Massachusetts Social Security Disability Lawyers Blog

February 6, 2017

Brown v. Colvin: SSDI Appeals

In Brown v. Colvin, a case from the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, the claimant had applied for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits due to severe back problems and obesity. When she first applied for disability benefits, her application was denied. She then filed for reconsideration.

Filing for reconsideration is typically done in writing or via the Internet, and a co-worker of the Social Security Administration (SSA) employee who first denied your application will review your application. For this reason, SSA considers this a peer review process. Almost all applications that were initially denied will be denied once again at the peer review stage. Continue reading

February 6, 2017

Acting Social Security Administration Commissioner Resigns

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

We have been hearing a lot about problems in the Social Security Administration (SSA) over the past year. Some of the issues involve allegations the multiple administrative law judges (ALJs) were engaging in inappropriate behavior with respect to staff and disability claimants.

These cases were brought to light by various employees who informed the SSA Office of Inspector General (OIG) about one ALJ that was allegedly sexually harassing disability claimants and his coworkers and another judge that was improperly denying claims. We also heard that the agency was purposely mishandling claims to save money by paying out less in benefits. Continue reading

February 3, 2017

A Look at Social Security Disability Standards

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

According to a recent news article from Fed Week, the United States Social Security Administration (SSA) has some very strict standards for those who are applying for disability benefits. This includes those who are applying for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits and those who are applying for what is known as Supplemental Security Income (SSI).

The fact that SSA has very strict standards for applicants who submit a claim for benefits is likely not a surprise to anyone who has submitted a claim and had that claim rejected (which is most applicants), this article takes a closer look at what these standards are and what you should do to increase your chances of obtaining a successful disability benefits award. Continue reading

January 31, 2017

Student Loan Debt and Social Security Disability Benefits

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Each year, millions of Americans struggle to pay their student loan bills. This is true for younger people who are just out of college, and it is true for people who have been out of school for 20 years. It is also true for parents of students who took out federal student loans and may still be struggling to pay them off many years later.

This is reason we see Americans who have reached the age of retirement and are still saddled with tens of thousands of dollars of federal student loan debt. While it is difficult for many people to pay off this debt and make their required payments each month, it is especially challenging for those who are disabled, according to a recent news article from the Money and Career Cheatsheet. Continue reading

January 28, 2017

Social Security Administration Has More Whistleblower Issues Over Disability Program

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

According to a recent news article from the Wisconsin Watchdog, a publication that has been following the many problems at the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) and their disability benefit program, the agency is requiring personnel to take whistleblower training after it has already allegedly fired one whistleblower. The alleged firing of a whistleblower in retaliation for reporting problems with delays, along with judges making derogatory comments to employees and disabled claimants, has gotten some members of Congress concerned, and they have commenced oversight hearings.

In this recent article, the author discusses how this mandatory training is designed to tell employees about their rights to report misconduct and thus become a whistleblower, and the whistleblower that started all of this is not there because she was fired three months before the first training. It has been alleged that she was fired illegally in retaliation for reporting the various different instances of misconduct. Continue reading

January 26, 2017

Some Wait Nearly Two Years for Social Security Disability Benefits

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

According to a recent news article from The San Diego Tribune, the wait for a Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) appeals hearing before an administrative law judge (ALJ) is averaging 540 days for many claimants. These are the hearings held at the United States Social Security Administration (SSA) Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (ODAR) offices around the nation.

When someone first becomes disabled to the point where he or she can no longer work, that person will typically apply for a type of disability benefits known as Social Security Disability Insurance benefits. This program was designed to help those who have worked for a large portion of their adult lives before suffering a disability that no longer allows that person to work. In some cases, we are dealing with former members of the U.S. military that have already exhausted their options with the Veterans Administration (VA), and, in other cases, we are dealing with people who have been injured on the job and have already reached Maximum Medical Intervention (MMI) in the workers’ compensation cases and are in need of Social Security disability benefits. Continue reading

January 23, 2017

Social Security Disability Services Reduced Due to Budget Cuts

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Over the past couple of years, we have been hearing a lot about how there is not enough money in the budget for the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs. For a while, it looked like Congress might not approve a stopgap measure to shift money from the much larger Social Security Old Age and Retirement Program and the Social Security Survivors programs to the two disability programs.

However, apparently realizing that it would be very bad in the middle on one of the most divisive elections in our nation’s history to let around 11 million Americans have their monthly benefits checks slashed by nearly 20 percent, they decided to add additional funding at what was basically the final hour. This allowed us to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff at the United States Social Security Administration (SSA) for at least the next few years. Continue reading

January 19, 2017

GOFundMe Campaign Costs Woman Social Security Disability Income

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Crowd source online funding campaigns are getting increasingly more popular these days. While we first saw these services used for new inventors trying to raise the money to develop prototypes and get their new ideas to markets, we now typically see these funding campaigns when someone becomes serious ill or a family suffers some other type of tragedy.

While these online funding campaigns can certainly be helpful and can result in a lot of money being raised, they can also result in the termination of Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) benefits, according to a recent report from AOL News. Continue reading

January 16, 2017

Traveling Out of the U.S. with Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) Benefits

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

People who receive Social Security Disability Insurance benefits will want to research their rights if they plan on moving out of the country. People who relocate or travel for extended periods of time out of the country may be at risk of losing those benefits. Whether your benefits are jeopardized will depend on the type of benefits you receive.

There are three different programs that the U.S. Social Security Administration is responsible for administering. The largest program in term of recipients and budget is the Social Security Old Age and Retirement benefits. This is the program that workers pay into by having money deducted from their paychecks. This is part of the Federal Insurance Contribution Act (FICA) that is listed on your pay stub and is technically different from income tax. The reason it is different is because FICA money is apportioned between SSA funds, and the IRS tax money is largely put into in the nation’s general fund.

When you reach the age of retirement, you are entitled to a monthly benefits check. While the age when you can legally retire and claim benefits keeps going up, you can retire earlier, but you must take at least a 25 percent reduction in your benefits. You can also provide for your spouse if he or she survives you, but that requires a reduction in payment. Continue reading

January 12, 2017

A Soldier’s Fight for Disability Benefits

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

According to a recent news article from WPRI News, a brave veteran from North Attleboro has returned from war only to a face another kind of battle – this one in his home state. This was a battle of bureaucracy and red tape in several different governmental agencies as he tried to get a full and appropriate award of disability benefits.

He is a veteran of the U.S. Army National Guard in the 101 Division. and he had served several tours in the Middle East as part of the Global War On Terrorism and related campaigns. In 2007, he was in his barracks on the outskirts of Bagdad when the enemy began firing rockets at his position. These rockets were designed to break up into shrapnel, and he was hit with several very large pieces of shrapnel. When they extracted two of the metal pieces, they measured over four inches long and three inches wide. He said that the one big piece of shrapnel took him out and split his right leg in half. He was able to avoid an amputation, but it took 17 separate operations to save the leg. At this point, he was granted a medical retirement from the military. Continue reading