Posted on February 07,2018 in Denied Social Security Benefits

There is a tendency in Social Security Disability Insurance cases for agency officials to place greater weight on the testimony of state agency medical consultants than on the findings of the applicant's own treating physician. The medical consultant's job is to perform an initial review of an applicant's medical history and determine if he or she is qualified as disabled under Social Security regulations. Unfortunately, medical consultants are often generalists who lack specialized knowledge of a disability applicant's impairments. Indeed, Social Security regulations only require the consultant to be a “licensed physician.”

ALJ Gives “Great Weight” to Testimony She Completely Ignored

Many times we see Social Security disregard testimony from a treating physician who is a specialist in favor of the non-specialized analysis prepared by the medical consultant. Of course, when a Social Security administrative law judge (ALJ) does not like what the medical consultant has to say, they may disregard that testimony as well. Such conduct is a clear affront to agency regulations, not to mention the due process rights of disability applicants.

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 Posted on January 26,2018 in Social Security Disability Medical Conditions

In Social Security disability hearings, administrative law judges often go out of their way to challenge an applicant's credibility. Although the Social Security Administration recently revised its guidelines on this point, the fact remains that every decision you make regarding your healthcare will be second-guessed in an effort to undermine your disability claim. Still, this does not mean that an ALJ can simply ignore your symptoms.

Agency Failed to Properly Weigh Disability Applicant's Credibility

Consider this ongoing disability case in Illinois. The plaintiff first applied for disability nearly six years ago. She suffers from a number of crippling back impairments. After a hearing in 2014, an ALJ denied the plaintiff's claim for disability, which the plaintiff then challenged in court.

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 Posted on January 19,2018 in Social Security Disability

As a society we tend to discount mental health disorders as somehow less serious than physical impairments. Many people falsely believe that depression is nothing more than “having a bad day” or “feeling sad,” and that even clinical diagnoses are something that can be waved away. Unfortunately, the people who believe this often include the officials who oversee Social Security disability insurance benefits.

Court Chides Social Security for “Inadequate” Assessment of Disability Applicant's Mental Condition

A common problem in disability cases—even those that involve physical impairments—is Social Security administrative law judges (ALJs) selectively choosing to ignore evidence. With respect to mental disorders, an ALJ may attempt to cite only examples from the record that suggest the disability applicant is “improving” or perhaps exaggerating his or her symptoms, while simultaneously ignoring the larger medical record. Such cherrypicking of medical evidence is not just insulting to the applicant—it is a clear violation of Social Security regulations and binding court precedent.

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 Posted on January 13,2018 in Social Security Disability

Social Security relies on administrative law judges (ALJs) to review initial decisions on whether to grant or deny applications for disability benefits. As any Social Security disability attorney can tell you, ALJs can vary wildly in their allowance rates—i.e., how frequently they award disability benefits. The federal government has noticed this as well, and Social Security now claims they will take steps to ensure greater “accuracy and consistency” from their ALJ's across the board.

GAO Finds 46 Percent Variation in ALJ Allowance Rates

The U.S. Government Accountability Office is the independent auditing arm of Congress. The GAO is charged with investigating government agencies, such as the Social Security Administration, and reporting to Congress and the public on their activities. In December 2017, the GAO issued a report to the House Ways and Means Committee Subcommittee on Social Security regarding the variation in allowance rates among ALJs.

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 Posted on January 05,2018 in Denied Social Security Benefits

Thousands of Illinois residents are presently in jail. According to the Illinois Department of Corrections, there are more than 44,000 state prisoners currently serving sentences. Although inmates are obviously unable to work while incarcerated, that does not qualify them for Social Security Disability Insurance benefits. In fact, if you were awarded disability prior to beginning your sentence, your benefits will be suspended as long as you remain in jail.

Social Security Ignored Evidence of Prisoner's Mental Illness

Of course, you are still free to seek disability benefits for any period during which you are unable to work and not in prison. Unfortunately, given Social Security's hostility to law-abiding disability applicants, it should come as no surprise the agency is often quick to dismiss cases brought by current and former inmates.

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 Posted on December 26,2017 in Already Applied for Disability Benefits

Social Security officials often have difficulty distinguishing a person's limited ability to perform basic household chores with the physical or mental capacity to hold down a full-time job. Indeed, Social Security administrative law judges will often cite daily activities as definitive proof that an applicant is not really disabled and therefore not entitled to benefits. Yet federal courts have repeatedly told Social Security that is not how the law works.

Attending Concerts and Dating a Man Insufficient Grounds to Reject Disability Claim

The most recent example of this came in a December 28 opinion issued by the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago. The Seventh Circuit has appellate jurisdiction over disability cases arising throughout Illinois. In this particular case, a woman suffering from a variety of physical and mental impairments was told by an ALJ she was not legally disabled. Social Security said the ALJ's findings were not supported by sufficient evidence and ordered the agency to conduct a new hearing.

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 Posted on December 19,2017 in Social Security Disability

When applying for Social Security Disability Insurance benefits, the agency will need to assess your ability to perform any type of meaningful work in spite of your physical and mental impairments. In a typical disability case, a Social Security administrative law judge (ALJ) will pose hypothetical questions to a “vocational expert,” basically asking him or her to determine how someone with your medical history might be able to function in the job market.

While the questions may be hypothetical, they must still be grounded in your actual medical records. For example, if you suffer from diabetes, the ALJ must include diabetes as a parameter in the hypothetical question posed to the vocational expert. If the ALJ omits any of your demonstrated limitations, that may be grounds for seeking a new hearing should Social Security ultimately deny your application for benefits.

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 Posted on December 15,2017 in Social Security Disability

A key issue in Social Security disability cases is determining when an applicant actually became disabled, i.e. no longer able to work as a matter of law. Disability benefits are supposed to begin five months after this official onset date. And since many disability applicants—especially here in the Chicago area—must wait years for a favorable decision from Social Security, accrued benefits must be paid from the start of this post-five month waiting period.

Social Security Cited for Misrepresenting Doctor's Testimony

In determining a disability onset date, Social Security administrative law judges (ALJs) are expected to rely on medical evidence and not their own intuition or guesswork. Of course, that does not stop some ALJs from attempting to do just that. While federal courts consistently have to remind Social Security of its legal obligations, such reminders only serve to extend the waiting period for disability applicants who desperately need income now.

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 Posted on December 08,2017 in Already Applied for Disability Benefits

Illinois residents with serious mental health disorders are often rejected for Social Security disability benefits because agency officials simply refuse to take such conditions seriously. Social Security administrative law judges (ALJs) are especially prone to accusing disability applicants of fabricating or exaggerating mental health symptoms—and even dismissing expert medical opinions supporting such claims.

But ALJs are not doctors. Their role is to weigh and assess the medical evidence presented. It is not to substitute their own subjective judgment when they deem it convenient.

Court Orders Social Security to Reconsider Disability Case

Recently, a federal magistrate had to remind Social Security of this. In this case, a disability applicant suffering from serious mental health problems challenged an ALJ's determination that he was not legally disabled. Without ruling on the merits of the underlying application, the magistrate said the ALJ's reasons for rejecting the plaintiff's claims were insufficient and ordered a new hearing.

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 Posted on November 28,2017 in Social Security Disability

Social Security officials often resort to using boilerplate language or checklists when denying claims for disability benefits. Federal courts must continually remind Social Security this is not an acceptable practice. Every disability applicant has the right to fair consideration of the unique facts and circumstances applicable to his or her case, especially any medical evidence documenting his or her physical or mental impairments. Yet ironically, Social Security itself often tries to dismiss such medical evidence on the grounds that doctors use boilerplate language or checklists in filling out some of their assessments.

Court Criticizes Social Security for Resorting to “Rank Speculation” in Denying Disability Claim

Consider this recent disability case from here in Illinois. The plaintiff spent 25 years as a yard manager for the Chicago Transportation Authority. But in 2004, he was forced to stop working due to a combination of medical conditions, including bad knees, high blood pressure, and lower back pain.

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