A question I am asked nearly every week is “can I work and at the same time apply for Social Security disability benefits?” This question makes perfect sense. Some people feel, because of sickness or injury, that they can no longer work in the same way that they were able…
The recent celebrity deaths of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain have reignited a national conversation about death by suicide. According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, there are about 123 suicides a day. For each suicide, there are 25 attempts. Men commit suicide 3.5 times more frequently than women. …
On March 18, 2018, I blogged asking: Is There A Commissioner of Social Security? In that blog, I noted that President Trump’s January 23, 2017 appointment of Nancy A. Berryhill to serve as the Acting Commissioner of Social Security expired under the Vacancies Reform Act (5 U.S.C.A. 3345 et seq.)…
It should go without saying that to be found disabled under the Social Security disability system, it is necessary to apply for Social Security disability benefits by filing a valid application for benefits. (20 CFR § 404.603 and 20 CFR § 416.305.) But what is “valid” application? For an application…
In October 2010, Congress passed Rosa’s Law (Public Law 111-256) which changed references of “mental retardation” in specified federal laws to “intellectual disability.” Historically, the medical profession, our legal system and our laws have struggled with labeling a person with intellectual disorders. At the beginning of the 20th Century, persons…
The answer is no! On January 23, 2017, President Trump appointed Nancy A. Berryhill the Acting Commissioner of Social Security. The appointment occurred under a federal law known as the Vacancies Reform Act (5 U.S.C.A. 3345 et seq.). The term “acting” in important. The United States Congress did not confirm the…
HAPPY ST. PATRICKS DAY!
Every year, the Social Security Administration complies numbers which it says represents the allowances and denials the Commissioner of Social Security has made in the past fiscal year for applications and appeals for disability. The following numbers are not just for Indiana or the Indianapolis Office of Hearings Operations but…