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Texas Disability Benefits News: Keep Up-To-Date On Disability Law & Current Events

What is going on in the world of disability law today, and how will it affect your case? In our legal news section, our readers can learn about all of the most recent happenings regarding the Social Security Administration, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the current political debates involving the disabled and their benefits.

News Category: All CategoriesSocial Security DisabilityVeterans' Disability

Social Security Disability

• Houston Chronicle: Social Security Video Hearings Gain Popularity
  Apr 28, 2012

  In an effort to reduce the time it takes to process disability benefits claims, the Social Security Administration (SSA) has made an effort to increase the usage of video conferencing and video hearings. In the last year, the number of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) video hearings in the United States increased from about 121,000 in 2010 to 129,775 in 2011 – adding 9,000 video hearings in just a year. Next year, the SSA hopes to increase that number to 140,000.
  
  A video hearing allows administrative law judges to hear more cases – video conferencing technology eliminates the need for them to travel to different locations. Instead, claimants travel to video conferencing centers where the hearing is broadcast to the administrative law judge.
  
  While some worry that video hearings will give a disadvantage to the claimant, who will not be seen in person by the judge, most believe that the video conferencing hearings are just as fair while also speeding up the process as a whole. The judge is still able to see and hear the claimant tell his or her story, while asking any extra questions that he or she deems necessary to best understand the case.
  
  This is just one of a number of changes that the SSA has made in order to save on costs and reduce the overall processing time for claimants.
  

• Some SSDI Recipients Reporting Electronic Payment Issues
  Apr 24, 2012

  As the Social Security Administration (SSA) prepares to go paperless in 2013, some Social Security disability recipients are already reporting trouble when it comes to switching over to electronic payment options.
  
  In Vermont, 57-year-old Harold Nadeau said that he did not receive his disability payment at the beginning of the month but did not realize until his monthly bills were due. The man, who used to designs submarine components in Vermont, suffers from polio and uses a wheelchair. In addition to Nadeau, a number of other disability payment recipients say that they are having problems with the electronic system as they make the switch.
  
  The United State Department of Treasury, which is spearheading the change, stated that the new electronic method isn’t just to save the federal government money, it is also designed to significantly cut down on theft and lost checks. The department also stated that no one will be switched over to an electronic method of payment by the government without being notified. SSDI and SSI recipients are encouraged to make the switch to paperless as soon as they feel comfortable, though all recipients will stop receiving paper checks next spring.
  
  Anyone who has questions about their Social Security disability payment, lost payments, or the switch to the electronic system should call the following toll-free number: (800) 333-1795.
  

• Mental Illness Social Security Disability Claims Surge
  Mar 20, 2012

  Social Security disability claims continue to rise at record rates, and many experts are trying to make sense of the sharp increase in claims over the past few years – and especially in the sharp increase in claims related to mental illness.
  
  As of last month, an estimated 10.5 million Americans were receiving Social Security disability benefits at a cost of $200 billion per year. Applications are increasing, and backlogs are increasing in Social Security Administration offices across the country. What could be the cause of this uptick?
  
  Experts believe that one issue may be the tough economic climate and the high unemployment rate affecting the surge in claims. With jobless benefits running out for many, and few new employment opportunities in site, many may be turning to Social Security disability payments to care for themselves and their families. At the same time, being unemployed for months or years at a time could cause many to face mental illnesses like depression and anxiety.
  
  Before the economic recession, about 4.5 percent of America’s working-aged population was receiving Social Security disability. Now that number stands at 5.3 percent. At the same time, the percentage of those seeking Social Security disability benefits for mental illness has grown from 33 percent to 45 percent in the last five years.
  

• Houston Chronicle: Social Security Disability Appeals Soar in 2011
  Mar 05, 2012

  Fiscal year 2011 broke records when it came to Social Security disability claim appeals. According to the Social Security Administration (SSA), 859,514 appeals hearings were requested by those who were initially denied benefits. Overall, 3.4 million Americans applied for Social Security disability payments – a number that has risen significantly in recent years due to the aging population and due to the poor job market.
  
  Why did so many people appeal their initial denial of disability benefits? Historically, two out of three people are denied Social Security when they apply. There are many reasons for this. While some applicants may not be eligible for benefits because they do not meet basic requirements, many are denied simply because they did not provide enough evidence to prove that they suffer from a long-term disability that prevents them from working. Others are denied because they did not correctly complete the process or because they did not explain why they cannot return to the workforce.
  
  Why were there a record number of Social Security disability appeals hearings last year? Social Security experts say that the Baby Boom generation is getting older and is more prone to injury and illness. At the same time, many of America’s long-term unemployed are turning to disability benefits as their jobless benefits run out.
  

• Senator Wants Social Security Law Firm Cases Reviewed by SSA
  Jan 30, 2012

  After the Wall Street Journal published an investigative piece about disability benefits law offices that withhold pertinent medical information from the Social Security Administration (SSA) and use non-lawyers as claimant advocates, Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn has asked the SSA to investigate the largest of these law offices.
  
  In the newspaper article, five former employees from the national disability benefits law firm Binder & Binder came forward to say that the law office was marking harmful medical evidence in cases with red flags and keeping that information from being reviewed by administrative law judges. While keeping this information from judges increases their clients’ chances of winning disability benefits, it is also a violation of federal law.
  
  Coburn, a Republican who sits on the Social Security subpanel, stated that the firm’s potentially fraudulent policies could mean that thousands of people may be improperly receiving disability benefits.
  
  In response, the SSA says that it will publish a new disabilities benefits policy that will keep large Social Security firms that utilize non-lawyers in check in the future – but they will not call out specific services or companies in the rules revision. Reviewing cases involving Binder & Binder would slow down the already backlogged system, as the national law firm assists with as many as 10,000 disability benefits cases per year.
  

• Man Receives Prison Time for Social Security Disability Fraud
  Jan 21, 2012

  This week a judge ordered a 58-year-old man to two years in federal prison and to pay back thousands in restitution after he was found guilty of stealing disability benefits.
  
  According to local news sources, Nelson Vazquez collected over a half-million dollars in Social Security disability benefits between 2003 and 2010 while he was simultaneously running an accounting firm full-time.
  
  The accountant received Social Security disability payments between 1976 and 2000 for an undisclosed disability, but a medical review ten years ago found that he was healthy enough to work. He reapplied for disability benefits in 2003 and was approved – even though he was the head of a business at the time.
  
  U.S. Treasury investigators found that he should not have received disability payments between 1976 and 2000 nor between 2003 and 2010. U.S. District Judge Larry Hicks presided over the case.
  
  Vazquez pleaded guilty to theft of government funds and will spend two years in federal prison followed by three years of parole. He will also be asked to pay back the $525,000 he collected over the last seven years. He will report to prison for his crimes in March.
  
  The Texas disability benefits attorneys at Morgan & Weisbrod are always saddened to hear about cases of Social Security disability fraud – these cases hurt all disabled Americans as well as anyone who pays into the Social Security program.
  
  
  

• Accident Victim Struggles for Disability Benefits for Seven Years
  Dec 31, 2011

  This month, the Jacksonville Times-Union featured a man who has struggled for years regarding automobile accident injuries and mental health issues. Despite the health issues that have left him unable to work, he has tried in vain to receive Social Security disability benefits since 2005.
  
  Years ago, 55-year-old Douglas Phillips was a successful stockbroker with a bright future ahead of him. However, a hit-and-run car accident left him with a chronic back injury and chronic pain. Then a second car accident exacerbated the issue and he was diagnosed with Facet syndrome, a chronic pain condition that left him unable to sit at his desk for more than a few minutes at a time. Although he tried to switch careers several times to support himself despite his medical condition, he was simply in too much pain.
  
  More recently, he has been diagnosed with anxiety, depression, and bi-polar disorder – all making it even more difficult for him to hold down a job. For the last six years, he has drained his savings account and his retirement account to pay his meager living expenses.
  
  Although Phillips applied for Social Security disability in 2005, his application for benefits was rejected. While he’s been fighting the Social Security Administration’s decision, he has no idea what the outcome will be or how long the appeal will take.
  
  Until then he waits in pain, his future uncertain.
  
  

• Proposed Bill Would Fight Social Security Disability Fraud By Payees
  Dec 03, 2011

  United States Senator Bill Casey proposed a new bill this week that would make it more difficult for the representative payees of Social Security disability beneficiaries to steal disability checks or commit Social Security fraud.

   

  The bill comes just weeks after authorities discovered four mentally disabled people being held captive in an apartment building basement – they were malnourished, filthy, restrained, and confused. Fifty-one-year-old Linda Ann Weston and three others have since been arrested and charged with kidnapping and other offenses. Officials believe that the woman was imprisoning the four people while collecting their Social Security disability benefits.

   

  Currently, the millions of representative payees must tell the Social Security Administration (SSA) about past criminal convictions (Weston served a decade in prison after starving a man to death) but the information is self-reporting.

   

  The new bill proposed by the Pennsylvania democrat would give the SSA access to criminal histories through databases like the FBI’s National Crime Information Center system and better prevent past lawbreakers from serving as payees. In addition, the bill would allow the SSA to hire more Social Security disability fraud investigators to perform background checks and pursue suspicious cases.

   

  Casey says that the bill will be introduced to the United States Senate in 2012.

• Cancer Patient Lives in Camper Awaiting SSDI Benefits Appeal
  Nov 30, 2011

  After a cancer diagnosis cost 54-year-old Kim Paul Carter almost everything, the man is still surviving – and still waiting on Social Security disability benefits that could help him stabilize his life and let him focus on fighting his disease.

  Two years ago, Carter was diagnosed with multiple myeloma – a bone marrow cancer. Since then, he has been forced to stop working at his carpentry business, he has lost his home, and he has spent his life savings. Currently, he is living in a camper on a square of land and scraping by through the charity of others. As he undergoes chemotherapy and fights for his life, he is too often worrying about where he will get money to pay for the gas that runs his generator or how he will pay for phone service.

  Carter applied for disability benefits 18 months ago, but his claim was rejected due to some paperwork errors. Although Carter appealed the SSA’s decision to deny his disability benefits, he has yet to have his claim approved. With higher numbers of disability applicants – due to the poor economy and the aging Baby Boom generation – it could take months more before Carter even hears an answer.

  Carter hopes that when he is approved, he will receive retroactive disability payments that will help him to afford an expensive stem cell treatment that could save his life.

• Four Mentally Disabled People Held Captive for Social Security Checks
  Nov 17, 2011

  Three people have been arrested after a landlord found four mentally disabled people locked in the basement of one of his buildings - with one man chained to a pipe. An initial investigation by police has revealed that the people had allegedly been kidnapped by a woman who was cashing their Social Security disability checks.

  According to national news sources, 51-year-old Linda Weston, 47-year-old Gregory Thomas, and 49-year-old Eddie Wright were all involved in the crime, which apparently involved meeting mentally disabled individuals and holding them captive. The four who were found last week were living in deplorable conditions and were found to be malnourished. Hungry, thirsty, and confused, they were taken to the hospital for treatment.

  Police are concerned that these four captive were not Weston's only victims. During a search of her residence, they found documents such as drivers' licenses, power of attorney forms, and other identification belonging to at least fifty other people. It is unclear why Weston has this information or whether it is possible that these people were kidnapped in the past or currently captive in another location.

  Weston served eight years in prison twenty years ago after locking a man in a closet until he starved to death. Anyone who knows more about this case is asked to contact the people with their information.