I am excited to have been asked to teach at a NBI Social Security Disability Seminar “Social Security Claims from A to Z” A Practical Walkthrough of the Claim Process, in Indianapolis on December 16, 2019 at the Crowne Plaza Indianapolis Downtown Union Station, 123 West Louisiana Street, Indianapolis, IN. …
Does the need for a cane, walkers or wheelchair impact te decision in a Social Security disability case? Maybe. Cane, walkers and wheelchairs are known as assistive devices. At bottom, they are needed to help a person walk. Assistive devices come in all shapes, types and sizes. For example, a…
On December 17, 2018, the Social Security Administration published an advanced notice of proposed rule making in the Federal Register [83 Fed. Reg. 64493] asking for public input about whether the way in which Social Security considers pain in connection with its determination of disability is consistent with current…
Today marks the 22nd day of the government shutdown. This government shutdown is now the longest in modern U.S. history, exceeding the shutdown in 1995-1996. As many know, there are about 800,000 federal government employees effected by the shutdown. The departments whose agencies have been impacted include the departments of…
Over the last few years, the Social Security Administration has changed the way it decides disability cases. The new key word is consistency. The Commissioner of Social Security now looks for consistency in medical diagnoses, the medical chart of the claimants and consistency in the activities of daily living…
A question I am asked nearly every week is “can I work and at the same time apply for Social Security disability benefits?” This question makes perfect sense. Some people feel, because of sickness or injury, that they can no longer work in the same way that they were able…
The recent celebrity deaths of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain have reignited a national conversation about death by suicide. According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, there are about 123 suicides a day. For each suicide, there are 25 attempts. Men commit suicide 3.5 times more frequently than women. …
On March 18, 2018, I blogged asking: Is There A Commissioner of Social Security? In that blog, I noted that President Trump’s January 23, 2017 appointment of Nancy A. Berryhill to serve as the Acting Commissioner of Social Security expired under the Vacancies Reform Act (5 U.S.C.A. 3345 et seq.)…
It should go without saying that to be found disabled under the Social Security disability system, it is necessary to apply for Social Security disability benefits by filing a valid application for benefits. (20 CFR § 404.603 and 20 CFR § 416.305.) But what is “valid” application? For an application…
In October 2010, Congress passed Rosa’s Law (Public Law 111-256) which changed references of “mental retardation” in specified federal laws to “intellectual disability.” Historically, the medical profession, our legal system and our laws have struggled with labeling a person with intellectual disorders. At the beginning of the 20th Century, persons…