Dear Jonathan,
Hello. I have a question concerning my court hearing please.   On May 17th, 2007, I went to my disability hearing. 2 months later I contacted them to find out my status and they told me the decision was made the day I went to court. I continued to wait and still heard nothing. So I called again today, and they told me there was not a decision made yet. Now I am confused, and I have no money and I’m a single parent. My disbility is social anxiety and depression. I really don’t think I can work at this time, but I don’t know what to do. I first applied for this July 2004. I have a lawyer, but she doesn’t know whats going on. Please help.
Thank you, Barbara

Jonathan Ginsberg responds: Barbara, thank you for your question.  Here is what I think is going on.  In most hearing offices throughout the country, judges are required to follow a procedure set out in operations manuals created for them by the Social Security Administration.   Although you would think that a judge can control how his courtroom operates, Social Security judges do not have as much control or authority as State or Federal Court judges.

In a Social Security disability case, the judge takes notes during the course of your hearing and most likely fills out a checklist provided to him.   Included on these checklist forms is a place where the judge selects either "favorable," "unfavorable," or "partially favorable."  After the hearing, the judge gives his checklist and notes to a "decision writer" who will prepare the actual written decision.  The written decisions is Social Security disability cases follow a very structure format.  In other words, hearing decision issued by a judge in hearing office #1 is going to look very similar to a hearing decision issued by a judge in hearing office #2.

In many hearing offices, decision writers are overworked and have backlogs of work.   Because of this, there may be a delay of several weeks to several months before the decision writer is able to produce a draft decision for the judge’s review.   The judge may then review the written decision and compare its text to his notes and checklist forms.  Most judges want to do a good job and they want their written decisions to make sense and to clearly explain their reasoning.

If your case has unusual issues or if the judge needs to hold the record open for evidence or a written brief, the process may take several months.  Some judges may also be very particular about any written decision that goes out under that judge’s signature and that can add weeks or months to the delay.

I know a couple of judges who may take a year or longer to issue a decision, although that is unusual.  Most hearing decisions are issued within two to three months after the hearing.

In your case, I suspect that the judge did make his decision at the time of your hearing, and that the written hearing decision has been prepared in draft form but has not been reviewed by the judge.  

Unfortunately there is not much you can do to force the judge to speed up the process.  If the delay goes on beyond five or six months, your lawyer may want to write a polite letter asking about status and advising the judge that you have a finanical hardship and need a decision. 

[tags] social security disability hearing decision, social security judge, ODAR [/tags]

With delays in Social Security disability cases reaching three years, it was inevitable that settlement advance funding would be adapted to include Social Security disability cases.  Yesterday, a company called AnyLawSuits.com purchased a site review from me through Reviewme.com, which is a marketplace that allows website owners to purchase blog reviews.  I thought that AnyLawSuits.com’s concept is interesting because they say that any advance issued to a claimant would not have to be repaid if the claimant lost his disability case.

In the personal injury field, settlement advances are usually loans whereby a funding source loans money against an expected settlement.   The lender makes its money by charging an interest rate as compensation for its risk.  Assuming the interest rate is reasonable, settlement advance funding can help cash poor plaintiffs  cover their bills while waiting for their settlement to arrive.

It appears that Social Security disability lump sum funding would work in a similar way.   If , for example, your estimated lump sum receipt after attorney’s fees is $25,000, the settlement lender may advance you a percentage of the expected settlement  with the understanding that you will repay the advance + interest when your lump sum arrives.  Further, if you lose your case, you would not have to repay the advance.

AnyLawSuits.com’s web site doesn’t offer any details about how the advance arrangement works. They do not reveal how they decide how much to loan or what the interest rate would be.   At the bottom of their web page there is a link to a company called Alpine Funding.   It appears that AnyLawSuits.com has a broker relationship with Alpine Funding whereby AnyLawSuits.com earns a commission for any settlement loan they place.

The Alpine Funding site explains that you would have to sign some sort of assignment of your check, but I wonder how enforceable such an assignment would be given that Social Security checks cannot be garnished or seized by judgment creditors.  In addition, Social Security lump sum checks are paid directly to the claimant, unlike insurance claim checks which are sent to the plaintiff’s lawyer.  Alpine Funding’s site is also silent as to what percentage of the anticipated settlement might be loaned or the interest rate to be charged.

I also find it interesting that AnyLawSuits.com’s web site specifically says that they do not advance on SSI or SSD cases.  Why, then, would they purchase a review on my Social Security disability blog with a notation that they offer "social security legal funding?"

If anyone reading this decides to try AnyLawSuits.com, I would advise you to be very, very careful and to consult with your lawyer before signing anything.  I would also be interested in hearing about anyone’s experience with "settlement advance" funding in Social Security disability cases.  I can see how settlement advance funding would be attractive to a cash strapped Social Security disability claimant but like any financial proposal directed to a customer with cash flow problems, the terms of the deal are likely to be weighed heavily in favor of the lender.

[tags] settlement advance funding, anylawsuits.com, advance of social security disability lump sum [/tags]