Social Security Disability Law Podcast

This is part two of a three part interview I conducted with attorney Bryan Konoski .  Bryan's practice is focused primarily on appellate work - filing appeals from unfavorable hearing decisions with the Appeals Council and, if denied at the Appeals Council, with federal court. In this part of our conversation, Bryan and I speak about vocational witness testimony.  As you may know, Social Secu...

This is part one of a three part interview I conducted with attorney Bryan Konoski .  Bryan is a Social Security disability attorney whose practice focuses on Appeals Council and Federal District Court work. The appellate work that Bryan does is very different than disability application and administrative law judge hearing work.  With very rare exception Bryan is not presenting new evidence of di...

What type of conduct does Social Security consider to be fraudulent?  Are you committing fraud if you exaggerate your symptoms or if there is no MRI to document your back pain claim? Or does SSA define fraud as conduct that goes far beyond overstating your symptoms?  In my conversation with former SSA fraud examiner Greg Brinkley we try to draw a clear distinction between statements you might make...

How do Social Security claims examiners (adjudicators) analyze disability claims and what do they do on a day to day basis? In this episode I speak to Greg Brinkley a former Social Security employee.  In his 27 year career with the agency, Greg served many roles, including that of a  claims specialist (adjudicator), technical expert, fraud examiner and team leader. Because of his experience Greg w...

Social Security disability judges call on vocational witnesses to testify at the vast majority of disability hearings.  Although you have never met this witness, he/she plays an important role in your hearing. Disability judges pose "hypothetical questions" to the vocational expert in your case and the answers to these questions will determine whether you win or lose. My guest in this ep...

After trying thousands of cases over the past thirty years, I have a fairly good idea what types of cases are likely to be approved.   There are certain fact patterns and claimant profiles that I know will resonate with Social Security judges. I regularly speak with colleagues throughout the country to discuss their experiences.  These discussions help me educate myself and learn how to be a more...

During the course of your Social Security disability case, SSA will send you dozens of forms.  These forms include documents with titles like "Function Report-Adult," "Disability Report -Adult," "Work History Report," "Activities of Daily Living Report," "Pain Questionnaire." Most of these forms are accompanied by a page or two of instructions that...

Social Security disability judges rely primarily on evidence to decide whether you qualify for disability benefits.  Within the last few years, SSA changed its procedure to remove "claimant credibility" as a factor that judges can use. In other words, you may appear before a judge who finds you completely believable and honest, but you will still lose if the evidence in your case file do...

What can you do as an applicant for Social Security disability benefits to improve your chances at an approval? This is the third an final installment of my conversation for former Social Security staff attorney Spencer Bishins.  Spencer recently released a book entitled Social Security Disability Revealed: Why It's So Hard to Access Benefits and What You can do About it.   Spencer writes abo...

What evidence to Social Security judges find most compelling and convincing? In part two of my interview with former Social Security staff attorney Spencer Bishens, we talk about how a disability judge's background can influence how that judge evaluates a case. Spencer Bishins is a former Social Security Administration staff attorney, serving as a decision writer and attorney advisor to sever...

Recently the Washington Post and several other newspapers around the country have run stories about the inefficiencies and long delays that are causing terrible suffering for Social Security disability applicants. My guest on today's podcast argues that these long delays and poor service within Social Security are not accidental.   He contends that Congress, and by extension, the Social Secur...

When you are approved for Social Security disability benefits, you also become eligible for Medicare.  But you don't get Medicare coverage right away - instead, you don't become eligible for Medicare until 24 months after you first become eligible for SSDI payments. Why this delay?  I can find no good answer other than that the goverment wants to save money. When you finally get notice t...

Why do some Social Security disability claims get approved within two to three months, whereas others are denied twice before you end up a year and a half later in front of a Social Security judge? More importantly, what can you do to improve your chances at an early approval? In this episode, I talk to Nashville disability attorney Pete Harris .  Pete is a practicing Social Security disability la...

How can you improve your chances at winning Social Security disability benefits if you are struggling with a mental health condition like severe depression, anxiety, bi-polar disorder, PTSD or other issue that prevents you from working? In part 2 of my interview with Phoenix, Arizona attorney Jeffrey Herman, we dive deeper into questions about what evidence is the most compelling and how do addres...

What are proven strategies you or a loved one can use to win a mental health disability claim? This is part one of a two part episode in which I interview Scottsdale, Arizona attorney Jeffrey Herman about how he approaches the challenges of representing deserving claimants who are struggling with mental health issues. In part one, Jeffrey and I go over the basics - what are the indicia of a winnin...

Earlier this year I published part one of my interview with Cameron Connah, a former staff attorney with Social Security responsible for drafting approvals and denials to be released by Social Security judges. As a decision writer Cameron had the unique opportunity to listen to literally hundreds of hearing audio recordings and to interact with dozens of disability judges around the country. Not s...

What should you expect from your lawyer during the long delays typical of most Social Security disability claims? As you may know, Social Security moves at a snail's pace when deciding claims - it is not at all unusual for a case to take two years or longer from start to finish. What is your lawyer doing during these long delays and how do you know that your lawyer is doing anything at all? I...

Would you be surprised to learn that the judge who hears your disability case is not the person who actually writes the approval or denial in your case? In the strange universe that is Social Security disability, a "decision writer" working in a cubicle hundreds of miles from the judge and weeks after your actual hearing will sit down with the exhibit file, the audio recording of your he...

After waiting as long as two years or more for your hearing, you are finally scheduled to appear before a Social Security disability judge to present your case for disability benefits.  Your hearing will last around 45 minutes so every minute counts. Should you assume that the judge has read through every page of your medical record?  Will the judge be asking you to recall the dates you underwent...

The one constant in the Social Security disability program is delay.  You'll wait months for a decision after you apply, months for a decision on your appeal, and months for a hearing date.  After your hearing, you may wait weeks or months for a decision and if you win, you may wait months before you are paid.  Nothing is more frustrating knowing that you have won and money is coming your way...

The federal government administers two huge disability programs - one for workers who can longer reliably perform a full time job (Social Security disability), and the second a program that pays cash benefits to soldiers injured while serving in the armed forces. You would think that the standards and procedures for obtaining disability benefits would be similar for these two programs...but you wo...

What are the trends that we are seeing in the Social Security disability world and what can you expect in 2020 and beyond. If you have an active application for benefits, or if  you have already been approved but are concerned about a possible "continuing disability review" you need to educate yourself about the big picture as seen by a Social Security disability lawyer who interacts wit...

Even though Social Security disability hearings are considered "informal" you will no doubt be stressed when you appear before the administrative law judge.  Judges are very busy - often understaffed and under pressure to close cases quickly. Experienced lawyers know that thorough and complete case preparation will make your judge's life easier and therefore make the entire process...

I get a lot of questions about Social Security disability hearings .  Disability hearings are unlike other court proceedings you may be familiar with because there is no attorney on the other side representing the Social Security Administration and the judge in your case serves as both a finder of fact, and SSA's representative.  Another bizarre element of SSD hearings involves the presence o...

If you are 50 years old or older you have an advantage when applying for Social Security disability.  In the last episode of this podcast I talked about the grid rules - a shortcut to winning for those over age 50.  But not everyone fits into a grid rule , so what can you do? In this episode of the podcast I reveal other proven strategies for winning disability benefits if you are age 50 or older...