Social Security Disability News

Thursday, June 5, 2014

June is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (“PTSD”) Awareness Month

June is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (“PTSD”) Awareness Month. PTSD is a type of anxiety disorder that occurs if an individual goes through an extreme physical and/or emotional trauma that involves the threat of injury or death. Individuals who suffer from PTSD sometimes relive the traumatic event in the form of nightmares or flashbacks. Individuals with PTSD may also avoid certain situations and people that remind them of the event or may try to block out the event altogether from their memories. People with PTSD may be hypervigilant, startle easily or have difficulty falling asleep.

The most common events leadings to PTSD are combat warfare, physical abuse, sexual assault, and being threatened with a weapon. Children who are the victims of any type of abuse are prone to PTSD.

PTSD has been in the news lately due to the latest scandal at the Veterans Administration (“VA”). It was discovered that many veterans across the nation were subject to excessive wait-times for both mental and medical treatment at the VA. The VA’s Inspector General discovered that at the Phoenix VA alone, 1,700 veterans were put on wait-lists that averaged 151 days for just an initial appointment with a primary care physician (See article at http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/05/21/a-guide-to-the-va-and-the-scandals-engulfing-it/). There is also evidence that records were falsified to make it appear as if the wait-times were not so drastic.

For individuals suffering from PTSD, delays in treatment can be devastating and mean the difference between life and death. We do hope that the pressures from the public, Congress, and the media result in beneficial changes to the VA system, so that the brave men and women who have served our country, get the treatment they deserve.

For more information on PTSD, please visit our website at http://www.westcoastdisability.com/The-Social-Security-Disability-Claims-Process/Impairments-Mental/Post-Traumatic-Stress-Disorder.shtml

Got a question that you need answered? Please check out our website at www.westcoastdisability.com . We try to provide you with valuable information on our website that may help you navigate the Social Security Disability process. Also, feel free to shoot us an email at info@westcoastdisability.com or call us at (800) 459-3017.

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Attorneys’ Fees in Social Security Disability and Supplemental Security Income Claims

Attorneys’ fees are highly regulated under Social Security Disability Insurance (“SSDI”) and Supplemental Security Income (“SSI”) law. In fact, with the exception of Veteran’s Administration law, SSDI/SSI law is the only other area of law in which the Federal government sets the attorneys’ fees.

Attorneys are only paid a fee in SSDI/SSI law if they win the case. This is called a contingent fee arrangement as the fee is “contingent” on the attorney winning the claim. In the majority of claims, if the attorney wins a SSDI/SSI case, the attorney will be paid 25%, or $6,000.00, whatever is less, out of the retroactive benefits. Retroactive benefits are the benefits that accrue while a claimant waits for the Social Security Administration to grant a claim. Once a claim is granted, an attorney is not entitled to any fees from future benefits. In most cases, SSA withholds the attorneys’ fees from the retroactive benefits and pays the attorneys directly.

The fee agreement described above is how attorneys are paid in the vast majority of SSDI/SSI claims. There are some exceptions, however. If a claim is denied by an Administrative Law Judge, the attorney may have to appeal a case to the Appeals Council, and possibly, Federal Court levels. These stages represent the fourth and fifth potential stages in the SSDI/SSI process. Due to the additional work required at these two levels, an attorney can petition for up to 25% (not limited to $6,000.00) of the retroactive benefits at the Appeals Council and Federal Court levels. In order to receive a fee at these stages, the attorney must submit his/her hour logs and work entries showing the work that he/she did on a claim to SSA or a Federal Court Judge. SSA or the Judge has to approve this fee petition.

In claims where there are no retroactive benefits, the attorney may also have to file a fee petition to SSA and request a reasonable fee for his/her services. SSA will determine a reasonable fee in such matters. In such instances, SSA will require that the claimant pay the attorney the fee directly. If the claimant does not pay the attorney timely, SSA will send the claimant’s benefits into Overpayment and deduct the attorneys’ fees from the claimant’s monthly benefits.

In rare instances, specifically when we are handling an Overpayment matter or a Continuing Disability Review claim, we will require an upfront retainer fee prior to representation. This is because there are never any retroactive benefits available in such matters. Thus, if we are successful, our fee will come from the retainer fee. If we do not win your claim, the retainer fee will be returned to the claimant in full.

For more information about attorneys’ fees, please visit the link on our website at: http://www.westcoastdisability.com/The-Social-Security-Disability-Claims-Process/Attorney-s-Fees.shtml.

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Your Social Security Earning Statement

The Social Security Administration (“SSA”) used to send out an annual statement about three months before everyone’s birthday explaining an individual’s entitlement to Social Security Retirement and/or Social Security Disability benefits. SSA stopped sending out these statements in 2010 due to budget cuts. You can still access this information if you set up an online account with SSA at http://www.ssa.gov/myaccount/. It is a free service.

Make sure you are access the exact link that I mentioned above. There are some private commercial sites that have no affiliations with SSA that may try to charge you a fee for information that is already free. If the website does not end in .gov, it is not the real SSA website.

I recently set up an account myself to see how user-friendly SSA’s online accounts were. I was quite impressed as it took me less than ten minutes to set up an account. Once I created my account, I had access to valuable information about my full retirement, early retirement, disability, and survivor’s benefits. I could also view my taxed Social Security earnings and taxed Medicare earnings to make sure they were accurate.

It is very important to periodically check your online SSA statement. Accounting errors do take place and you want to make sure that your Social Security earning record matches your own personal earnings records and W2s.

Please note that not everyone pays in the Federal Insurance Compensation Act (“FICA”). You must pay into FICA to be insured for Social Security Disability benefits. Some County and State employees have their own private pension plans through their employers and do not pay into Social Security Disability. If you notice that there is no mention of disability benefits on your online earning statement, you may want to call the human resource department at your employer’s office, to verify if you paid into FICA or not. If you think there is an error on your earnings record contact SSA at 1-(800) 772-1213.

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Social Security Establishes a Fraud Prevention Unit

The Social Security Administration “SSA” announced this week that it has created a centralized fraud prevention unit in New York City to identify fraudulent activity in the Social Security Disability system nationwide. The unit will initially have 20 disability examiners. They will be tasked with reviewing cases and analyzing current fraud trends to prevent new cases of fraud from happening in the Social Security Disability system. The analysts in this unit are currently re-reviewing the disability medical decisions resulting from recent indictments in Puerto Rico and New York City.

We are pleased to see the development of a fraud unit. Individuals who try to cheat the Social Security Disability system should be prosecuted for taking fraudulent measures to achieve benefits. The actions of these few bad apples affect every truly disabled claimant out there because the exploits by these unethical individuals cause our county, the media and Congress to attack this valuable Federal program.

If you know of someone who is committing fraud in the Social Security Disability System, contact the Social Security Office of the Inspector General at 1-800-269-0271, or visit http://oig.ssa.gov and click on “Report Fraud, Waste, or Abuse.”

In addition, SSA is taking greater measures to protect the identity and private information of the claimants. Since January 2014, SSA is adding security questions to its screening process for callers who are requesting information on a claim. Historically, SSA would ask a caller to verify basic biographical information like birth date, address and phone number. Now SSA is asking callers to confirm the place of birth and the mother’s maiden name of the claimant before revealing any information about the status of the claim to an authorized representative. Thus, Cari and I may be asking you to verify this information with us, so SSA will communicate with us via telephone on your claim.

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

The Differences Between Attorneys and Non-Attorney Representatives

West Coast Disability Law Group, LLP, is a law firm. This means that attorneys who went to law school and passed the California Bar Examination are handling each and every case at our firm. While this may seem obvious to some claimants, please be cautious when deciding who is going to represent you.

There are some companies that employ non-attorney representatives, or advocates, who did not attend law school and/or pass a bar exam to represent their clients. Some of these companies are not open about the fact that you will not be represented by an attorney. This is often alarming to many claimants. We get a lot of last minute calls to represent claimants at their hearings after they discover the people they hired to represent them from other companies are not in fact attorneys or even law firms.

How can non-attorney representatives legally handle Social Security Disability claims you may ask? Both the Social Security Administration and the Veteran’s Administration started programs in which non-attorneys, or advocates, could represent claimants at hearing, and receive the same fee as an attorney for this representation, if they passed a simple multiple choice test. Thus, non-attorney advocates are able to represent claimants in both Social Security Disability and Veteran’s Disability claims at the lower levels of the disability process. If your claim should be denied at the lower levels of the Social Security Disability process and you need to appeal your claim to Federal Court, an attorney can take your claim to this next level. A non-attorney representative cannot represent claimants in Federal Court. Thus, a non-attorney representative can only handle Social Security Disability cases up to a certain level.

Our policy at West Coast Disability Law Group, LLP, is that we only hire licensed attorneys to represent our clients. We feel that a legal education is valuable in any legal arena whether it be in securing Social Security Disability benefits or Supplemental Security Income. Hearings involve making arguments to Social Security Administrative Law Judges and cross-examining expert witnesses like doctors and vocational experts. In our experience, individuals without a legal background have difficulty presenting skillful arguments and effectively cross-examining expert witnesses. Thus, Cari and I believe that the best policy is to let attorneys handle legal matters as this is exactly what they are trained to do.

Whether you decide to hire a non-attorney representative or a lawyer is up to you. However, we recommend asking these questions before you hire anyone:

1. Are you a licensed attorney?

2. What is your experience handling Social Security Disability claims?

3.       How do you determine whether or not you take a claim?
4.       Do you review evidence before taking my case?
5.       Do you have contracts working with any long-term disability companies who may be trying to deny me other types of benefits?

You want to make sure you hire a knowledgeable representative or attorney who is working for you and you alone. These above questions will help you figure out which representative is right for you.

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Expedited Disability Processing Times for Veterans

The Social Security Administration (“SSA”) announced a new initiative last month that would expedite Social Security Disability claims for veterans who are rated 100% Permanent and Totally (“P&T”) disabled by the Department of Veterans Affairs (“VA”). The new initiative only expedites the Social Security Disability claims process and does not guarantee approval of such benefits. In order to have a case expedited, the veteran must tell SSA that they have a VA disability compensation of 100% P&T and provide his/her VA notification and award letter to SSA. SSA will flag the case for expedited processing.

SSA will still require that the veteran meet SSA’s own definition of disability. However, the veteran will not have to wait the normal average timeframe of 120 to 270 days it takes SSA to process a claim. This expedited process was already in effect for Wounded Warrior claims. Thus, it is an expansion of existing expedited processes that have been applicable to other veteran groups. SSA plans to launch this new process in mid-March.

Thursday, February 13, 2014

The Differences Between State Disability and Social Security Disability

California is a unique state in that we have both a Federal and a State Disability program. State Disability is administered by the Employment Development Department (“EDD”) of California. Social Security Disability is administered by the Social Security Administration, a Federal Agency of the United States.

State Disability is a temporary disability program that provides California workers temporary benefits for up to one year. State Disability can never be extended for more than a year period. In order to qualify for State Disability, you must have had paid into the State Disability Insurance Fund. Some County employees in California do not pay into the State system because they have their own private disability programs through their County employers. In order to apply for State Disability, you must be unable to perform your customary work for at least 8 days before applying. You also must submit your application within 49 days of the date you became disabled or you may lose your benefits. Eligibility for State Disability is dependent on your doctor completing a certification form addressing your disability.

On the other hand, Social Security Disability is a much more complex process. You can apply for Social Security Disability at any time, as long as you have paid enough into the Federal Insurance Compensation Act “(FICA”). Like all insurance programs, Social Security Disability applicants must establish that they were disabled before their date-last-insured (“DLI”) expired. Unlike the State Disability program, your doctors do not fill out a certification form for Social Security Disability. Instead, the Commissioner of Social Security, through his delegated employees at the Social Security Administration, makes the determination as to whether an individual is disabled or not. However, getting your doctor to write a letter of support can be crucial in convincing the Social Security Administration that you are disabled. Social Security Disability benefits can last until you are able to return to work or until the Social Security Administration makes the determination that your disability has ceased.

In spite of the fact that obtaining State Disability benefits is generally easier and has a far shorter procedural process than the Social Security Disability process, Social Security Disability payments are often less than what an individual receives from State Disability. State Disability benefits are paid out biweekly, while Social Security Disability benefits are paid monthly. State Disability and Social Security Disability benefits can offset each other. However, you can file for State Disability and Social Security Disability benefits simultaneously.