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Recent Blog Posts
How Many Times Will Social Security Make Me Attend a Hearing?
It often takes multiple rounds of hearings and appeals before Social Security finally grants your application for disability benefits. This extended process is generally the result of agency officials who simply refuse to follow the law—even when they are specifically instructed to do so by a reviewing court. Unfortunately, the time it takes for Social Security to “get it right” is time you are left faced with unpaid bills and no income.
Magistrate Orders Fourth Hearing in Eight-Year-Old Disability Dispute
One of the more egregious cases of Social Security delay we have seen recently is from right here in Illinois. The plaintiff has already had three separate disability hearings before a Social Security administrative law judge (ALJ). But because of the ALJ's failures to follow previous remand instructions, a federal magistrate was compelled to order a fourth hearing.
Will Social Security Believe Regulatory “Experts” Over Your Own Doctor?
Most disability cases involve a person who requires ongoing medical care from one or more highly trained specialists. When it comes to actually assessing your claim for benefits, however, Social Security officials often prefer to rely on the opinions of general practitioners whose only “specialty” is their understanding of disability regulations. In most cases, these “consulting” doctors do not even bother to review all of the disability applicant's medical records. Instead, their primary job is supplying an administrative law judge (ALJ) with the answers they want to hear—namely, that the applicant’s impairments are not that serious and do not constitute a legal disability.
Court Orders New Hearing After Social Security Ignores Credible Medical Testimony
Social Security Cannot Rely on Incomplete “Expert” Analysis of Medical Records
Social Security often justifies denying disability benefits on the basis of expert testimony from state-agency physicians. These are doctors who do not personally treat a disability applicant. Rather, they are supposed to review all of the relevant medical records and offer an informed analysis to the administrative law judge (ALJ) conducting the disability hearing. What ALJs are not supposed to do is assess the medical evidence themselves, as they are not doctors and may not play one for purposes of a legal proceeding.
Seventh Circuit Renews Criticism of Social Security's Approach to Fibromyalgia Patients
Of course, that does not stop them from trying. The U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago recently ordered Social Security to conduct a new disability benefits hearing in a case where the ALJ not only played doctor, but also relied on an incomplete analysis of the applicant's medical records. To compound the problems, the applicant's principal disability in this case is fibromyalgia, a severe pain disorder that Social Security often does its best to pretend does not exist.
Will the Supreme Court Require Vocational Experts to Disclose Their Data in Disability Hearings?
One of the main reasons why people are denied Social Security disability benefits is the purported existence of “other work” they can perform in spite of their physical or mental impairments. Under Social Security regulations, an individual cannot receive disability benefits if there is “substantial evidence” that they can “make an adjustment to other work.” But what exactly is this evidence?
In most cases, a Social Security administrative law judge will rely solely on the testimony of a “vocational expert” who will opine on the type and number of jobs that may be available given a particular disability applicant's situation. But oftentimes, the vocational expert's opinions are just that: personal views unsupported by actual data. Or at the very least, there is data the expert refuses to disclose to the applicant.
The Importance of a Complete Medical Record in Disability Hearings
One of the most important steps you can take when applying for Social Security Disability insurance benefits is to present as complete a medical record as possible to the agency officials reviewing your case. The more documentation you can provide from your treating physicians, the stronger your case for disability benefits will be.
Judge Criticizes Social Security for Ignoring “Overwhelming Majority of the Evidence” in Disability Case
Of course, this assumes Social Security will actually bother to look at the evidence that you provide. As we have seen in far too many Illinois disability claims, that is sadly often not the case, however. In their zeal to clear large case backlogs—and deny as many claims as possible—Social Security administrative law judges (ALJs) will simply overlook or fail to assess credible medical evidence.
The Positive Effects of Working With a Lawyer in Social Security Disability Cases
People are often reluctant to hire an attorney when they have a legal problem. Some folks think hiring a lawyer will make them appear hostile or adversarial. But when you are forced to deal with a large bureaucracy—say the Social Security Administration—having an experienced attorney to guide you through the system can make a critical difference. Indeed, if you are applying for disability insurance benefits, hiring a lawyer may be the most important step you can take to help ensure your claim is approved.
Congressional Auditor Finds Disability Applicants 3 Times More Likely to Receive Benefits With Representation
The U.S. Government Accountability Office, the auditing arm of Congress, recently published a report on “allowance rates” in Social Security disability cases. This refers to the percentage of cases heard by a Social Security administrative law judge (ALJ) where disability benefits were paid to claimants. Overall, the GAO said there was a wide disparity in allowance rates throughout the country. But the GAO also found that applicants who had “representation” when appearing before the ALJ were far more likely to achieve a positive outcome.
Does Playing a Few Notes on the Piano Mean I'm Not Disabled?
Social Security disability claims are frequently denied because—to put it bluntly—agency officials insist the applicant is exaggerating or faking his or her inability to work. Even when presented with clear medical evidence of a person's disability, Social Security administrative law judges (ALJs) will diligently search for any excuse to deny benefits. Sometimes these excuses border on the ridiculous.
Social Security ALJ Rebuked for Making Conclusions Based on No Evidence
Consider a recent Social Security disability case from here in Illinois where an ALJ determined the plaintiff was not disabled because she was able to “play the piano a little bit with her three fingers.”
The plaintiff suffers from a number of serious impairments. As relevant here, she has nerve damage that limits her ability to lift, balance, stoop, kneel, and crouch.
What Happens If Social Security Ignores My Treating Physician's Diagnosis?
Before you can receive Social Security Disability Insurance benefits, agency officials must first determine what jobs you might still be capable of performing. This requires a thorough review of your medical record, including any work-related limitations noted by your treating doctors and the state agency physicians who assist the Social Security Administration's administrative law judge (ALJ) in assessing your claim.
Keep in mind, however, that the ALJ's job is not to “play doctor” herself, but rather to weigh all of the credible medical evidence—including your own testimony regarding your symptoms—and to determine whether you qualify as disabled under Social Security regulations.
Judge Finds SSA Official Improperly Ignored Applicant's “Prolonged Standing” Restriction
Disability Hearings and Outdated Medical Records
Fully resolving a claim for Social Security Disability Insurance benefits often takes years. Much of this delay is due to the Social Security Administration's failure to follow its own regulations when evaluating an applicant's medical records. Indeed, the delay itself often creates an additional problem: During reconsideration of an application, an administrative law judge (ALJ) may be relying on a stale, outdated analysis of the applicant's medical condition.
Court Orders New Hearing in 11-Year-Old Disability Case
The U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals here in Chicago recently addressed such a case. The plaintiff first applied for disability benefits approximately 11 years ago. An ALJ initially heard and denied the plaintiff's application in 2010. Following an initial round of appeals, a supplemental hearing was held before a different ALJ in 2014, which also resulted in a denial.
Do My Frequent Migraines Qualify Me for Disability?
Migraines are more than a simple headache. A migraine attack may cause disabling pain that lasts for hours or even days. If you suffer from frequent migraines that restrict your ability to work, you may qualify for Social Security Disability Insurance benefits.
Social Security Ordered to Reconsider Claim of Illinois Man
Social Security officials may be quick to dismiss migraines as nothing more than the occasional headache. It is easy to dismiss a disability where the effects are not externally obvious. But migraines and severe headaches are serious medical impairments, and agency officials cannot simply ignore them.
Consider a recent Illinois case on point. The plaintiff in this case, a man in his late 60s, filed for disability benefits five years ago. About a year prior to filing, he suffered a “subarachnoid hemorrhage of the brain of unknown origin,” according to medical records. Since that time he has consistently reported severe headaches, as well as other symptoms, to his treating physicians. During one exam he told a doctor that the frequent headaches “made him feel like his head will explode.”
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