While SSA is pushing for more disability and retirement benefit recipients to sign up for electronic payment in lieu of a paper check, scammers are working harder than ever to put those benefits in their own bank accounts. For example, some Social Security benefit recipients…
The Social Security Administration is continuing to make more and more of their services available online. After what seemed to be a test-run over the last several months, claimants can now electronically sign their SSA-827 form for disability applications and appeals. The purpose of the…
Our office is proud to announce the latest addition to our team, Matt Shupe. Matt is a recent graduate of the Case Western Reserve University School of Law and is currently awaiting the summer 2012 Bar Exam Results. Matt is a person who has advocated…
A consultative exam (CE) is an appointment set for a disability claimant by SSA for the purpose of having that claimant undergo a medical evaluation. The doctor, referred to by SSA as the “examiner,” tests and observes either physical or mental/emotional disabilities, depending on the…
Disability claims are driven by medical records. Unfortunately, the process of requesting and obtaining medical records is the most frequent source of delay in the disability determination process. SSA requests over 15 million copies of medical records from over 500,000 providers each year to determine…
In fiscal years 2010 and 2011, 82,000 disability cases were transferred from SSA’s 10 regions to National Hearing Centers (NHC) in Falls Church, VA, Albuquerque, NM, Chicago, IL, Baltimore, MD and St. Louis, MO. Here, video teleconferencing (VTC) technology is used to connect the ALJ…
It is common knowledge these days that a person has to be careful about how they present themselves on the internet, whether it is through pictures, videos, blog posts, or even comments you leave on your friends’ Facebook pages. How you portray yourself online is…
Malingering is defined as pretending or exaggerating incapacity or illness as to avoid duty or work (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/malingering). People may malinger for a variety of secondary gain motives, which may include financial compensation, avoiding work, school or military service, obtaining prescription drugs, or simply to attract…
In order to help expedite claims for our military service members who have become disabled while serving our country, SSA became part of the Wounded Warrior Project. The mission statement of the Wounded Warrior Project is “To Honor and Empower Wounded Warriors.” The Project will…
In the past, Social Security claimants who had appeals pending at the Appeals Council level could file a second new application while waiting for their first application to be decided. Because of SSR 11-1p, this is no longer an option. Either you must wait for…