Atlanta Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

A recent article sounded the alarm that Social Security disability is on verge of insolvency. It is more important than ever that Social Security disability claimants provide the Social Security Administration (SSA) with accurate information concerning their claim. As Commissioner Astrue stated in the interview, the SSA has put additional money and effort into reducing the backlog of applicants waiting for decisions in their cases. The Griffin Law Firm has seen first-hand this backlog-reducing effort by the SSA. Previously, once the SSA denied the request for reconsideration, the only chance for a favorable decision was to appear before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ). More recently, we are being contacted by SSA to provide additional information that results in a decision without a hearing before a SSA Administrative Law Judge, thus reducing the time that it takes for our clients to obtain their monthly checks and Medicare benefits. The additional information that SSA is now requesting is frequently in the form of specific medical findings or opinions. Our attorneys at the Griffin Law Firm have the ability to act quickly and decisively in obtaining these specific findings and opinions and providing them to the SSA.

As this article indicates, Congress has recently provided some additional funding, but this funding is allocated for investigation of claimants who are actively working while receiving benefits and is not allocated to provide the backlog-reducing efforts, though this is sorely needed with all of the new applications that are being filed. As the recent budget crisis showed, Congress and the President were unwilling to go past the brink and let the system fail so it is likely that Social Security disability will continue to be funded for years to come.

As government funds get tighter and tighter in this bad economy, it is more important than ever that you present you case in the best possible light when applying for social security disability. The best way to accomplish this is to hire experienced social security disability attorneys. Successful social security disability lawyers identify the weaknesses or gaps in your case and make sure that doctors narratives and vocational rehabilitation reports are obtained to strengthen your case so you receive the social security disability benefits that you are entitled to receive.