I found myself surprised recently as the Social Security Administration recently held a hearing and added more conditions to their Compassionate Allowances list. I find it difficult to swallow that the SSA has any level of compassion, but that is my personal opinion. The Compassionate Allowances program was launched in 2008 to help expedite processing of claims which fall under certain medical criteria and include diagnoses confirming any one of 50 medical conditions. Continue reading →

In many discussions our office has had with new clients we are told, or come to find, only a couple of conditions have been listed with the Social Security Administration office when the application was filed. During subsequent conversations we come to discover there is much more going on than just the one or two conditions or symptoms that are affecting our clients. I cannot stress enough how important it is to consider ALL of what is preventing you from working. So many of us want to dismiss the “minor” discomforts for as long as possible for sake of it being just than – a discomfort. Many others dismiss the “minor” issues as more serious conditions begin to develop. After a point, they start to find the “minor” issues aren’t so minor any more but they’re still nothing compared to what the “real” issue is.

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I recently had a claimant ask if Social Security could have him followed. My response to this question: I am not sure what Social Security is and is not allowed to do in their investigations. What I can tell you is what I have learned from my experience with working at other firms for prosecuting attorneys. If we ever felt that someone was hiding something and we wanted to investigate them we would start by searching for them on Facebook. 75% of the people we searched for were found on Facebook and we were able to get all the evidence we needed off of their Facebook page. However, if we could not find them on Facebook we would end our investigation right there. Continue reading →

I have come across many frustrated Social Security disability applicants due to the time consuming and overwhelming process. There are many forms to fill out and each form needs to be filled out properly, also providing enough medical evidence to prove you disability are all requirements; in most cases it can take months, or even years to be awarded disability benefits. The best way to approach the application process is to fully prepare and completely understand the requirements of the Social Security Administration. Continue reading →