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IN THIS ISSUE...
Senior Attorney Advisor
. Old Cases Worth Arguing
. SSA Website
. Overpayment recovery Made Easy
. How Social Security Weighs Doctor's Opinions
. What to do when the physician doesn't think the claimant is disabled
Speed It Up??
Senior Attorney Advisor
The backlog of disability cases has made scheduling hearings more challenging than ever. The time frame for the pursuit of disability benefits has grown due to the increasing number of applications. To alleviate the burden on Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) the Social Security Administration has implemented the “Senior Attorney Review ” process again. This alleviates the burden on the Administrative Law Judge by giving the Senior Attorney Advisors the authority to review and make a final decision on appeals without need of an in-person Hearing. This process allows the attorney advisor to completely bypass the ALJ and frees up the ALJ to review more complicated cases.
Kennedy & Associates, Inc has successfully secured thousands of favorable decisions as a result of our written arguments - On The Record briefs. We have always sought approval of compelling cases “on the record” (OTR).
Through the use of On The Record argument a claimant can avoid the long wait of scheduling a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ). This can shorten processing time considerably.
Kennedy & Associates, Inc. gathers all medical records of the claimant, reviews the information and writes the “On The Record” brief. Twenty two years of experience has allowed us to expertly hone our skills, streamline processes, and develop a winning approach to securing for our chients their Social Security Disability benefits.
The Social Security Administration is presently focusing on cases pending over 900 days or longer. Hard to believe a person could maintain for a period of 1000 days financially. “ODAR began FY08 with 135,160 cases which are or will become 900 days old in FY08.”1 The current total cases pending is 746,744. Of the total cases pending 18.1 percent (134,413) are 900 plus days old.
YOU MAY WANT TO THINK TWICE BEFORE
WRITING OFF THOSE OLD CLAIMS !
Many claimants and Long Term Disability policyholders alike are often under the impression that they have lost the opportunity to file for Disability Insurance Benefits after five years of being out of work.
The fact is that unless Social Security has made a medical determination after the claimant's date-last-insured (DLI) for benefits, there is a viable claim (at least technically). Even if a medical determination has been made, investigation into the claim is warranted.
The doctrine of res judicata applies when a subsequent application is made based on the same facts and issues in a case. If a medical decision is made after the DLI, most res judicata cases are dismissed summarily, without consideration of the medical evidence.
So are all apparent res judicata cases lost causes? Mr. Kennedy says, "No, not if there is new and material evidence. The evidence, in and of itself, has to be significant. However, if the information contained within the evidence would be disabling in combination with the other impairments already in the record, it may be enough." (Continued on Page 4) - click here
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