Posts under ‘Milestones’

If your Social Security disability case has been denied. You need to know how long you have to file your appeal. You only have so much time before your deadline. If you miss that window of opportunity, you may be back to square one.
Check your denial
The best tip I can offer if your case is [...]

One of my readers asked:
I had my hearing 2 weeks ago in Denver. The judge made an immediate favorable decision. My lawyer told me that most people get their benefits before they even receive the decision. I’m waiting patiently.
Congratulations on the win!
I have written about how long it takes after a hearing to get a [...]

It always shocks me when I hear that Social Security has discouraged someone from filing an appeal. However, several times a year someone tells me something like this:
When I asked for the forms to appeal I was told, ‘if you appeal, you are just going to be denied.’
This is improper for a number of reasons:

It [...]

To quote an old lottery slogan, “you can’t win, if you don’t play.” It may seem obvious, but you cannot receive Social Security disability benefits if you do not apply.
If fact, many Social Security regulations about Social Security eligibility start with this simple requirement:
Step 1: You apply.
As I have written about before, Social Security uses the [...]

How do you begin to review your Social Security exhibit file? Here is a quick guide to finding the really important parts.
Start with the “F” section to review the medical records.

If you do not review anything else in the file, you need to know what medical records are there (and what records are missing).
Here is [...]

Just before your Social Security hearing, you will be given a cd and pointed at a computer. If you ask, someone may help you load up the disk and get you to a screen that looks like this:
Ok, now what?
What is all this stuff and what do I do with it?
Social Security uses electronic case [...]

In some disability decisions, the judge ask Social Security to review the case, sometimes as short as six months, sometimes the judge asks for a review in a couple of years.
I thought you said that most Social Security disability cases were for “open” disability — where there is no foreseeable end to the disability.
Compared to [...]

Disability cases based on seizure disorders are a very special kind of disability case.
If your case goes in front of an Administrative Law Judge, you can expect to be asked these questions:

How often do you have seizures?
What happens during a seizure?
How do you feel after a seizure?  
What do you have to do after a [...]

San Francisco disability attorney Geri Kahn wrote about her experiences with providing records to Social Security:
Before filing a new initial claim I always order the records and then submit them directly to the Social Security field office immediately after I have filed the claim electronically.  I recently was at an interview in one of the [...]

It surprises my clients to learn that, most of the time, Social Security does not update medical records after the initial denial.
With wait times of a year or more, this can mean that by the time your case gets in front of a judge, the records in your file may be a year (or more) [...]

I was recently asked how long after Social Security sends you to a doctor for a consultative examination will it take to get a decision.
I previously wrote about how long it takes to receive an initial decision after you apply for Social Security disability benefits and how long it takes to get a Social Security hearing.
Unfortunately, there [...]

How long after you complete your application for Social Security disability benefits (or Supplemental Security Income – SSI benefits), does it take to get a decision?
In Colorado where I practice, it usually takes between four and six months after you apply to get the initial decision. Sometimes, Social Security will describe this as between 120 [...]

Even though it often takes a year or even two years to get your Social Security hearing, you may find that you are not ready when the big day finally comes.
Is there any way to continue, postpone, or delay my Social Security hearing?
Yes. You can request a continuance to postpone your hearing.
Lets look at how [...]

If you are keeping in touch with the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (ODAR) which is preparing your case for hearing, you may be told that your case has finally been assigned to an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ).  
However, ODAR may not tell you is how much longer it will take to get a [...]

Before you put yourself through the drudgery of going down to your local Social Security office, check the Social Security website to see if you can take care of your problem without going in.  
There are a lot of things you can take care of online.