From Black Chapman Petersen and Stevens Staff
A seriously disabled person who files for Social Security Disability potentially faces a multitude of problems if the SSA denies their social security claim. If the SSA denies the claim, the person must appeal the case, which can take over a year to be heard by a judge. Even once they have a hearing, many Judges still deny the claims. Having the proper legal representation from the beginning is a wise decision. Legal Representation does not guarantee that your claim will win approval, but having an expert on your side will give you a better chance to present your case properly. Art Stevens, a Partner at Black Chapman Petersen and Stevens is an expert in Social Security Disability. Art has helped thousands of people receive the benefits they need to lead better lives.
Getting Social Security Benefits approved is becoming a bigger challenge every day. The outcry from certain groups that too many benefits are going to undeserving people may even tighten those restrictions. This could lead to deserving people being denied simply because of politics and lobbyists.
A Wall Street Journal article reported that there could be increased scrutiny by Social Security Disability Judges in the future. The article claims the Inspector General Finds Some Judges have approved Disability Benefits Without Well-Supported Rationale. The article mentions 275 cases where a Judge awarded benefits. The article claims that only 31 of those cases followed the proper procedure in approving claims. The article goes on to say that there were about $2 billion dollars in questionable benefits paid to undeserving recipients. On the other hand, Mr. Stevens has recently dealt with judges with extremely low approval rates, in fact the lowest he has ever seen.
The direct effect these social, political and media events can sometimes be quite devastating on the people with strong and meritorious claims. Judges are disapproving claims that they should have approved.
Our goal at Black Chapman Petersen and Stevens is to do our very best to see that every person we represent for a social security disability claim has a reasonable chance at obtaining benefits.