Social Security Disability Law Blog: Disability Law

Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Disability Law Blogs

OR PHONE (866) 635-1838 for Bankruptcy Help, (866) 635-6190 for Divorce,
(866) 635-2689 for Personal Injury or (866) 635-9402 for Criminal Defense

Find a Local Lawyer

Bankruptcy (866) 635-1838
Divorce (866) 635-6190
Personal Injury (866) 635-2689
Criminal Defense (866) 635-9402

Disability Law

Social Security Disability Law Blog

News, information support and resources for Social Security and SSI disability claimants.

Post Frequency: 0.6/day

Last Entry: May 15, 2009 at 14:14:08

Fast Track “Compassionate Allowances” for Disability cases

Posted on November 01, 2008
Social Security has that announced it will fast-track applications for Social Security disability for applicants with any of 25 rare diseases and 25 cancers whose medical conditions are very severe. Currently, many people with rare diseases experience devastating delays when they apply for Social Security assistance because those making the decisions are not familiar with [...

Top Disability Insurer Cheated Social Security, Boston Federal Jury Says

Posted on November 01, 2008
By ROBERT WOODMAN MCSHERRY, Andrews Publications Staff Writer UnumProvident Corp., America’s leading private disability insurer, defrauded the Social Security Administration on disability claims, a Boston federal court jury has found following a bellwether trial...

Stories of Rare Diseases Sought for Social Security Administration

Posted on November 01, 2008
The National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) reports that the Social Security Administration (SSA) is seeking input from both physicians and patients on rare diseases. The SSA conducted hearings last December as part of an effort to better understand rare diseases so that patients will encounter fewer delays and frustrations when they apply for Social [...

Hello world!

Posted on October 14, 2008
Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!

To access this complete feed in the blog feed reader login or register for free.

Congressional Hearings Address Backlogs at Hearing Offices

Posted on September 17, 2008
The House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security will hold a hearing Tuesday morning to look at what is -- and isn't being done -- to reduce the incredibly backlog of Social Security disability cases...Currently the nation's Social Security disability insurance program is struggling under a severe case backlog...

New Debit Cards Offered to Replace Checks for Benefits

Posted on September 05, 2008
The Department of the Treasury said Thursday that nearly 2 million Social Security recipients in 12 Western states will receive information this month about the option of receiving their Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits via a prepaid debit card...

Debit Cards for Social Security Benefits

Posted on August 27, 2008
Social Security recipients can now get monthly payments on a prepaid debit card. The Direct Express Debit MasterCard is being rolled out in 10 states by the Treasury Department and Dallas-based Comerica Bank. It's an alternative to paper checks and direct deposit...

Milwaukee Hearing Delays Dismal

Posted on August 25, 2008
The claimant's file is among a stack of more than 762,000 disability cases pending nationally in the Social Security Administration. The agency has been plagued with a growing backlog in the past decade as it struggles to handle more retirement and disability cases...

Candidates Skate Thin Ice on Social Security Reform

Posted on August 14, 2008
From today's New York Times: Party elders and analysts who have seen many a politician fall victim to the jinx of Social Security, which was signed into law 73 years ago Thursday, say they are not surprised. ?All you have to do is open your mouth and you?re dead meat,? said Bill Frenzel, a [...

Fight to the Death: Getting Disability Benefits in Oregon

Posted on August 02, 2008
Today's Oregonian reports: Americans seeking Social Security?s disability benefits find themselves stuck in a morass of bureacracy that often takes years to navigate. Social Security officials say they?re working hard to remedy the backlog. But they acknowledge it?ll be years before they bring it under control...

SSA Provides Online Calculator for Disability and Retirement Benefits

Posted on July 21, 2008
The AP reports today at the San Francisco Chronicle, www.sfgate.com: People planning for retirement got a new tool this week: a fast and easy online estimator for their Social Security benefits. The retirement benefit is usually the same as the amount paid for Social Security Disability...

Florida Legislator Introduces Bill to Reduce Social Security Backlogs

Posted on July 17, 2008
U.S. Representative Kathy Castor (D-FL) called a press conference, Monday, to announce legislation to expedite the Social Security Administration disability claims process. Thousands of Tampa Bay area families are caught in a multi-year backlog. Steadily lengthening delays in the resolution of Social Security disability claims have left hundreds of thousands of people in a kind of [...

US Supreme Court Reins in LTD Carriers

Posted on July 14, 2008
The Christian Science Monitor reports on new Supreme Court Ruling: Judges must approach medical disability and health insurance disputes with a skeptical eye when they involve insurance companies that both evaluate and pay employee claims. In a 6 to 3 decision announced Thursday, the US Supreme Court ruled that benefit denials by such companies must be [...

Banks Improperly Garnishing Social Security Deposits

Posted on July 13, 2008
Administration's Office of the Inspector General. The inspector general found that some financial institutions are apparently violating federal law by garnishing accounts that receive electronic deposits of old age, survivors and disability insurance, and/or supplemental security income payments...

Chicago Tribune and Indy Star Report Extreme Delays in Indiana

Posted on July 07, 2008
The Chicago Tribune reports on Sunday Story in the Indianapolis Star: Indiana residents unable to work because of medical or psychiatric ills are forced to wait far longer than most Americans for disability payments, putting them at greater risk of losing their cars or homes...

Waahington Post: Myth Busters About the Solvency of Social Security

Posted on July 04, 2008
...Even at the peak of boomer retirement, around 2030, most of the population will still be of prime working age, between 20 and 64. The percentage -- about 55, according to the Social Security Administration -- will be lower than it is today (59), but above the levels of the 1960s and '70s, when it [...

Double Dipping Judge Blamed for Backlogs

Posted on June 23, 2008
This judge is blamed for the backlogs in Atlanta. Maybe the better story is that he says he was one of the office's most productive judges. From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: A judge can be removed from his civilian job for double-dipping. Social Security has also filed papers to recover more than $309,000 in back [...

Depatment of Justice OK’s Benefits for Children of Disabled Parents in Civil Unions

Posted on June 19, 2008
MONTPELIER ? The federal government has ruled that the Social Security Administration must extend benefits to the children of partners in same-sex unions even if the parent is not biologically related. The U.S. Department of Justice opinion was in response to a case involving a Vermont couple...

Disability Recipients Have till October to File for Stimulus Rebate

Posted on June 10, 2008
Even those individuals who have little or no tax liability may qualify for a minimum payment of $300 ($600 if filing a joint return) if their tax return reflects $3,000 or more in qualifying income, which consists of earned income (e.g., wages, net self-employment income) as well as Social Security or certain Railroad Retirement benefits [...

Chronic Fatigue: More Evidence That it’s Real

Posted on June 01, 2008
Frm today's New York Times: For decades, people suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome have struggled to convince doctors, employers, friends and even family members that they were not imagining their debilitating symptoms. Skeptics called the illness ?yuppie flu? and ?shirker syndrome...

You Pay In, You get Paid, Right?

Posted on May 26, 2008
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- It seems simple enough: you pay for Social Security disability insurance out of every paycheck. Then, if you get hurt and can't work, you collect that money. But more and more people are finding they can't always get what they've paid for -- at least not very easily...

Buffalo Delays: Same Story, Different City

Posted on May 22, 2008
From The Buffalo News: Karen Furman?s son, Kelvin, was 10 when she applied to get federal income assistance for parents with disabled children. Kelvin is now 14, living in a group home and still waiting for the government to decide if he?s disabled. The Buffalo Social Security hearing office, where Furman filed her claim, [...

Immigration Bill Requres Social Security Verification for All Jobs

Posted on May 20, 2008
In Today's Kansas City Star: For critics, it?s an Orwellian nightmare: the government signing off on every single hiring decision made in the United States. For backers, it?s the only logical way to discourage illegal immigrants, one using the nation?s only existing, all-encompassing ? and currently flawed ? database to block unlawful employment entering the [...

Applictions Up, Approvals Down

Posted on May 13, 2008
.... The number of workers applying for SSDI disability payments increased to 2.2 million in 2007, 2.6% more that in 2006, while the number of disabled workers approved for payments declined to 37.6 percent, the lowest approval rate in the history of the program...

What Social Security is NOT Meant To Do

Posted on May 12, 2008
A New York Times Editorial: ....forcing Social Security to take on the enormous burden of immigration enforcement would be a harmful diversion from its core mission and could strain the bureaucracy to the breaking point. That would have frightening implications for millions of people who are supposed to be served by the Social Security Administration, particularly the [...

What do Social Security Numbers Tell You?

Posted on May 06, 2008
From Kathleen Pender in today's San Francisco Chronicle: ...How does the government assign these numbers? Is there anything you can tell about a person from his or her number? And in using the last two digits, is the IRS favoring one group over another? It turns out that the first three digits - called the area number [...

Social Security Delays of Disability Claims Violate Due Process Rights

Posted on April 24, 2008
Today's The American Civil Liberties Union newsletter commends the House Ways and Means Committee for holding a hearing today on the backlog of Social Security disability claims. The ACLU has submitted a written statement to the committee. Social Security disability backlogs are at an all-time high, with the average wait time lasting 499 days and [...

Delays in Dallas

Posted on April 23, 2008
Bob Kraft's blog reoprts on Average Processing Times For Social Security Disability Claims: The list of the most recently available average processing times for Social Security disability claims throughout the nation has been published by NOSSCR. The Dallas and Forth Worth offices rank closer to the top than to the bottom, but processing times across [...

Compassionate Allowances: Some Progress on Delays

Posted on April 23, 2008
Fayetteville, New York (WSYR-TV) - If you get so sick or injured that you can?t work anymore, Social Security disability kicks in. But it may take a few months for benefits to go into effect. Currently, it takes nearly three months just to process disability applications...

Doctors’ Group Reports Pressure to Downplay Injuries

Posted on April 23, 2008
From today's Charlotte Observer: A leading group of occupational doctors is taking the unusual step of speaking out publicly against pressure from companies to downplay workplace injuries. To outline their concerns, the physicians have sent a letter to federal workplace safety regulators and held a conference session in New York City on Monday...

Previous | Next

Related Law Bulletins

NSEERS - National Security Entry-Exit Registration System
NSEERS - NATIONAL SECURITY ENTRY-EXIT REGISTRATION SYSTEM Special ...

The New IMAGE Program From Homeland Security
Over the past several months, Bush administration officials and th...

One-Third Of Americans Think Illegal Immigrants Should Be Denied Social Services
An article in the Los Angeles Times today says that one-third of A...

New Baptist Covenant Blog
Last week, I pointed to the New Baptist Convenant website, now onl...

The Mexico Trucker Blog
I've written before about the perceived problems with relaxed rest...