The Social Security Administration has been experiencing a significant backlog of claims for many years. In 2007 it attempted to reduce this backlog by decreasing both the wait time for determinations of initial claims and the number of pending hearings over 1,000 days old. The SSA believed it achieved great success by reducing the wait time of an initial claim by 5 days, from 88 days to 83. Furthermore, while it did manage to significantly reduce the number of hearings older than 1,000 days, the average wait time for a hearing of an appeal is 500 days.

The appeal hearing is the third stage of the application procedure and is where the majority of favorable determinations are made. A delay of 500 days for a hearing from the initial request can have devastating effects. By the time an applicant receives a favorable determination, they may have lost not only their income but their condition may have also worsened. In 2007 a reported 16,000 people died waiting for their disability claims to be approved. Applicants waiting an inordinate amount of time often find themselves having to apply for social services such as food stamps, welfare, and Medicaid due to their inability to work. Worse yet, should they finally receive a favorable determination the SSA requires that they reimburse the federal government for the support they have received while they waited for their SSDI or SSI benefits! It is not uncommon for those awaiting an SSA determination to file for bankruptcy or to be the victims of foreclosure due to their inability to make mortgage payments.

As you might imagine, such a situation creates a rather tense atmosphere in the workplace at the SSA. Unfortunately, the SSA has not alleviated these problems. When dealing with SSA employees and representatives, applicants report experiencing many of the following issues:

• Rude and insensitive employees
• Employees refusing to answer questions or provide information
• Unreturned calls
• Unreasonable response times between different phases of the process
• Violations of Federal and SSA regulations by inexperienced or ignorant employees
• Field Officers failing to review medical records
• FRAUD on the part of the DDS teams and representatives
• Lost or purposely misplaced files
• Destruction of files

Grassroots movements to reform the SSA and the application process have lost momentum and failed to make any significant gains toward a reform initiative. As a result, the backlog persists and service at the SSA continues to exhibit an unfriendly and unsympathetic demeanor. Consequently, many applicants choose to secure an attorney or advocacy service to represent their interests in the face of an uncaring government office. To determine if hiring an attorney or advocate is the right option for you, contact us today for a FREE case evaluation. There is no obligation to use the attorney or advocate. If you chose to hire representation, they typically are paid a fee only if the case is won. So there is no risk! Contact us today for a free review of your case.


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