The Administrative Law Judge can make one of several rulings about your disability case. He can either rule “Fully Favorable”, which means you have proven your allegations of disability well enough to warrant disability benefits, or he can rule “Partially Favorable” which means although he does find you to be disabled, you did not prove that the disability started at the time you alleged. He may also make an “Unfavorable Decision” which means he does not find in your favor at all.

Of course, you will not get paid if you get an unfavorable decision. But once the favorable or partially-favorable decision is determined, you must wait for payment. Learning how to speed up the process of getting paid is probably high on your agenda right now and with good cause. It generally takes months or even years for a judge to make a decision about your case, the last thing you want to do is be faced with even more waiting for payments to begin.

You want to make sure that the bank account information you initially gave the Social Security Administration is correct! If you have changed banks or if your bank account information is now incorrect, be sure to have the correct information submitted to the Social Security Administration immediately to avoid further delays in your disability benefits.

It may sound ridiculous, but your lawyer, who knows your social security number and every embarrassing detail of your medical record, is not allowed to know your bank account information. The Social Security Administration will not accept bank account information from the lawyer, so if you want to get your Social Security benefits faster, you must submit all of the correct bank account information to the department yourself.

Making sure the Social Security Administration has the correct bank account information is one of the quickest and simplest ways to ensure that you get your SSDI benefits quickly after a favorable decision from the Administrative Law Judge.

At one time in Atlanta, Georgia, it was not uncommon to wait two to three years in order to have your Social Security Disability hearing. These long delays were not only unacceptable to the person making the claims and waiting for much needed benefits, but also to the lawyers involved, judges, and the administrators in the Social Security Administration.

With the all the uproar over the delays in Atlanta, in 2008 and on through 2009 the Social Security Administration began making some very noticeable changes and efforts towards reducing the amount of waiting time for the claimants.

Some of the steps in the right direction include, but are not limited to:

• They introduced a national video hearing center based in Virginia that has National Hearing Center judges to hear the Atlanta, GA cases.
• They opened an office in Marietta that was a video only hearing office
• Required that the downtown judges hear a minimum amount of cases per week and also hired some new judges
• Introduced a “bench decision” where judges can use a more streamlined approach to providing favorable decisions to help cut down the delay times.
• Implemented a paperless file system

The implementation of many of these efforts has begun to show progress here in Atlanta. Many lawyers report being able to schedule in twice as many cases and their clients appear to be much happier now that they aren’t waiting 2 to 3 years for their case to be heard.

Because these cases are being heard much more quickly than they were once before, many attorneys will have to pick up the pace and prepare their cases more quickly. If you have filed for benefits before these changes took place and feel like you did not receive a fair hearing, contact a law office in Atlanta now. Speak with an attorney, you may find that your case is worthy enough of being re-tried.

In the Atlanta, Georgia area much progress has been made in hearing Social Security cases. In 2008 and on into 2009 Atlanta began implementing video hearing centers. By doing this, the two to three year wait to have a Social Security case heard was dramatically decreased. The process sped up so much in fact that many lawyers claimed their ability to have these cases heard so quickly meant they were able to double their case load.

Using the video hearing centers greatly improved the time it took for people to get their cases heard, but it did not do much in the way of helping those who received favorable decisions to get their payments started any sooner.

Many of the reasons for delays in the delivery of the hearing decisions were due to insufficient staff people at the hearing offices, an inefficient process as to how the staff members that weren’t even at the hearing were the ones to actually write the decision, and the Social Security Administration’s refusal to permit lawyers from drafting the favorable decisions. If they would allow for the lawyers to do this it would greatly reduce the administrative burden on the staff of the SSA office and greatly speed up the process of payment disbursement.

Sometimes the judge will announce at the end of the hearing what the ruling is on the case. If the judge rules a favorable decision, it does not go into effect until it is in writing. This may take three to six months in the Atlanta area. With many of these clients struggling to make ends meet the last thing they want to know is that they have been approved but to not know when they can expect to receive their benefits.

Right now there is no quick fix for this problem, at least not in my eyes. Things need to start changing and I suspect they will. As the implementation of video hearings has sped up the hearing process, soon an effort will be made to speed up the writing of the decision as well as the disbursement of the payments. We just have to wait it seems. This is something that most people filing for SSI benefits are used to by now.

As a general rule, you will be entitled to Medicaid as of your date of entitlement for SSI. You will become eligible for Medicare 24 months (2 years) after your date of entitlement for Disability.

Your workers’ comp case may significantly impact your disability case. It may affect your benefits in that workers’ comp payments may totally offset your Social Security payments. If this is the case, it may not be possible for my office to handle your case on a contingency basis, since there may be no back benefits paid to you (and therefore payment for us!).

In other cases, your workers’ comp settlement can be structured as a lifetime payout, thereby reducing (or even eliminating) the worker’s comp offset. If this is the case, then we can help you maximize your Social Security benefits.

If you do have a workers comp claim, then it is imperative that you advise us about it up front so that we can properly advise you about Social Security Disability. We also specialize in workers comp here at Ginsberg Law Offices, so our clients are fortunate in that they get the expertise and experience in both workers’ compensation and Social Security Disability when they hire us. We may even be able to represent you in your workers’ comp case.

The “Grid Rules” are a set of medical-vocational guidelines that allow a claimant over 50 years of age to be easily classified as disabled if he/she fits into certain categories regarding education and work history.These guidelines are known as grid rules because they consist of specific requirements that fit into a table or grid format. To view the Grid Rules Tables, please click on the link.

The grid rules were created with the idea that someone over fifty years of age who did not have extensive education and who had limited skills would have a harder time getting an entry level unskilled job.

The medical-vocational guidelines are outlined on the official Social Security website. Here are some common examples to give you an idea of what these guidelines, or Grid Rules, might look like:

Grid 201.14 – Claimant is between 50 to 54 years of age, limited to sedentary work, a high school graduate, and has no transferrable skills from previous jobs. The claimant is classified as DISABLED.

Grid 201.15 – Claimant is between 50 to 54 years of age, a high school graduate. Although limited to sedentary work, the claimant does have transferrable skills gained from other jobs. The claimant would NOT be classified as disabled.

Grid 202.13 – Claimant is between 50 to 54 years of age, limited to light work, a high school graduate, with an unskilled work background. This claimant is NOT classified as disabled.

Grid 202.04 – Claimant is between age of 55 to 59, a high school graduate capable of doing light labor. With an unskilled work background, the claimant was classified as DISABLED.

The grid rules are complex, so do not be discouraged if you do not understand how they apply to you. But if you have a physical disability and are 50 or more years old, you should inquire as to whether the grid rules apply to you.

Even if you are not quite 50 years of old, you may still find they can help you. For example, a judge may rule in your favor in a disability case if you are almost 50, deciding that as soon as you turn 50 you will receive benefits under the grid rules.

You might notice as you look at the grid rules that they are inclined to favor claimants with little education (usually a high school degree or less) and who are unskilled laborers. However, the older you are the more likely you will be covered by the grid rules. For example, even if you have a college education but are 60 years of age or older and have difficulty adjusting to a new job, then you could be covered by the grid rules.

Click here (Grid Rules Case Study #1) to read a case study of a case in which the grid rules applied and our hearing took less than 45 seconds!

Grid Rule Case Study #2 – 61 year old claimant with high school education, no transferrable skills who was limited to sedentary work awarded benefits per grid rule 201.06.

Grid Rule Case Study #3 – 57 year old female with high school education and past work at medium exertional level but no transferrable skills.

*Please note that these guidelines only apply to a people with physical impairments.  They do not apply to people claiming disability based on mental health problems.

The best way to get started with Ginsberg Law Offices is simply to download my Georgia Social Security new client questionnaire, fill it out with as much information as possible, and fax the completed form to me at: 770-393-0240.

You may also call my office direct at: 770-393-4985.  When you call, ask for my paralegal Judy Bledsoe or her assistant Yolanda Gaston. They both can gather the information I will need to determine how strong your case is and how we could best help you.

These are the factors that my firm considers when deciding to accept a case:

• Whether there is a definite diagnosis regarding your medical or psychological condition. There is nothing wrong with multiple diagnoses, the main importance is that you have medical evidence backing up your claim.
• Whether you have a longstanding, regular record of medical treatment. Again, medical records are key to success in disability cases.
• If you have good work history before your disability.
• Whether your treating doctor will support you in your disability case?
• Is your reliability for working affected by a physical or psychological problem?
• Do you have any accusations of alcohol/drug abuse or drug seeking behavior recorded in your medical record?

Many cases do not meet all the criteria above, and we have indeed won some cases that do not met any of them. However, because we invest so much time into your case (it can take up to 3 years to get a decision) and work by a contingency fee contract (you don’t pay us unless we win), we prefer to have positive answers to some of the criteria listed above.

Our firm will also have to take into consideration where you live. If you live somewhere far away from our firm here in Georgia, we may have to recommend you to a colleague. Additionally, there are often local rules and customs that pertain to Social Security law. Thus you want to hire a lawyer who is familiar with the rules in your area and who knows the judges.

As a Georgia Social Security Disability attorney, my area of expertise is obviously here in Georgia.  I am familiar with some other state’s hearing offices, however, and may consider taking out of state cases (Chattanooga, TN, for example).

Once you have been determined “disabled” by Social Security, they will pay you but will exclude the first 5 months following the start of your disability from payment.  Which means if you are found to be disabled as of January 1, 2005, then you will get paid from June 1^st 2005 onward. January, February, March, April and May are the first 5 months and you will not get paid for those months. Payments pick up only after 5 full months have passed.

One reason for this may be that the Social Security Administration wants its receivers to use up sick or vacation days before collecting benefits. And of course, the Social Security Administration also saves a huge amount of money by not paying benefits for the first five months.

The five month waiting period can confuse many people. Here are a couple of real-life examples to help explain the process (which has its complications):

Example One: The claimant falls off a ladder on May 17, 2005, at his home. As a result of his injury, he herniates two disks. Being a diabetic, the claimant’s surgery is complicated and he does not recover well. Alleging an onset date of May 17th, 2005, the claimant files in November 2005. In April 2007, the judge rules in his favor in the Social Security disability case. The judge decides that the disability begins on May 17, 2005, just as the claimant alleged.

The Social Security Administration pays the claimant a lump sum to cover November 2005 through April 2007. The five month waiting period means that there is five months between the alleged onset date and when the claimant can be paid. June, July, August, September, and October comprise the five month waiting period. That is why the claimant cannot be paid until November 2005.

You may have noticed that May was not included in the 5-month period.  This is because his alleged onset date was in mid-May.  Only if it had been on the 1^st of May would May been included.  Otherwise, the 5-month waiting period kicks in starting with the 1^st of the next month (sounds like another way for SSA to cut back on payments!).

Example Two: Example 2 is a little more tricky.

The claimant had a severe heart attack on September 2, 2003, which permanently damaged her heart. The claimant tries to recover and still wishes to continue working. Although the claimant went back to work and tried other jobs multiple times, she was unable to get through more than a day or two of work in every instance. The claimant ended up filing for disability years later, on January 8, 2006, alleging an onset date of September 2, 2003 (date of heart attack). In September 2007, the judge heard her case and awarded her aid with an onset date of September 2, 2003.

Now, based on what was previously said, you would think that the claimant would get awarded benefits starting in March of 2004, after the 5-month period is up.  However, in this case, the start date of her receiving benefits will be January 2005 (NOT March 2004). Her lump sum payment will be from January 2005 to September 2007.

The reason is for this is due to the amount of time she waited to apply for benefits.  You are only able to recieve benefit payments from as far back as a year prior to the application.  Since she applied in January 2006, she could only start getting benefits starting January 2005. Luckily, though, the 5-month waiting period still counts as October 2003 to February 2004 in her case, meaning it was up by the time January 2005 rolled around.

For another in-depth example of a case in which the 5-month waiting period comes into play, please click on the link to chronic back pain case study #5.

Most long-term disability (LTD) policies require claimants to apply for Social Security disability as well. This is mainly because Social Security benefits and Medicaid/Medicare benefits can reduce costs for the LTD carrier over the course of a claimant’s lifetime.

The best route to take in this situation is to consult an attorney that has disability experience, since they will most likely have an ongoing relationship with LTD carriers and will know how to satisfy their requirements.  Your attorney will hopefully be able to get you your Social Security Disability benefits in addition to your LTD benefits, thereby increasing your payments.

The practice of LTD carriers requiring that their payees file for Social Security disability has been scrutinized recently, when the New York Times published a report about this activity on April 1, 2008.  The report suggested that the LTD rules stating that you have to apply for disability are worsening the already problematic wait times for regular Social Security claimants.  It argued that LTD claimants, while classified as disabled under LTD standards, may not be eligible under SSA standards.  Therefore, these LTD claimants are slowing down the system.

Additionally, some LTD claimants either do not want to apply for Social Security disability or do not end up winning even if they do apply.  Since the LTD providers can suspend LTD benefits if their requirements are not met, a failure to apply for Social Security or even a failure to win your case can result in a huge hassle with your LTD provider.  This is why it is best to consult an experienced attorney who will be able to better your chances of getting Social Security Disability benefits.

Unfortunately, due to the lengthy wait – on average 2-3 years – it is not uncommon for claimants to pass away while awaiting a hearing. However, the case does not close if the claimant has dependents or/and was married.

If the claimant has a spouse, a notice of substitution of party would be filed along with a death certificate. The surviving spouse or eligible children can continue on with the claim and any awarded benefits would be given to said spouse or eligible children

Claims Involving Common Law Marriages

Up until 1997, one of the few states that recognized common law marriages was Georgia. After 1997, however, Common Law Marriages could no longer be established in Georgia, but any existing Common Law Marriages were grandfathered in.

If a Common Law Marriage is recognized within your state as legal then there would be no difference in the Social Security claim of the surviving spouse. Social Security examines each state’s laws when determining whether or not a spouse is eligible for inheriting personal property of the deceased when there is no will. If it is determined that the spouse can inherit, then that spouse in entitled to also continue a Social Security Claim.

Hiring an attorney is the best route to go when you are asked to provide proof of a Common Law Marriage. In essence they must prove the following:

• That the spouse and the deceased claimant were eligible to marry at the time they became spouses through Common Law.
• That the couple had expressed a “present intent” to be married.
• That the couple lived together.
• That the couple portrayed themselves to the public as Husband and Wife.

Social Security does require this evidence to prove a Common Law Marriage did legally exist.

Note: Section 1717 of the SS Handbook sets out the required evidence to prove Common Law Marriage.