I attended a seminar session last year in Austin, Texas on the topic of helping those applying for Social Security disability benefits with their initial applications. The lawyer making the presentation said that, like a rancher, a lawyer should “make money on the herd, not on the cattle.” Translation: Don’t look at the potential
Best Practices
Social Security updated its Best Practices for Claimants’ Representatives in April 2023.
This list of best practices is required reading for Social Security disability lawyers. It is worth revisiting every now and then. Please take a look.
Winning at Reconsideration
Reconsideration is the next step in the Social Security disability adjudication process for those who are initially denied after applying for disability. As the waterfall chart shows, obtaining disability benefits at Reconsideration is the exception, rather than the rule.
I have written before about winning at Reconsideration. That earlier post discusses additional medical evidence
5-day Rule – Memorial Day
New evidence for Social Security claims must be submitted 5 business days ahead of the hearing. See 20 CFR 404.935(a) and HALLEX I-2-5-13. With a typical weekend, that’s 7 days ahead of the hearing. Holidays, which are of course not business days, must be accounted for as well. So beware the 3-day holiday weekend
New Hearing Format Form from NOSSCR
NOSSCR has developed what it calls a “Hearing Format Election Statement,” which is an excellent one-page, fillable form that contains all four types of hearing modalities (in-person, VTC, telephone, and online video) and allows for a simple way to notify the hearing office of how the claimant wants to appear at their hearing.
Using NOSSCR’s
2022 “Waterfall” Chart
The “waterfall” chart shows what percentage of disability claims were allowed and denied nationwide at each level of review. Social Security publishes this chart each year.
Social Security’s Grid Rules
As dedicated readers know, at Step 5 of the disability sequential evaluation, Social Security uses the Medical-Vocational Guidliness to determine disability. The guidelines, or “grids,” direct a finding of “disabled” or “not disabled” based upon a person’s age, physical RFC, education and past work/transferable skills.
If the medical-vocational guidlines direct a result of “disabled,”
New Supplemental Rules for Social Security Civil Actions
Effective today, December 1, 2022, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (“FRCP”) have been amended to include Supplemental Rules for Social Security Civil Actions under 42 U.S.C. § 405(g).
According to NOSSCR’s email to its members, highlights of the new rules include:
Pleading Requirements for the Complaint
Under the new FRCP Rule 2, a complaint
My favorite letter to write
When one of my clients is awarded disability benefits, I like to write a short letter to the local Social Security field office, asking them to quickly process the disability claim. I want the local office to send the claim promptly to the Social Security Payment Center for payment.
When the person awarded Social Security
Social Security Processing Center Phone Numbers
The Social Security Processing Centers calculate and pay a claimant’s disability benefits, once a favorable decision or determination has been made.
The SSA has posted on its site the telephone numbers for the various processing centers. These numbers are for attorney and non-attorney Representatives to call, rather than individual disability claimants.
Disability cases are broken