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January 29, 2009 by Dirk.
It takes over 2 years to get a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge for your Social Security Disability case in Central Illinois.
This is terrible, but it is reality. You have no control over scheduling of the hearing. Only Social Security can schedule the trial. It is not like other judicial proceedings where you can request a trial date. Social Security tells you when they are ready for you.
Not even Congress people or United States Senators can request a hearing date for you. They can request the review of your case be speeded up. However, there are no guarantees.
The backlog is extreme because there are so many cases and too few judges and Social Security employees.
Questions about the status of your case and what to do when you have a hearing scheduled? Call me Illinois Attorney Dirk May at 309-827-4371.
Posted in bloomington illinois social security attorney, bloomington illinois social security lawyer, case backlogs, social security law, social security disability | No Comments »
December 11, 2008 by Dirk.
Does President Obama’s election mean that Social Security Disability cases are going to be decided faster?
It is certainly more complicated than who is president. Of course, it is probably more likely with President Obama’s election that more resources may be available for the Social Security Administration.
However, there are all kinds of budget pressures from defense spending to bailout funding. The bottom line is that more staff is needed and better use of technology and increased technology spending are all needed to move disability cases faster.
The two year plus wait is terrible and inexcusable but I do not see it changing dramatically till late in President elect Obama’s first term.
The ray of hope is that the Obama Administration will be more sensitive to the needs of people with disabilities.
Posted in bloomington illinois social security attorney, bloomington illinois social security lawyer, case backlogs, social security law, social security disability | 1 Comment »
October 16, 2008 by Dirk.
Social Security News blog has updated statistics regarding the time it takes a Social Security Disability case to go from application to final decision. The National Average is 532 days.
In November 2007 it was 500 days.
The Peoria, Illinois Hearing office ranks 137th out of 147 Hearing Offices. The average case time is 761 days. That is very sad. The really bad part is that is that the Social Security Budget does not allow for much personnel increase at all. Which means the average is not going to go down dramatically in the near future.
The Peoria, Illinois office covers Peoria, Champaign, Springfield, Decatur, Pontiac and Bloomington, Illinois.
It is hard to tell your clients when they file that they will have to wait over 2 years for a hearing.
Questions about the long wait? Call Attorney Dirk May at 309-827-4371
Posted in bloomington illinois social security attorney, bloomington illinois social security lawyer, case backlogs, social security disability | No Comments »
October 2, 2008 by Dirk.
I am rethinking the whole idea of using a Congressperson’s assistance in speeding up a Social Security Disability case.
This is the reason: the judges, office manager and case reviewers often get defensive if they think someone is looking over their shoulder pushing a case.
This usually ends in a way that is less than satisfactory for the claimant (you).
I suppose a one time inquiry will not do any harm, however, multiple calls from the congressperson’s office probably do not help your case.I have seen Judge’s take a hard line on certain cases, and I am left wondering if this is because a congressional office pushed too hard.
Certainly, you can appeal but that destroys the whole idea of speeding up the case. It will take at least another six months and may result in you having to reapply.
I understand that the whole Social Security Disability process is a mess and takes much too long, but sometimes the so called Congressional shortcuts do not really help out that much and must be used very carefully.
Posted in bloomington illinois social security attorney, bloomington illinois social security lawyer, case backlogs, Blogs | No Comments »
September 5, 2008 by Dirk.
The delays from filing for Social Security Disability to hearing are discouraging, disappointing and the prospects for improvement are dismal.
In Central Illinois, which covers Peoria, Bloomington, Pontiac, Springfield and Champaign, Illinois it takes 2.5 years to 3 years to get to hearing. That is devastating when you cannot work due to your disability.
There is no easy answer.
The Social Security Commissioner recently said that the problem is partially due to Administrative Law Judges who do not do their job and decide enough cases, and partially due to not having enough judges and support staff.
First of all, in my experience the judges in the Peoria region all work hard and hear many cases. The reality is that there are many more people applying for Social Security than there is staff that can keep up with the cases.
The upcoming election is not going to change funding or staffing to the extent it will make any difference in the delays. Sorry, to be negative.
But that does not mean we should not be contacting federal officials- Congress persons and United States Senators, and reminding them of the about the terrible delays and encouraging them to do all that is possible to bring down the case backlogs.
Posted in bloomington illinois social security attorney, bloomington illinois social security lawyer, case backlogs, social security disability | No Comments »
July 18, 2008 by Dirk.
Social Security is slowly moving towards doing things online. For the most part the application can be started online. And now, SSA is moving toward requiring appeals to be done online. This eliminates a long standing problem of some Social Security offices claiming that they did not receive appeals paperwork; resulting in the need to start over again. The process is somewhat frustrating because the computer requires specific information so you must comply or not get through the appeal. Once the appeal is completed you will get a receipt.The local office in Bloomington, Illinois at least seems to be responding quickly once the appeal is submitted online. You must still send in the Appointment of Representative form and fee agreement and SSA authorizations. So not everything is online.I would be interested in other people’s experience with the online applications or appeals.
Posted in bloomington illinois social security lawyer, case backlogs, social security law, social security disability | No Comments »
July 4, 2008 by Dirk.
Why have the employment numbers at Social Security decreased over 2.5% the last few years, and at the same time the number of Social Security Disability filings have rapidly increased?
Remember, the Congress has trended Democratic recently and the Social Security budget has not increased much.
The disability cases are taking longer to get to hearing, and people are dying and going broke while they wait.
Maybe, we should be asking our Congressmen and women the same question. I am sure the answers would be fascinating.
If you receive a response from your Congress person, pass it along.
Posted in case backlogs | No Comments »
June 19, 2008 by Dirk.
Some people misunderstand what your Congress person can do for your Social Security Disability case.
Social Security is a federal program, so your state representative or senator cannot help you.
You must contact your Congress person or one of your United States Senators.
All they are allowed to do by law is contact the Social Security Office and ask whether the case is eligible to be set for hearing faster than usual. They absolutely cannot influence the decision in the case. In other words, they cannot recommend you be granted benefits. Anyone who tells you otherwise is not telling you the truth.
Before you contact your Congress person be sure that you have all your medical records and evidence ready for trial. If you do not, this can damage your case.
If you need help finding contact information for your Congress person or United States Senator in Illinois, please feel free to call Attorney Dirk May at 309-827-4371.
Posted in case backlogs, social security disability, Blogs | No Comments »
June 12, 2008 by Dirk.
Part of the Social Security Administration’s plan to reduce the great number of cases waiting for hearing is to use technology to speed up things.
This may be a great idea, but the problem is in the execution.
For example, have you tried to submit your application by computer or appeal your case denial on line.
It is frustrating, time consuming and mind bending.
Most of us are not computer savy. We can do a few things, but we sure would like it to be a lot easier.
Is that too much to ask?
Make it user friendly and maybe this whole “technology will save the day and reduce case loads and get a social security disability decision in a reasonable time idea” will actually work.
Posted in case backlogs, social security law, social security disability | No Comments »
May 30, 2008 by Dirk.
It takes an incredible amount of time to get your hearing for Social Security Disability. This month I have had 2 clients who died while waiting for their hearing. This is going on all over the country. In Central Illinois, it takes over 2 years to get a hearing. The Federal government has proposed a number of ideas to improve on their record and get to the hearing sooner. They want to hire more judges, improve the computer systems, expanded medical expert review. My suspicion is that there will not be much improvement. What are some of your ideas?
Posted in case backlogs, Blogs | No Comments »