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I have a hearing coming up with a judge who, historically, grants just 33% of disability cases. For both the disability claimant and for the Social Security disability lawyer, that is scary.

In general, I do not worry about ALJ disposition rates these days. I am more concerned with the match between the claimant and the particular judge. 

But when you have an ALJ that is granting claims at half the rate of the other judges in the same hearing office, you have to take note. I use a two-pronged approach for such cases.

First, you want to persuade the judge that this claim is one of the 33% that should be granted. That means making the claim as strong as possible prior to the hearing. You want a compelling personal story, backed up by medical evidence, including a medical source statement from a treating source. A statement from a spouse is a plus. A hearing brief also helps. Of course, you want to persuade the judge that the claimant is disabled in every case. But with a scary judge, you must leave no stone unturned.

Second, be prepared to appeal an unfavorable decison. Ensure the claim is an appropriate candidate for Appeals Council review. Of course, the merits of your appeal will depend greatly upon the details of ALJ's written decision. Carefully review the decision for the top issues that lead to Appeals Council remands. But the stronger the evidence supporting disability, the more likely you are to find good issues for Appeals Council review.

The Social Security Administration recently announced a cost of living adjustment (COLA) of 3.6% for Social Security beneficiaries. The COLA affects several different numbers in the Social Security ecosystem.

The monthly maximum SSI amount will be $698 in 2012. For a married couple on SSI, the "couples rate" will be $1,048.

The monthly amount for substantial gainful activity for employees will also increase in 2012, to $1,010.

The amount that must be earned for a quarter of coverage for disability will be $1,130.

For those receiving disability benefits and testing their ability to work, the monthly earnings amount that triggers a trial work period remains at $720.

A fully favorable ALJ decison usually contains a sentence like this:

The claimant's earnings record shows that the claimant has acquired sufficient quarters of coverage to remain insured through December 31, 2013.

Sometimes the successful claimant will read that sentence and think that it means that the Social Security disability benefits will terminate on December 31, 2013. But that is not what the sentence means at all.

This language in the decision simply refers to the date last insured, which is the date by which disability must be shown, to be eligible for benefits. The date has nothing to do with continuity of benefits once a claim is granted. So please do not worry if you see this language in your fully favorable ALJ decision. 

Occasionally an ALJ's decision will suggest a time frame for review of disability status. Also, Social Security conducts periodic disability reviews of cases in pay status to ensure that the beneficiary remains disabled. Should Social Security determine that there is medical improvement and that disability benefits should be terminated, you have the opportunity to contest that finding.  

In general, if you receive a fully favorable ALJ decision, your disability benefits will continue until you get better, or return to work at the SGA level, or reach retirement age, or die.

Photo: Bridget in Autumn

Every other Friday, I highlight articles of note on the topic of Social Security disability:


One more Social Security hearing office has been added to my short list of local ODARs. A new ODAR has been created in Lawrence, Massachusetts, and several of my clients have had their claims transferred from New Hampshire and Maine to that new hearing office. 

The new ODAR is open and is scheduling hearings for the seven administrative law judges in residence.

The new ODAR address is: 439 South Union Street (Third Floor), Lawrence, MA 01843.

The Lawrence ODAR telephone number is 1-877-405-9189.

This question brought a visitor to my site recently: is it possible to get a on the record decision if you are under fifty-five?

The answer, of course is yes, it's possible, but there are a few things to bear in mind.

As with all on the record (OTR) requests, the medical evidence of disability should be compelling. The severity of your symptoms must be apparent from the medical evidence.

For the best chance, the record should include one or more medical source statements setting forth your functional limitations. The medical record should be up to date. 

What complicates an OTR request for a younger individual is step 5 of the sequential evaluation. You  must be unable to perform other work. Claimants age 55 and over with physical impairments have the benefit of a presumption that they cannot perform other unskilled work at the sedentary or light exertional level. This presumption is contained in Social Security's medical-vocational guidelines.

Claimants under 55 have a more difficult burden to show that they are unable to do other work. For the best chance of success with an on the record request, the disability claim file should have compelling evidence, preferably including medical opinion evidence, that establishes functional limitations that are clearly inconsistent with the ability to maintain employment.

In Maine, the average wait for a hearing decision is now 412 days. Processing time runs from the date of the hearing request to the day a decision is issued. The 412 days is an average. Some disability claims are resolved more quickly, but a disability or SSI claim that requires a hearing and a written decision may take longer.

Things have moved quickly in the wrong direction. Just two months ago the average processing time was 365 days. A 47 day increase in waiting time during a 60 day period is remarkable. I wrote last month that disability claim processing in Maine is definitely slowing, and the latest statistics confirm it.

These stats for processing times for Social Security hearing offices around the country were released by the SSA, and reprinted in the September 2011 NOSSCR Social Security Forum newsletter.

There is a slight lag with the numbers. The 411 day wait is for the period ending 8/26/2011. The previous 365 day number was for the period ending 6/24/2011. So the increase in wait time happened between those dates. This corresponds exactly with the two month where my office had very few hearings scheduled in Portland.

One must hope that the slide will not continue. There is new staff being trained at the Portland hearing office. And of course, on the record decisions help to lower average processing times.

Like clockwork, every other Friday I link to articles of note regarding Social Security disability. This week alone has brought several excellent articles, however, and there is no reason to wait another week to highlight them. So here is a bonus edition of the Social Security disability roundup:

Photo: Bridget working on a project

I counsel clients with a Social Security disability claim to be specific about their functional limitations. This is especially true at a Social Security disability hearing, where the administrative law judge is trying to assess your functional limitations to establish your residual functional capacity (RFC). It does not help the judge to say “I can’t walk very far” or “I can’t lift very much.” But saying “after standing for 20 minutes my back pain forces me to sit or lay down for at least 10 minutes” is more specific and much more helpful.

Try not to generalize about your abilities. When considering your physical ability to work, Social Security considers very basic tasks, such as lifting, carrying, sitting, standing, walking, stooping, climbing, and the like. All jobs required a certain amount of lifting and carrying, sitting, standing and walking. So be specific about your limitations. 

Specific examples help to convey useful information to the judge about your abilities. Real examples from your daily life about the difficulties you experience can be compelling testimony. When these details are given at a hearing in a genuine way, they are highly believable, and tend to reinforce the credibility of the disability claimant. 

In summary, specific evidence and real-life examples help the judge determine your remaining abilities, and also help the judge assess your credibility in a favorable way.

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Every other Friday, I link to notable articles on the topic of Social Security disability: 

Photo: Bridget's iPad artwork