My first post on this blog was 15 years ago today! It is hard to believe that 15 years have gone by. Both personally and professionally, much has changed since I began.
Personally, I was newly married when I started
My first post on this blog was 15 years ago today! It is hard to believe that 15 years have gone by. Both personally and professionally, much has changed since I began.
Personally, I was newly married when I started…
At the recent NOSSCR Conference, I attended an excellent presentation by Ohio disability attorney Scott F. Smith on winning cases for Social Security disability. One of the topics covered was a pre-hearing brief for the administrative law judge. Mr. Smith…
At the close of a hearing, sometimes post-hearing argument is needed. Social Security’s rules allow for oral and/or written post-hearing argument, upon request. See HALLEX section I-2-6-76.
I prefer to submit a post-hearing brief, rather than make a statement at…
The annual NOSSCR conference will be in Washington, DC next week, beginning Wednesday, May 3rd. I am a sustaining member of NOSSCR, and will be there.
The NOSSCR conference is always a good chance to learn, and to get perspectives…
Most disability claims are decided on a medical-vocational basis. Sometimes too little attention is paid to the vocational part of the analysis.
At Social Security disability hearings, the administrative law judge will typically give the DDS residual functional capacity assessment as the…
There is an organization within Social Security called the Quality Review Board, also known internally as the Disability Quality Branch (DQB). The DQB samples initial and reconsideration determinations from state DDS agencies to ensure that Social Security’s disability rules and…
At Step 4 of Social Security’s sequential evaluation, the SSA considers the claimant’s ability to perform their past relevant work, both as actually performed and as generally performed in the national economy. That means that Social Security will evaluate…
I frequently talk with prospective clients who are thinking about applying for Social Security disability but are still working (and earning more than the 2023 SGA amount of $1,470 per month, gross pay).
These prospective clients sometimes want to discuss…
NOSSCR has developed what it calls a “Hearing Format Election Statement,” which is an excellent one-page, fillable form that contains all four types of hearing modalities (in-person, VTC, telephone, and online video) and allows for a simple way to notify…
The “waterfall” chart shows what percentage of disability claims were allowed and denied nationwide at each level of review. Social Security publishes this chart each year.
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