Clik here to view.
Use a Cane? Get a Prescription
This year, I have represented three clients who use a cane either all of the time or most of the time but whose use of this assistive device was discounted by the judge because the cane was not...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Past Due Benefits Paid Up to One Year Prior to Application Date Only
Questions related to onset dates, application dates and the date of first payment continue to be one of the more confusing elements of Social Security disability. A recent question from a blog reader...
View ArticleClik here to view.
SSDI Claimants Can Expect to be Asked About Unemployment Benefits
Over the past several months, I have noted that my SSDI clients are regularly being asked by judges if they have filed for unemployment benefits. This question used to come up occasionally in the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Can Vocational Witness Testimony Predict the Outcome of Your Hearing?
Over the past couple of years, Social Security has changed its procedures to offer less information to claimants and their lawyers. Staring in January, 2012, for example, SSA began deleting the name...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Will I Win my Case? I have been Waiting a Long Time and I am Scared
Every month, I receive requests for my opinion from concerned and anxious disability applicants about whether a case is good enough to win. Usually a hearing has been scheduled and the claimant is...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How do I Win for a Medical Condition that Cannot be Seen on a Diagnostic Test
I get a lot of questions about fibromyalgia and other medical conditions that rely on subjective reporting by patients. These cases are definitely getting more difficult to win. Here is a question...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Absence of Political Influence Costs Social Security Disability Claimants
I have no doubt that a significant percentage of disability claimants denied by Social Security judges do have significant medical or mental health problems that would prevent them from performing...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Genitourinary Impariment Listing URL Updated
The Social Security Administration has changed the URL for Listing No. 6.00 – Genitourinary Impairments. This is a change to the syntax of the Bluebook 1. Previously, the URL read as follows:...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Your Lump Sum Payment for Past Due Benefits may be at Risk from Child Support...
Recently the Social Security disability lawyer discussion group on LinkedIn contained an interesting thread about child support issues. Child Support and Social Security disability matters tend to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
New Information Available About Social Security’s Work Incentive Programs
Social Security disability programs are running out of money. As such Social Security executives are looking for ways to reduce the outflow of dollars. One effort has been to tighten up eligibility...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Disabling Traumatic Brain Injuries Can Arise from a Single Concussion
Concussions have been in the news lately because stories about retired football players who are fighting cognitive loss, memory issues and severe depression that arises from brain injury. Athletes like...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How to Coordinate Social Security Disability with Social Security Retirement...
A number of my Social Security disability clients are in their late 50′s or early 60′s and they have questions about the impact of disability payments on Social Security retirement payments and vice...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Social Security Disability Again the Subject of Congressional Inquiry
CBS News reports this morning that the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will begin hearings on Thursday, June 27 about the role of administrative law judges in awarding benefits. Critics...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Obesity and SSDI
The American Medical Association recently released a report 1 officially recognizing obesity as a disease. With one in three Americans falling in the obese or super-obese BMI spectrum, the AMA hopes...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Stong Case Undermined by Simple Problem (Maybe)
I tried an interesting case this week that illustrates the importance of presenting a complete case to your judge. My case involved a man in his early thirties with a significant hip problem. He had...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Payment Processing Mistakes Made by Social Security Result in Accusations of...
You are going to be hearing a lot about Social Security disability fraud in coming months. With the disability trust fund about to run out of money, Congress will find itself moving money from other...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Functional Capacity Evaluations: Helpful or Hurtful?
Here is a question I received from a blog reader: I have been told I should qualify for disability because of my permanent restrictions set by my FCE. I was put in a light category. What do you think?...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Reaction to 60 Minutes Disability Segment: Truth or Fantasy?
This past Sunday, 60 Minutes aired a segment called Disability USA, in which correspondent Steve Kroft reported on the “alarming state of the federal disability program” which has exploded in size and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How to Testify Credibly About Sexual, Emotional or Physical Abuse in a Social...
One of the more troubling parts about practicing Social Security disability law involves hearing stories of how my clients suffered horrific abuse. I would estimate that at least 75% of my cases...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Social Security Disability Insider Reveals How SSA Views Part Time Work
There is a social bookmarking site on the Internet called Reddit.com which offers fascinating insight about many topics, including Social Security disability. Specifically, Reddit has a feature called...
View Article