloxi, Miss;
• Burlington, N.C.;
• Clinton, Iowa;
• Moberly, MO;
• Beatrice, Neb. (Kansas City);
• Seattle Metro, WA.

Many of these are major metropolitan areas. Many employees at these field offices were responsible for reviewing case files, making initial disability determinations, ensuring paperwork was appropriately received and to the correct office, and scheduling administrative law hearings.

Significant reductions in those services is going to inevitably mean longer wait times for claim outcomes.

We are also expecting a rise in denials of claims, particularly by those who are not represented by a disability insurance attorney. Getting an approval stamp is tough as it is. Having an attorney representing you greatly improves your chances. With the administration looking to cut as many corners as it can, it’s highly likely that reviewers and administrative law judges are going to be analyzing these claims even more closely. What this all comes down to is that you can’t afford NOT to hire a disability claims lawyer.

To begin with, your lawyer will be able to provide you with an educated opinion about whether you are likely to be approved for a claim. Approval is not automatic or contingent upon age or income. Sometimes it comes down to making a convincing argument. That is what we do best.

When you hire us, you are handing over all the stress and worry of your claim onto an experienced professional who will help you avoid mistakes during the process and ensure that all paperwork is properly completed and submitted. We’ll help you determine if there are additional exams or documents that could serve to bolster your case.

If you are already at the stage where your claim has been denied, we can help you mount a strong appeal. The fact is, two-thirds of all applicants are going to end up receiving a rejection letter, at least after filing their initial claim. But we would encourage you not to give up.

We may even be able to help you avoid a hearing altogether. With claims that do reach the hearing level, our disability attorneys have had success with on-the-record decisions, which basically means that the judge approves the benefits based on the information presented prior to the hearing.

SSDI may have closed many of its offices – but we won’t let them close the door on you.
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A recent series of stories aired on NPR’sThis American Life and Planet Money has certainly generated a great deal of conversation.

However, our Boston Social Security Disability Insurance lawyers are disappointed to say that much of what the series did was continue to perpetuate misconceptions and stereotypes about this vital program that in reality allows tens of thousands of disabled Americans to avoid spiraling into the depths of poverty.

We aren’t the only ones to take issue with the series. Others taking aim are Media Matters, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the Paralyzed Veterans of America – as well as a letter signed by more than 100 organizations who work on behalf of those living with disabilities.

While the station has defended its reporter and denied any factual errors. But, although the reporter never came out and said that a large number of those who receive disability payments are lying about it, that’s exactly what her tone seems to convey. This is not only offensive – it’s wrong and harmful.

We are not so naive as to say fraud doesn’t happen at all or that people who don’t truly need disability insurance have received it through deceptive means. But the Government Accountability Office has delved into this issue numerous times and found fraud has not been a major problem for the agency.

This kind of insinuation is harmful because it makes the process inevitably more stringent for the majority who do have legitimate disabilities who already must endure a lengthy and rigorous process in which the cards are often stacked against them. Doing so while they also try to stay afloat financially and cope with their illness is incredibly overwhelming.

For as long as the story was, it never seemed to address the difficulty of this process and how long it takes. While the reporter harped on the fact that 14million people receive disability benefits, there is no mention of the fact that just 40 percent of those who apply actually receive it – and that is usually only after years of applications, exams, hearings, etc.

The reporter calls SSDI a “deal” that people have “signed up for,” one in which they agree to essentially be poor to never have to work again. Of course, this statement assumes that these folks have a choice about whether to go on disability.

The reality is, most would return to work in a heartbeat if they could. Disability is not a program for people who don’t like work. It’s a lifeline for those who CAN’T work.

For all of the series’ critiques of those receiving disability benefits, the reporter never even attempts to scratch the surface of trying to answer the question of what would happen if all of those people receiving SSDI suddenly no longer did. What would be our costs then financially, socially, culturally, morally?

Neither does the reporter try to give the disabled population the benefit of the doubt. Rather than asking, “Why are so many people collecting benefits?” perhaps the reporter would have been better served to ask, “Why are so many people disabled?”

This would have in turn raised some important questions about things like the quality of our health care system, the safety of our workplaces and the the healthiness of our overall lifestyles. It would have prompted questions about the lack of preventative care, prenatal care and early intervention that might have made a difference in conditions that have since become severe enough to warrant disability payments.

When we start asking the right questions, we can finally begin to uncover real solutions.
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The wild misconceptions surrounding Social Security Disability Insurance benefits never cease to amaze our Boston disability benefits lawyers.

There are these misguided – yet common – notions that because there are more recipients, there must be fraud, or that because there are more applicants, it must somehow be quite easy to land this “free money.”

The truth could not be further from that. Our population is growing and aging – two factors that contribute significantly to the ballooning of disability rolls.

The fact is, people who are well-qualified often must wait months if not a year or more just to have their case reviewed. Even then, the vast majority of applicants are not approved. Those who continue on to the appeals process have somewhat better odds, but it is by no means a given.

In light of all of this, we can certainly see the need for reform. At a hearing before the House Ways and Means Social Security subcommittee, a retired administrative law judge testified that claimants should be made to come to hearings armed with more information regarding their disability.

As it stands, there is already an inordinate amount of information required for claimants at hearings.

The subcommittee has been hosting a series of hearings on the molasses-slow claim determination process. Managers for SSDI said they have attempted to streamline the process, particularly by setting special parameters for those who have severe and clear-cut disabilities (known as Compassionate Allowances). However, others moving through the process can take years.

At another of those subcommittee hearings, a policy specialist with the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, indicated that Congress should boost financial support for the administrators of the SSDI program, as right now, the resources are scant for what they are expected to accomplish. As it now stands, congress treats the budget of the Social Security Administration as a form of discretionary spending. This is despite research showing that spending money at the front end can help to significantly reduce abuse and fraud and help to ensure that those who need the benefits most aren’t overlooked.

Another additional proposal is to amp up the requirements of those representing disability claimants. A decade ago, only about a tenth of claimants were represented by a third party, such as an SSDI attorney. Now, it’s about 80 percent.

With lax criteria for who can be a representative, it’s unfortunate that many claimants receive sub-par representation.

The original rules as they stand were written to accommodate claimants who were going forward on their own. But the administrative judge says more stringent requirements should be made of certain professionals, particularly attorneys, with regard to ensuring all the evidence is appropriately submitted and in a timely manner.

This is not a requirement that would concern us in the least, as these are the standards to which we already adhere.

You can ensure that your needs and interests will be held in the highest regard when you hire our experienced, caring SSDI lawyers to represent you.
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March is Traumatic Brain Injury Awareness Month, and it’s worth noting that Boston University School of Medicine researchers have been at the forefront of brain injury studies.

Our Boston Social Security Disability Insurance attorneys have handled cases for countless clients on the personal injury side of our practice. While it’s true that the brain is a miraculous organ with this amazing propensity for resilience, it’s also incredibly vulnerable to damage.

Often when we’re talking about a traumatic brain injury, there is the assumption of a war injury or a football players who take regular hits to the head.

But in fact, there are many different ways that people incur serious and permanent brain injuries. One of the most common of those is motor vehicle accidents, where many victims often experience sudden and powerful blows to the head. Construction workers too are at high risk of head injuries, as they tend to be at a much higher risk for falls at elevated levels. Even children may risk permanent brain damage from an injury sustained in a playground fall or during recreational sports.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which are working to raise awareness about TBIs this month, indicate the following:

• Males have the highest rate of traumatic brain injury;
• Young children and elderly adults are at the highest risk for a fall-related traumatic brain injury;
• Adolescents and young adults between the ages of 15 and 24 have the highest rate of motor vehicle crash-related brain injuries;
• Adults older than 75 are more likely to be hospitalized for a brain injury and are more likely to immediately die from it than any other age group.

Traumatic brain injuries are a specific listing of disability impairment noted as “cerebral trauma.” This heading goes onto list conditions such as epilepsy, central nervous system vascular accident or organic mental disorders – all of which are subsets of TBI.

Epilepsy is a seizure disorder that can stem from a brain injury. In order to qualify, you would have to experience a certain type and frequency.

Central nervous system vascular accident refers to a series of conditions you might have following a stroke or other brain injury. This would include difficulty with language and communication and/or persistent and significant disruption regarding the use of your arms, legs, fingers, hands or in walking.

An organic mental disorder would be something that has resulted in significant emotional or cognitive changes stemming from the brain damage you or your loved one suffered.

Even if you don’t meet any of these specific criteria, it’s very possible our SSDI lawyers can make a strong case for your entitlement to benefits on the basis of your inability to work. That is, we would argue that your residual functional capacity has been severely limited.

If you have suffered a traumatic brain injury, it’s highly likely you might not be able to return to your old job. But that’s not enough to prove disability. We have to take a step further by proving your disabilities are so severe that you are not likely to succeed in virtually any job for which you would otherwise be qualified.
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