According to a recent article in the San Francisco Chronicle, the San Francisco office of the Social Security Administration has been ordered by a federal judge to accommodate the needs of two men with learning disabilities, schizophrenia, and autism. The men were wrongfully denied their benefits because they were unable to understand the complex Social… Read more »
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Judge with Favorable Approval Rating Placed on Administrative Leave
Check out this recent Wall Street Journal article about Administrative Law Judge Gerald Krafsur. Judge Krafsur has been a Social Security judge in Kingsport, Tennesse since 1991. According to the article, he was one of the most productive judges among the roughly 1500 Social Security judges nationwide, and had one of the highest approval ratings. … Read more »
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) vs. Disability Insurance Benefits (DIB): Two Programs, One Process
Many social security claimants don’t fully realize that, when they file their initial application to prove they are disabled and receive Social Security, they can file under two programs with two distinct technical requirements. One program, Disability Insurance Benefits (DIB), is based on how much a claimant has paid into the system, through Social Security… Read more »
New Client Intake
Our office has designated intake receptionists available to take prospective client’s calls seven days per week. If interested in becoming a new client of Greeman Toomey PLLC please feel free to give our office a call and ask to do what is called a “new client intake.” During the intake interview you will be asked… Read more »
What Can Employers Do for SSDI Applicants?
Lots of people speculate about the link between the economic downturn and the recent spike in Social Security disability applications. A few insightful academics and journalists are examining this issue in more depth, and are looking into the role employers play in the recent surge of Social Security applications. David Autor and Mark Duggan published… Read more »
Disability Benefits for Former Active-Duty Military Service Members
As noted in a recent Associated Press article, returning veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars are among the medically and mentally troubled veterans ever seen. The statistics are staggering: nearly 45 percent of Iraq and Afghan veterans have applied for service-related disability benefits through the Veterans Administration. Many wounded warriors are unaware that they… Read more »
Keeping Up with Deadlines & Administrative Res Judicata
Being denied for Disability Insurance Benefits or Supplemental Security Income is not an unusual experience, as this blog has discussed before. As mentioned in the earlier post, you can appeal the denial and it is something we do here at Greeman Toomey on a daily basis. The Social Security Administration’s rules give you sixty (60)… Read more »
Step 3: Meeting a Listing
On this blog we’ve covered the 5 step sequential evaluation process , which is the method Social Security uses to determine if a claimant is disabled. We’ve also discussed how a person can be successfully found disabled by equaling a Listing. However, the most direct way to be found disabled is to meet a Listing… Read more »
What if I have been awarded benefits and Social Security later decides to review my case?
Receiving a letter in the mail stating that Social Security is going to review your medical condition after you’ve been awarded benefits can by scary. Our office receives many phone calls each week from individuals in receipt of such letters asking why their case is being reviewed and how the review process works. Social Security… Read more »
The Function Report: Your Best Friend
When you apply for Social Security, and found you either have paid enough into the system to meet the non-medical requirements for SSDI benefits or have the requisite few assets to met the technical requirements, your case then gets moved on to your state’s respective Disability Determination Services. It is a very rare occasion that… Read more »
