A hearing memorandum should be written for every Social Security disability hearing, and submitted well in advance of the the hearing. I have previously written about the hearing memorandum in Maine and in New Hampshire. The exhortation to submit concise pre-hearing briefs is among the best practices for claimants' representatives recently compiled by
Last week I objected to two video hearings that were scheduled for August. I continue to be ambivalent about video hearings.
I have done dozens of video hearings. I think the technology works great. And in a case with very strong medical evidence, a video hearing can be fine. But in a case where the medical evidence alone
Disability Determination Services (DDS) makes the medical-vocational determinations for Social Security claims at the initial and reconsideration levels.
I have noticed that claims are moving slower lately at the Maine DDS. I checked yesterday on a claim on Reconsideration. The Reconsideration request was received by the Maine DDS on May 12. That's 6 weeks ago. The claim
Sometimes workers in 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.
Social Security considers whether or not you can return to your past
I recently read a good practice tip from Mobile Alabama Social Security lawyer Gilbert Laden in the April Social Security Forum, which is a newsletter published by NOSSCR for its members. Mr. Laden’s article is entitled Preparing a Detailed Work Background for the ALJ. Here is an excerpt:
I order a “Detailed Earnings
Workers with chronic illnesses face chronic uncertainty. That astute observation appears in Lesley Alderman's recent New York Times article, entitled Protecting Your Job While Coping With a Chronic Illness. In addition to uncertainty about their health, workers with chronic illnesses face uncertainty about their jobs.
Many of my clients have experienced that uncertainty. Because
The list of Best Practices for Claimant’s Representatives has been posted on the SSA’s website. The list is definitely worth reviewing if you are representing claimants before the Social Security Administration.
An article from Indiana Social Security attorney Tom Ebbinghouse appeared in my reader recently. Mr. Ebbinghouse prefers to get involved early in a Social Secuity disability claim. He states:
When I first started representing claimants in 1994, I also would not take a client until they had been turned down at least once. I reasoned
The latest national statistics for average processing time have been released by the SSA and distributed via the NOSSCR monthly newsletter and the Social Security News blog.
The Portland, Maine ODAR retains its perch as #1 in the country for quickest average processing time of Social Security disability hearing requests. Processing time runs from
The SSA has released the 2008 report of SSI recipients by state and county. You can scroll down the list to find your state.
Here is the list of Maine SSI recipients by county, as well as the New Hampshire SSI statistics. While we're at it, here are the SSI recipients by county