Indiana Social Security Disability Attorney

Tom S. Ebbinghouse, Attorney At Law, Social Security Disability Indianapolis, Indiana

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Another Reason You May Be Denied Your Social Security Disability Benefits

March 2nd, 2010 · Attorney Representation, Delay, General, SSA, Social Security Disability Benefits Denial Indiana

Most people who are turned down for Social Security Disability Benefits cannot believe that they were turned down when they applied for benefits. They do not realize that in Indiana approximately 65% will be turned down when they first apply. They just cannot believe the SSA would get such an important decision wrong.

When you apply for disability, your claim is sent to a state agency that SSA hires to made the medical determination of  whether you are disabled. In many states this is called the Disability Determination Service,  DDS, while in Indiana the current name is the Disability Determination Bureau, DDB. It is these State workers that decide your claim.

The National Association of Disability Examiners, NADE, describes itself as:

a professional association whose purpose is to promote the art and science of disability evaluation. The majority of our members work in the state Disability Determination Service (DDS) agencies where 15,000+ employees adjudicate claims for Social Security and/or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) disability benefits. As such, our members constitute the “front lines” of disability evaluation.

A recent issue of The NADE Advocate, Volume 26, Number 1,  provides insight into why SSA may make the wrong decision in your case.

The growing complexity of the Social Security and SSI Disability Programs, coupled with the need to produce a huge volume of work, justifies even more the need for adequate resources in order to provide the service that the American public has come to expect and deserve from SSA. It takes an average of two years for a newly hired disability examiner to become fully trained and proficient to the point they can function independently and contribute to the process of making timely and accurate disability decisions. Thus, decisions not to replace productive personnel when they leave can take two or more years to correct even after new hires are made. NADE has long maintained that it is critical for SSA to be provided with the resources needed to hire and train new staff that can perform these duties. Low salaries, hiring restrictions and the stress of the job have contributed to high attrition (12.3%) in the DDSs. (Emphasis added)

Constantly having to replace 12.3% of the workforce and it taking two years before they can function independently, plus the stress of the job to get the work out fast, combined with low pay, may be a reason that DDB makes the wrong decision so many times.

The important point for you is that you should not be discouraged when your claim is turned down at the initial or reconsideration stages. With approximately 65% turned down on initial application and approximately  93%  turned down at Reconsideration,  you should take the steps necessary to increase your odds of winning. You will need an experienced attorney in Social Security claims to help you increase your odds in what NADE calls a “growing complexity of the Social Security and SSI Disability Programs.”

Unlike many attorneys, I will begin to help you with your case before your file your claim.  Read When Should I Hire An Attorney For My Disability Case? for my reasons why. What are you doing to increase your odds of winning?

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Indianapolis Social Security Disability Cases Appeal Processing Time Continues to Fall!

February 22nd, 2010 · Delay, General, Hearings, SSA, Social Security Disability Benefits Denial Indiana

The processing time for appeals that go to hearing in Indianapolis continues to fall. At the end of November 2009, the average processing time from the Request for Hearing was 579 days.  In June of 2008 it was 896 days and in April 2009 it was 738 days.  As I noted in my June 12, 2009 post, a new hearing office is supposed to be up and running in Valparaiso, IN in September 2010.  I would expect that once that office is open, SSA will reconfigure service areas of the different hearing offices so that all of the Indiana hearing offices will have shorter waiting times.

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Social Security Compassionate Allowances Expanded For Disability

February 12th, 2010 · General, Medical Impairment, Rules, SSA

Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, announced that the agency is adding 38 more conditions to its list of Compassionate Allowances.  This is the first expansion since the original list of 50 conditions – 25 rare diseases and 25 cancers – was announced in October 2008.  The new conditions range from adult brain disorders to rare diseases that primarily affect children.

Compassionate Allowances are a way of quickly identifying diseases and other medical conditions that clearly qualify for Social Security and Supplemental Security Income disability benefits.  It allows the agency to electronically target and make speedy decisions for the most obviously disabled individuals.  In developing the expanded list of conditions, Social Security held public hearings and worked closely with the National Institutes of Health, the Alzheimer’s Association, the National Organization for Rare Disorders, and other groups.

“The diagnosis of Alzheimer’s indicates significant cognitive impairment that interferes with daily living activities, including the ability to work,” said Harry Johns, President and CEO of the Alzheimer’s Association.  “Now, individuals who are dealing with the enormous challenges of Alzheimer’s won’t also have to endure the financial and emotional toll of a long disability decision process.”

“This truly innovative program will provide invaluable assistance and support to patients and families coping with severely disabling rare diseases,” said Peter L. Saltonstall, President and CEO of the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD).  “On behalf of those patients and families, I want to thank Commissioner Astrue and his enthusiastic team for creating and now expanding a program that will have a direct impact on the quality of life of thousands of individuals.”

“The initiative not only assists those whose applications are quickly processed, but also assists those whose applications need more time and attention from SSA adjudicators,” said Marty Ford, Co-Chair, Social Security Task Force, Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities.  “We are pleased to see today’s expansion and look forward to working with Commissioner Astrue on further expansion of this decision-making tool and other ways to expedite determinations and decisions for disability claims.”

“We will continue to hold hearings and look for other diseases and conditions that can be added to our list of Compassionate Allowances,” Commissioner Astrue said.  “There can be no higher priority than getting disability benefits quickly to those Americans with these severe and life-threatening conditions.”

Social Security will begin electronically identifying these 38 new conditions March 1.

New Compassionate Allowance Conditions

  1. Alstrom Syndrome
  2. Amegakaryocytic Thrombocytopenia
  3. Ataxia Spinocerebellar
  4. Ataxia Telangiectasia
  5. Batten Disease
  6. Bilateral Retinoblastoma
  7. Cri du Chat Syndrome
  8. Degos Disease
  9. Early-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease
  10. Edwards Syndrome
  11. Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva
  12. Fukuyama Congenital Muscular Dystrophy
  13. Glutaric Acidemia Type II
  14. Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), Familial Type
  15. Hurler Syndrome, Type IH
  16. Hunter Syndrome, Type II
  17. Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis
  18. Junctional Epidermolysis Bullosa, Lethal Type
  19. Late Infantile Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinoses
  20. Leigh’s Disease
  21. Maple Syrup Urine Disease
  22. Merosin Deficient Congenital Muscular Dystrophy
  23. Mixed Dementia
  24. Mucosal Malignant Melanoma
  25. Neonatal Adrenoleukodystrophy
  26. Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinoses, Infantile Type
  27. Niemann-Pick Type C
  28. Patau Syndrome
  29. Primary Progressive Aphasia
  30. Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy
  31. Sanfilippo Syndrome
  32. Subacute Sclerosis Panencephalitis
  33. Tay Sachs Disease
  34. Thanatophoric Dysplasia, Type 1
  35. Ullrich Congenital Muscular Dystrophy
  36. Walker Warburg Syndrome
  37. Wolman Disease
  38. Zellweger Syndrome

Here is the list of the previously announced conditions.

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Social Security Disability and Computer Usage

January 15th, 2010 · Attorney Representation, General, Hearings, SSA, Social Security Disability Benefits Denial Indiana

There are rumors that an administrative law judge stated in a seminar that he went on line and researched to see if the claimant had job applications pending during the claim. The speculation is that the ALJ is using on-line research skills to see if current resumes are being posted by the claimants. Why would this be important to the ALJ?

When you apply for Social Security Disability, you are stating that you cannot do an 8 hour a day job 5 days a week. If you have posted your resume seeking work, some might conclude that you really think you can work. The old adage “you cannot have your cake and eat it too” comes to mind. Some will conclude that you really are not disabled and you are only using the Social Security Disability system to provide you a means of support while you are looking for work. After all, if you cannot work, why would you be posting your resume seeking work?

Perhaps you posted a resume on line shortly before you became disabled. Have you forgotten about it? Did you remember to remove it from the site when you became unable to work? Even if you did, can it still be retrieved from the web?

Much has also been made in the news media about potential employers looking at social media sites such as Facebook and MySpace to see what they can learn. If someone might research you, what might they learn about you at these sites? If you participate in an online chat group, how might your comments be misconstrued? Also, if you are posting all the time, what might that say about your computer skills and your ability to concentrate? Do not assume that the postings are private because it is a disease support group web site. Who knows, your ALJ may actually belong to the support group and be reading about you.

There used to be an ALJ in Indianapolis that would state that he got on the SSA system the day before the hearing and personally ran the earnings records to see what it showed. He would then ask the claimant pointed questions about the latest findings. You need to be prepared to answer the ALJ’s questions about what the internet reveals about you. You may hear the ALJ begin a question with “I see on the web that…..”

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Social Security Sending Corrected Benefit Notices

December 11th, 2009 · General

The Social Security Administration earlier this month mailed notices that contained incorrect January 2010 payment dates.  [Read more →]

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