I have been asked to present a workshop at the Spring Conference of the National Organization of Social Security Claimants' Representatives (NOSSCR) in Philadelphia. The conference takes place from May 2-5. My workshop is titled:
Tips for Writing Effective Hearing Briefs for the ALJ
Here is the workshop description:
Win more cases at the hearing level
A headwind is blowing for those applying for Social Security disability benefits these days. It is getting harder to get claims approved, and it is more important than ever to have excellent representation before the SSA.
If an administrative law judge is now just granting 50% of claims, you had better make sure that everything
Photo: Bridget having a snack
Today is February 29th, a date that only occurs every four years. So I wanted to reflect briefly on the past four years of my life and practice.
A lot can change in four years.
Most of my clients were able to work productively four years ago. It is
I had a remand hearing last week, and the principal issues were the level of the claimant's chronic pain and the objective medical support for her pain complaints and resultant functional limitations.
Since this was the second time around with the same judge, I wanted to ensure that I had all the bases covered. So
Photo: Bridget in her swimsuit and hat
Here are links to notable posts from the Social Security law blogs, including links to a couple of posts of mine:
When you receive a written decision from a Social Security administrative law judge (ALJ), in almost all cases the decision is drafted by hearing office staff using the Findings Integrated Template (FIT). The template allows the person drafting the decision to input information regarding the claim and the judge’s determination, and the template spits out a completed written decision, which is then reviewed and signed by the judge. The result is a written decision that is mostly boilerplate language.
The FIT template has bothered me for a long time, because parts of the actual written decision produced by the template are simply untrue. The decision states that the judge considered numerous specific issues, and it is highly unlikely that the ALJ actually made all of the findings that are described in the boilerplate language contained in the decision. Often there is little or no relationship between the language of the written decision and the actual facts of a particular claim. If you look at 10 (or 20, or 100) written decisions, you will see the exact same language over and over again. It is disturbing.
Disability claimants who receive an unfavorable ALJ decision are often surprised by the language in the decision, which typically questions the claimant’s credibility. However, it is all part of the boilerplate language contained in the template.
Social Security ALJs are tasked with deciding 500-700 claims per year. That is a huge workload, and the Findings Integrated Template helps to get that many decisions out the door. But at what price? In my view, a disability claimant who is denied benefits (for which he or she has paid a mandatory premium through FICA taxes withheld from wages) deserves better. Continue Reading Social Security’s Findings Integrated Template
The latest statistics for processing times for Social Security hearing offices around the country have been released by the SSA, and reprinted in the January 2012 NOSSCR Social Security Forum newsletter.
In Maine, the average wait for a hearing decision is now 392 days – just about 13 months. This is a slight improvement over
The Social Security Electronic Records Express (ERE) system now allows a claimant representative to access the status of his/her claims pending at the Social Security hearing offices.
Just log into your ERE account. There is now a selection in the list of Appointed Representative Services to "Get Hearing Office Status Report."
The status of your
There were many notable posts this week from the Social Security disability blogs. So here is a bonus edition of the Social Security disability blog roundup: