When you appear before a Social Security judge for a hearing, there are four possible outcomes: you will be approved you will be denied your case will be continued to another date for a supplemental hearing the judge will issue a “partially favorable” decision Over the past couple of years I have noticed an increase [...]
Filed under Administrative Law Judges, Case studies, Diabetes and disability, Disability hearings, Grid rules by 
As I have discussed extensively on this blog and on my web sites, the ultimate question in any Social Security disability case boils down to this – would you be able to perform reliably a simple, entry-level job 8 hours a day, 5 days a week? This question concerns itself with your capacity to perform [...]
Filed under Administrative Law Judges, Disability hearings, Internet disability resources by
I invite you to visit my Georgia Social Security disability web site to read my latest heart disease disability case study report about a case I tried last week on behalf of a client with a longstanding cardiac disease complicated by decreased kidney function and diabetes. Like many of the cardiac disease cases that I [...]
There is no such thing as the “perfect” case. Even the most deserving claimants may end up with a doctor who they don’t like or with whom they do not get along. This is especially true in “pain” cases when narcotic medicines may be prescribed. There are also doctors out there who do not believe [...]
I was reading this morning’s paper and I saw in the obituary section that retired Social Security judge Albert Feldman passed away this past Wednesday, July 22, 2009. With your indulgence I would like to take a break from my usual blog posts – that speak about case strategies, changes in the law, etc. to [...]
Filed under Administrative Law Judges, Disability hearings by
I recently ran across a very timely post on Jim Reed’s New York Injury Law blog entitled “When Facebook Isn’t a Friend to Your Personal Injury Case.” Jim correctly points out that the default privacy setting on Facebook is essentially “no privacy” meaning that anyone in your geographic area can view your profile, your photos [...]
Back in August, 2007, I wrote a blog post entitled “How Long Do I Have to Wait for my Hearing Decision.” Back then I reported that in most cases, a claimant would have to wait two to three months for a hearing decision. Fast forward to 2009. That two to three month period is now [...]
Filed under Administrative Law Judges, Delays, Disability hearings by
what are your chances of winning a case at a hearing when there is no voc rehab guy or medical specialist to assist the alj in a decision. –Lamont My response: Lamont, I think that yes you can win if the judge does not use a VE or an ME. Here is how I [...]
Filed under Administrative Law Judges, Appeal issues, Disability hearings, Medical experts, Vocational Experts by
The first few weeks of 2009 have been extremely busy for me. I have been appearing at 5 or more hearings just about every week this year. I am trying to manage my caseload by submitting on-the-record requests in as many cases as I can. My on-the-record request also serve as a pre-hearing brief for [...]
“Do I have a good case?” Inevitably I hear this question from every client I meet. I hear it again during my pre-hearing conference and I hear it again immediately after the hearing. If you have been waiting for disability benefits for 2+ years, you don’t care about statistics, about Social Security’s re-engineering, new Judges, [...]
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