Maine Social Security Disability Lawyer

Dedicated to Changing Lives

Welcome! This site is written for Social Security disability claimants, for their legal representatives, and for the network of people involved in the Social Security disability claim process. I hope you find it helpful.

If you would like assistance with your Social Security disability claim, please contact Gordon Gates or complete the Free Claim Review form on the sidebar.

Going to NOSSCR

I will be attending the Spring conference for the National Organization of Social Security Claimants' Representatives (NOSSCR) being held this week in Washington, D.C.

There is almost always something noteworthy to share from the conference, and I will have a blog post or two about it soon.

I look forward to seeing friends and colleagues, and if you are a reader of this blog, please say hello.

ALJ Names are Back

As promised, the SSA has updated its online services for representatives to include the name of the administrative law judge (ALJ) assigned to claims at the hearing level.

Just log in to your online services account, go to Electronic Records Express (ERE) Home, and select "Get Hearing office Status Report." Both the "quick view" version and the spreadsheet version of the report now include the name of the administrative law judge assigned to each claim.

ALJ names now available

The "secret ALJ" policy implemented in late 2011 has come to an end. For the past year and a half or so, the particular administrative law judge (ALJ) assigned to your disability case was not disclosed prior to the day of the hearing. It was a terrible policy, and now the policy has changed.

Ask the name of the judge assigned to your hearing, and the hearing office staff will tell you. Starting the weekend of April 20th, the assigned ALJs will be listed on ARS, the SSA's online service for representatives. After that weekend, hearing notices will include the name of the administrative law judge assigned to the claim.

2012 Initial and Reconsideration Allowance Rates by State

I am always intrigued by the differing DDS allowance rates among the several states. Take a look at the SSA's table showing 2012 allowance rates by nation, region and state (link opens 3-page PDF).

Is your state above or below the national average? And has the rate changed since last year? Check out the 2011 DDS allowance rates. 

Happy Easter!

Pictured above is my daughter Bridget, who will be 3 years old in April, in her Easter dress. I hope everyone enjoyed the Easter holiday.

March Madness: Social Security disability roundup

Each month I highlight articles of note regarding Social Security disability. This month brought several stories in the mainstream press regarding the Social Security disability program. Links to three of them are below:

• Unfit for Work: The startling rise of disability in America and Expanded Definition Of Disability Created Million Dollar Opportunity For Lawyers by Chana Joffe-Walt
• Ehrlich is wrong about Obama and the Social Security disability program by Ethel Zelenske
• WILL YOU HAVE TO TESTIFY AT A HEARING FOR YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY CLAIM? by Loyd Bourgeois
• Using iPad in Social Security Disability Hearings by Kevin Morton
• Overlooked Sources for Social Security Disability Evidence by Tomasz Stasiuk

Part-time work at SGA can be past relevant work

Social Security disability lawyers must bear in mind that part-time past work at SGA can be past relevant work. I had this issue come up in a hearing recently, and it could have derailed the claim, had I not been prepared for the issue.

Social Security considers whether or not you can return to your past relevant work at step 4 of the sequential evaluation process. Even part-time past work is past relevant work if the wages were above the level of substantial gainful activity and you performed the work long enough to learn it. See Social Security Ruling 96-8p, footnote 2. This can be a trap for the unwary, because it does not come up that often. 

When Social Security determines your residual functional capacity, it must consider your ability to work on a "regular and continuing basis," which means 8 hours a day, for 5 days a week, or an equivalent work schedule. See Ruling 96-8p. However, part-time past relevant work performed at SGA is an exception to this rule. 

Sometimes workers suffering chronic pain reduce their hours from full-time to part-time to try to stay employed and manage their pain. If this part-time work is above the SGA level, it can cause a problem for an eventual Social Security disability claim.

2012 Waterfall Chart

The 2012 waterfall chart has been published by the Social Security Administration, and is available on its website: 2012 Disability Decisions (link opens a PDF).

The chart shows that the ALJ allowance rate for Social Security disability hearings is down to 52% nationally. This should not be surprising to anyone practicing in this area, but it neverthess reveals a remarkable adjustment to ALJ allowance rates, and continues the downward trend reflected in the 2011 waterfall chart. Overall, there has been a 10% reduction from the baseline year of 2010, when allowance rates nationally were at 62%.

Of course, the 52% is the national average. Regions of the country vary, and the allowance rates of individual judges vary even more.

The lesson for claimants from the waterfall chart is to appeal your denial. The statistics demonstrate that those who persevere with their claims have a better chance of receiving disability benefits. The hearing level remains your strongest opportunity to obtain a favorable determination.

Develop the vocational evidence

Sometimes when Social Security denies a disability claim after an initial review, the denial letter states that the disability applicant could return to past relevant work. In addition to developing the medical evidence, these claims require a detailed look into the vocational evidence.

Social Security treats people differently based upon their vocational backgrounds. If the SSA determines that you have the capacity return to your past relevant work, your claim will be denied at step 4 of the sequential evaluation.

I had a case recently where the claimant did not fully describe the physical requirements of his past relevant work (he was not represented by an attorney when he completed the Work History Report). It was a job he did 13 years ago, and he would be unable to do it today. Perhaps because the job was so long ago, on the Work History Report he only described the part of that job performed was a sedentary desk job, leaving out the aspects of that job that were more physically demanding. Given his residual functional capacity and his description of that past job, it appeared that he was still able to perform that job. His disability claim was therefore denied.

After interviewing this new client and reviewing the disability claim file, it was apparent that updating the vocational evidence would likely resolve the case. I filed a statement from the claimant providing complete details on the job in question, and filed an on the record request. The claim was granted after just two months at the hearing level.

For those applying for disability at age 55 or older with physical limitations, the primary focus of the claim is often past relevant work. In such claims, developing the vocational evidence can be as important as developing the medical evidence.

An Experienced Guide

Here in Maine, we have the original L.L. Bean retail store, which has a well-deserved reputation for outstanding customer service and a knowledgeable staff. We visited over the weekend, and got outfitted for Spring tricycle season with our (almost) 3-year old daughter.

Whenever I experience great customer service, as we did at the L.L. Bean store, I think about the guidance that we provide to our clients at our Social Security disability law firm.

A lawyer should an experienced guide for your Social Security claim, someone who has been through the process hundreds of times with others. You should get the benefit of that experience, just as our daughter Bridget did when fitted for her bike helmet at L.L. Bean.

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Get help from a lawyer with your disability claim 

If you are considering an application for Social Security disability benefits, or have already applied and want assistance with your claim, please contact Gordon Gates for a free consultation.