Massachusetts Social Security Disability Lawyers Blog

May 15, 2016

SSA Shortcut to Reduce Waiting SSDI Hearings

When someone applies for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits in Boston, they do so by submitting an application along with supporting documentation from medical health professional showing proof of the claimed disability. The disability can be a single medical condition that will allow the claimant to qualify for benefits, but more likely than not, it will be for a combination of medical conditions that hopefully will qualify the patient for Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits.

Once a claimant submits the initial application, personnel at the United States Social Security Administration (SSI) will review it. This first review is performed by an employee with the job of evaluating claims. It should be noted that in the majority of claims (well more than half), the application is denied without any type of hearing or even a valid reason. The claimant will simply be told that he or she does not have a single debilitating condition or combination of conditions that qualifies the individual as disabled under the SSA guidelines. Continue reading

May 12, 2016

SSDI Recipients and New Gun Control Efforts

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

There is no question that gun control is a major issue in American politics these days. With more and more school shootings and “active shooter” situations, there are many who are calling for a complete ban on hand guns and assault rifles. Some will even go further and say that there should be no guns allowed due to the dangers posed by all of these shootings and domestic violence incidents.

On the other hand, there are those who feel that it is every American’s Second Amendment right to own firearms, and the solution to the gun violence issue is for more Americans to carry weapons. Regardless of one’s position on the issue, it seems that most are in agreement that the mentally ill, including those with conditions such as schizophrenia, should not own a gun. Continue reading

May 9, 2016

A Look at the Social Security Disability Benefits Reevaluation Process

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Getting disability benefits is no easy task for many of the 11 million Americans estimated to be living with a disability at any given time in the United States. In some cases, we have seen it take years for people to get qualified for benefits to which they are rightfully entitled. However, what many people may not realize is that once they get approved for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits, they will be subject to a reevaluation, so the United States Social Security Administration (SSA) can verify the claimants are still disabled.

As discussed in a recent article from the National Law Review, after you have been approved for Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income (SSI), you will be subject to a Continuing Disability Reevaluation, which is also know as a CDR. The CDR can take place around three years after becoming eligible for benefits for claimants younger than 55 years of age. For those Social Security disability benefits claimants who are over 55 years of age, you will likely be subject to a Continuing Disability Reevaluation around seven years after first becoming disabled and receiving benefits. Continue reading

May 6, 2016

A Life on Social Social Security Disability Benefits

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

A recent news article from ABC discusses how difficult life can be for the millions of Americans who are suffering from a disability. A man interviewed for the article was at risk for having his home foreclosed on as he waited for disability benefits.

Six years ago he was working as an electrical engineer and was doing quite well for himself and his family. He was helping to build the new One World Trade Center tower, to replace the ones destroyed on 9/11, when he had a heart attack. He was disabled following the heart attack, and his cardiologist told him that he could return to work, but only part time because the stress on his heart and body would be too great. Continue reading

May 3, 2016

Whitehead v. Colvin: Disability Benefits Appeals

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Whitehead v. Colvin, a case from the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, involved a claimant who was suffering what he described as severe neck pain. His neck pain began while he was working as an operator of heavy equipment, and he hit his head while on the job.

After his slip and fall accident, he went to a doctor for immediate medical attention and told his doctor that it was his plan to apply for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits. Continue reading

April 30, 2016

Cypress v. Colvin: SSI Appeals

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Cypress v. Colvin, a case from the United States Court of Appeals for the Eight Circuit, is an appeal from the District Court’s decision to affirm the denial of claimant’s Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. Essentially, a claimant can file an application with the United States Social Security Administration (SSA), and if that application is denied, the claimant can file a series of written appeals and eventually be granted an evidentiary hearing before an administrative law judge (ALJ).

If an ALJ denies benefits as well, the claimant can file a request for review with the SSA appeals commission, which is essentially an in agency review process. However, review at this level is discretionary, and the SSA can decide not to hear an appeal. If the request for appeal is denied, or of it is granted and the appeal is denied, the next step is to file a case in the United States district court for the district in which the SSA office that denied an application is situated. If the district court affirms the denial by SSA, either by ALJ or through the appeals commission, the next and most likely final step is to file an appeal with with the United States circuit court in which jurisdiction is proper. Continue reading

April 27, 2016

Boston SSDI Claims for Stay-At-Home Parents

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

A recent article from Huffington Post, looks at how stay-at-home parents often get denied for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), even if they paid into the system for many years prior to choosing to stay home to raise a family.

The Social Security Disability Insurance system was created as a means to provide benefits to workers who are no longer able to work due to injury or illness. The injury or illness is not typically work-related, as that would be covered by workers’ compensation benefits in most cases. Continue reading

April 23, 2016

Taskila v. Comm’r of Social Sec.: SSDI Appeals

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Taskila v. Comm’r of Social Sec., a case from the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, involves a claimant who is not yet 40-years-old and has suffered numerous serious health problems. The vast majority of her health problems are a result of three separate car accidents in which she was involved.

In 1996, the car in which she was a passenger in crashed into a ditch. Ten years later, she was in a car that crashed into a tree, and four years after that, she was in a car that crashed into a deer. In addition to the three serious car accidents, she had surgery to have a mass in her breast removed and was seen by an orthopedist to treat the pain she was experiencing in one knee. All of these separate injuries and illnesses caused her to suffer, and she claimed on her application for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits that she also had terrible pain in her back and neck. She also claimed to have suffered from depression and anxiety and well as carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) and incontinence. As result of all of her serious medical problems, she was unable to work. Continue reading

April 19, 2016

KKC v. Colvin: Disability Benefits Cases

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

KKC v. Colvin, a case from the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, involves a federal disability claimant who dropped out of high school in the 11th grade. He went to work in various jobs, including being a cook, a restaurant server, an employee at a fast food restaurant and eventually the manger. In addition to working in the food service industry, he also worked as an electrician’s assistant.

Unfortunately, many in the restaurant industry become heavy smokers, and this claimant was no different. As those who have worked in the food and beverage industry know, in most jobs you do not really get any breaks as you do in other types of jobs, despite relevant labor laws. The only practical way to get a break is to say you are going out back (usually by the dumpster behind the kitchen) to go smoke a cigarette. Continue reading

April 15, 2016

Study: SSDI Work Incentive Programs Have Limited Success

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

The payout of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits have become a highly politicized issue in recent years. There has been a growing (albeit erroneous) consensus among some politicians that SSDI benefits are far too easy to obtain and too many people are avoiding viable work options because it’s “easier to stay home and collect a check.”

One need only look at the rigorous eligibility requirements and application process to see why that’s not true. But if you’re looking for more evidence, turn your eye to the latest research by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. The study authors looked at the various programs over the last 25 years imposed by Congress to push SSDI recipients to return to work.

These include the “Ticket to Work” program in 1999 that provided vocational rehabilitation for recipients to the most recent Benefit Offset National Demonstration (BOND) program that reduces a person’s disability benefits by $1 for every $2 they earn (making benefits $0 when they reach Substantial Gainful Employment Activity – SGA). Unsurprisingly, none of these efforts have had much impact on the government’s bottom line or the number of recipients.

Why? Because despite the rhetoric that the SSDI program is too expensive and has become bogged down with waste and corruption, the reality is people who are receiving SSDI have very limited work capacities. That is: They are not committing fraud. They are not taking more than their fair share. They are not able to work and simply refusing to do so. They are disabled – and they had to go through a rigorous vetting process to prove it. Even those who may have limited work capacity aren’t likely to return to a situation where they can do so in a way that will allow them to be self-supporting in the long-term. Continue reading