News Category: Social Security Disability
Disabled Deadbeats? We don’t think so
Rhetoric, without any basis in fact, is a favorite tactic of politicians. The problem is too many people believe the rhetoric and start spouting off about "disabled deadbeats," "welfare queens" and a "nation of takers" without regard for the facts. New York Times writer Paul Krugman writes about how this venomous rhetoric is now being directed at people who receive Social Security Disability, since those numbers are up. People like our clients unfairly are being labeled "deadbeats" with the implication being that many who receive Social Secur ...
Read More | No Comments| Brain Injury, Social Security Disability
More disabled veterans returning from wars in Afghanistan and Iraq
Just a week after Memorial Day, here's a sobering statistic about veterans who are returning from conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Nearly half are applying for disability benefits for service-related injuries and illnesses -- more than for any previous wars, according to the Associated Press. "America's newest veterans are filing for disability benefits at a historic rate, claiming to be the most medically and mentally troubled generation of former troops the nation has ever seen. A staggering 45 percent of the 1.6 million veterans from ...
Read More | No Comments| Past Events, Social Security Disability
Free, informative Social Security Disability Seminar set for Aug. 11
Please join the Deuterman Law Group for a free, information seminar about Social Security Disability benefits. I'll be leading this session, scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 11, at the Carolina Theatre, 310 S. Greene St., just across the street from our offices in downtown Greensboro. Everyone who attends will get a free Deuterman Law Group tote bag, plus tickets to the Carolina Theatre's Summer Film Festival. You can use the tickets for any movie at the theater, including Thursday's 7:30 p.m. showing of "Top Gun." I'll be explaining th ...
Read More | No CommentsSocial Security Disability: Spotlight on Ankylosing Spondylitis
People often ask me how “hard” it is to get approved for Social Security Disability benefits if they have this or that specific medical problem. I usually respond by first saying that you don’t have to be found disabled solely on the basis of one problem alone. If, like many people, you have multiple medical problems that, taken together, combine to prevent you from being able to sustain full time work, the Social Security Administration is supposed to look at how all of your different medical problems affect you in a holistic way. In ...
Read More | 2 CommentsDenied Social Security Disability Benefits, Cancer Patient Continues to Work
Yet another sad story of how the Social Security disability backlog impacts lives. 47-year-old Heather Russell was diagnosed a year ago with Stage IV cancer and applied for Social Security disability benefits. She was initially denied benefits, and so kept working at her job at Home Depot despite the toll the end-stage cancer was taking on her. Russell died before receiving Social Security Disability benefits. And it wasn't until a few weeks before her death that her family learned that her claim likely could have been expedited because o ...
Read More | 2 CommentsVA Changing Process for Handling PTSD Disability Claims
Interesting reading from the Associated Press about the Department of Veterans' Affairs plans to reform the way it handles disability claims from veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Moved by a huge tide of troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with post-traumatic stress, Congress has pressured the Department of Veterans Affairs to settle their disability claims — quickly, humanely, and mostly in the vets' favor. The problem: The system is dysfunctional, an open invitation to fraud. And the VA has proposed changes ...
Read More | 2 CommentsN.C. Man Denied His Rightful Social Security Disability Benefits
The Social Security Disability backlog has been widely covered in the media. We've blogged about the topic quite often here. Statistics showing how deep the backlog is -- as much as two years in some cases -- are compelling. But it's stories like that of Kevin Smith of Spindale, N.C., that illustrate why reform and improvements to the Social Security Disability system are so necessary. Because of a bureaucratic mistake -- a computer coding error -- Smith failed to receive $14,000 in back pay after being approved for Social Security Disability b ...
Read More | One CommentDisabled Still Face Long Wait for Disability Benefits
New Jersey has The Boss, The Sopranos and Snooki -- and apparently one of the lengthiest backlogs for Social Security Disability claims. According to a report at NJ.com, a new survey from Allsup reveals: The average New Jerseyan will wait as long as 16 months before a hearing to determine whether they are eligible for benefits. Although that’s an improvement from more than 17 months in September 2008, it’s still the 13th longest wait in the country. Reviewing the first two applications in New Jersey takes an average of six months, said ...
Read More | No CommentsHealth Care Reform: The Faces Behind the Political Debate
New York Newsday is asking regular folks to weigh in on health care reform. As you can imagine, many people's opinions are a result of their own experience with the health care system, insurance, Medicare and Medicaid. 55-year-old Deborah Russell, who lives on Social Security and relies on Medicaid to pay her medical bills, favors reform. Russell says too many hardworking people she knows - including a 49-year-old mechanic who rents a room in the same two-story house where she lives - have no insurance. "When he got sick two weeks ago, I ...
Read More | No CommentsAdministrative law judges unable to keep up with deepening Social Security Disabilty backlog
A month ago, we reported that the economy and elevated unemployment rates around the country were add to the Social Security Disability backlog and lengthening the amount of time that disabled people must wait for their benefits. The trend continues, according to the Las Vegas Sun: Since October, the number of people waiting to have a claim processed has jumped more than 30 percent, from about 556,000 to 736,000 last month. Although most of those initial claims will be denied, many will end up before an administrative law judge on appeal. N ...
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