Monthly Archives: September 2015

When I began practicing SSA disability law in 1992, it was very simple and easy. I would get hired, file my paperwork, get my client to pick up his last records and go in and try the case. The SSA was the one who had gotten the records, as the law required and compiled them […]

We recently had a fully favorable decision that prompts me to write about disability among younger individuals 45-49 years old. In cases where younger individuals are claiming disability, there is a silent presumption against finding them disabled because of their age. It is just presumed that young people can work. So in order to prove […]

I have been asked about how many claims an ALJ (Administrative Law Judge) disposes of on a regular basis. Typically, an ALJ will dispose of 2 to 3 cases per day. Notably, Senior Attorneys who assist the ALJs in deciding cases decided 18,625 cases in 2013 but disposed of only 1,872 in 2014. As an […]

9/17/15 Forgive my absence for the past week or so. I have been recuperating from an illness. I picked up a bug while traveling and it took me out of the office for a while. News is out about processing times at ODAR. The number of claims at the hearing level hit the million mark […]

Unfortunately, I cannot sugar coat this. Acceptance rates at the initial stages of applying for Social Security Disability are very low nationwide. Any Google search will confirm what I am about to tell you. The average wait time for a hearing in this general Tampa Bay jurisdiction is 580 days. There are statistical facts that reflect […]