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.
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Social Security field offices, hearing offices, and the Appeals Council are all operating during the shutdown. Those staffing Social Security offices are not receiving their paychecks during the shutdown. However, they continue to stoically go about their duties.

DDS offices are operating as well. However, DDS does not have funding for consultative exams during the shutdown, so those exams are not being scheduled. This may hold up some claims.

As always, if you can conduct your business online, do so.

Social Security uses an electronic claim file for its disability claims. Representatives can upload records, forms, and correspondence directly into the file. It is a terrific system, and is appreciated particularly by those of us who have been doing this long enough to know what it was like using the old paper claim files, circa 2006 and before.

Typically, when a document is uploaded, it shows up in the Case Documents section of the electronic file within hours, and certainly the following day. In the past few days, documents are not getting into the file overnight or even the next day, even though properly uploaded, with a receipt for the document.

Anyone else experiencing this?

Chronic pain medical terminology is evolving, to reflect ongoing medical research. The latest term to enter my orbit as a Social Security disability lawyer is nociplastic pain syndrome. Nociplastic pain is a type of chronic pain characterized by altered pain processing in the nervous system, where pain is experienced despite the absence of clear tissue damage or nerve injury.

The term recognizes that there is objective evidence of states in which the nociceptive system is sensitized in the absence of or as a result of chronic nociceptive or neuropathic pain stimuli. Classic amongst these conditions are fibromyalgia and complex regional pain syndrome.

Nociplastic pain is characterized by allodynia, hyperalgesia, spread or migratory character to the distribution of pain, and pain out of proportion to any nociceptive for neuropathic input. This is the result of sensitization within the nociceptive system that can occur throughout the nociceptive chain. The free nerve endings of primary nociceptors can be sensitized, the transmission at the primary to secondary nociceptor synapse, the secondary nociceptor, and the pain neurotag are all sensitized.

Nociplastic pain can exist by itself with no nociceptive or neuropathic pain problem, but also exists in combination with or residual to these other mechanisms of pain, contributing to its prolonged nature.

Disability Determination Services (DDS) are the state agencies that make initial and reconsideration determinations for Social Security disability and SSI claims. That is where the medical records are ordered and the claim is evaluated by a disability adjudicator.

For quite a while, there has been a bottleneck at DDS for claims awaiting medical review, and claims are spending months in the queue awaiting review. This obviously delays resolution of those claims.

Additionally, we are now seeing growing delays in Staging, which occurs after an initial claim claim or Reconsideration request has been processed by the local office and sent to DDS. Staging is the period of time that the claim is pending at DDS awaiting the assignment of a disability examiner. Currently in Maine, I have an initial claim that has been in Staging for 5 months. I filed the claim in January, and it was sent to DDS on February 18, 2025. Here we are 5 months later, and no adjudicator has been assigned. It is frustrating for lawyer and client alike.

Once the field office processes an initial claim for Social Security disability or SSI, the claim gets sent to DDS for a determination. DDS assigns a disability adjudicator who manages the claim. That person will order medical records, send forms to the claimant for completion, and ultimately will make a determination of whether or not that person is disabled under Social Security’s rules.

When a claim arrives at DDS, however, it is not immediately assigned to an adjudicator. A claim goes to “staging,” where the claims sit without development until they are assigned in the order they are received.

I have initial claims that are approaching 4 months in staging. Because initial claims are given priority, the staging delay for claims at Reconsideration is even longer, 6-7 months and counting.

Many DDS agencies already had a bottleneck waiting for medical review. Claims that are ready to medical review sit in the queue awaiting review from the limited number of doctors available to review the claims and assess functional limitations. Those delays are months, depending on the state.

The staging delays compound that wait for a determination. It should not take months and months to have a claim assigned to a disability adjudicator.

Social Security disability hearings are often held by video, using Microsoft Teams. While the shift to video hearings has improved scheduling flexibility and allowed many cases to move forward without long delays, it has also introduced a layer of technology that can catch clients—and sometimes representatives—off guard.

Many claimants have never used Microsoft Teams before the day of their hearing. Even clients who are generally comfortable with smartphones or tablets may have trouble navigating Teams the first time, particularly when it comes to downloading the app, entering the hearing, or troubleshooting audio and video settings. The last thing anyone wants is to spend the first 15 minutes of a scheduled hearing trying to get connected, especially when the ALJ and hearing reporter are already waiting.

The solution is simple: schedule a Microsoft Teams video call with your client in advance of the hearing.

This short prep session offers multiple benefits:

  • Ensures they can access Teams: Some clients may need help downloading the app or understanding how to join via link or meeting ID.
  • Tests their device: Microphones, cameras, and speakers all need to work properly. If there’s an issue, you’ll have time to pivot to a different device.
  • Gives them confidence: Just as we prepare our clients for questioning, we should also prepare them for the virtual environment. Familiarity with the format reduces stress.
  • Avoids surprises: Sometimes the client’s preferred device turns out to be incompatible, or they’re planning to take the call from a location with poor reception. These are problems you can solve ahead of time—not while the judge is waiting.

Ideally, the test run should be held a few days before the hearing, and it should be conducted on the same device and in the same location the client plans to use during the hearing itself.

A quick Teams check can make all the difference on hearing day.

When Social Security denies a claim for disability benefits at the initial or reconsideration level, the SSA provides a personalized “Explanation of Determination,” usually on the last page of the denial letter. The rest of the denial letter is a form letter. Often my first contact with a prospective client is after that person has received a letter from Social Security denying disability benefits. 

The reasons given in these explanations for denying benefits often leave the recipients bewildered, because the reasons given for the denial can be completely disconnected from the claimant’s reality. The explanations typically do not meaningfully address the issues that keep the person out of work. Needless to say, these denial letters cause a significant amount of distress to claimants.

Unfortunately, I see this all the time.

Here are 4 things to keep in mind if you receive a letter from Social Security denying your application for disability benefits:

1. Realize that it is a form letter. The explanation of determination may be wrong, and will not reflect the severity of your symptoms.

2. Realize that the letter is not binding if you appeal. Social Security will make a new decision on your disability claim, regardless of the wording of that denial letter.

3. The letter sometimes contains helpful information. It can provide a reference point for how Social Security views your claim. The letter lists the medical sources that were considered in the decision, so you know that you need to obtain any missing records that were not reviewed (although the list on the denial letter is not always complete). Often the denial notice will state that you could return to a specific past job, or do other work. This information will give a disability lawyer a starting place to evaluate your claim. Ultimately, your lawyer will review the full Disability Determination Explanation in the claim file, which will give fuller information about how your claim was evaluated.

4. Realize that you may need some help. If you don’t already have the assistance of a Social Security disability attorney, it’s time to talk with one.

Try not to get upset or discouraged by a denial letter. Take action instead! Make sure to appeal the denial within 60 days. 

A long-awaited improvement to the Social Security e-file has arrived. The Electronic Folder now provides access to Sections A and B at Initial and Reconsideration levels. This is great news for Social Security disability Representatives, and also for the staff at local Social Security field offices.

Having access to the A section of the folder means that you have access to the Disability Determination Explanation, which tells you if a claim was denied or allowed, and why. Before today, when a case was closed by DDS, there was no way to know the result without calling the appropriate field office or waiting for a letter in the mail. Now the file will tell you. That means one less call to the local field office in every case. For new clients who first contact a lawyer after an initial denial, that means the Disability Determination Explanation (DDE) is already in the file. Prior to today, I would need to call the field office to request the DDE, and hope for it in the mail. This is a huge improvement, and will eliminate the need for field offices to receive such routine calls.

Judge Mary Hubert has joined the Portland hearing office as Chief Judge. Judge Hubert replaces Judge Paul Martin, who had been serving as interim Chief Judge. Judge Martin has returned to his previous post at the Manchester hearing office.

Judge Hubert was serving previously at the SSA hearing office in Valparaiso, Indiana.