Recent News

The process to apply for Social Security disability benefits has never had a reputation for being fast. Most people who apply know they are probably going to have to wait at least a few months to get a decision. The COVID-19 pandemic has unquestionably had a huge, and largely negative, impact on the disability process. While the Social Security Administration is hiring more staff and trying to move cases along by redistributing them to less busy jurisdictions, the bottom line is that the impact of those positive measures has not been felt yet, particularly at the early stages of the process.
Historically (pre-pandemic), the typical disability applicant would wait approximately 4-6 months to get a decision on their initial application. If they were denied, at the next step, called Reconsideration, most could expect a decision within 3-4 months. The long wait did not come until that second denial, at which time they could appeal and wait in line for a hearing in front of an administrative law judge (ALJ). That wait could take well over 1 year.
First the good news. With the evolution of telephonic and video hearing options, disability hearings are being scheduled much sooner, in just a matter of a few months (remember this used to take well over a year!). The post-hearing decision process also appears to be moving within its normal timeframe, meaning that after the hearing, the claimant receives a decision from the judge within about 30-90 days.
Now the bad news. Currently, it is not unusual to wait an entire year for a disabled individual to receive an initial decision on their case. While there is a fast-track screening process for those with certain medical conditions (such as cancer and other immediately life-threatening conditions), everyone else, whose conditions are severe but do not fall on this very specific list, has to sit and wait. For those without health insurance, income, and/or financial support, this can be a death sentence.
Similarly, Reconsideration is also taking up to an entire year. So that means disability applicants are sometimes spending up to two years in the process before they even have the legal right to request their day in court.
If you do the math, from start to finish the disability process is taking about the same amount of time as it did pre-pandemic, at least for those who must get in front of a judge to win their case. But for those with very strong, though perhaps not terminal, cases, the wait time has doubled to quadrupled.
Many disabled individuals are operating under the misconception that they should wait to receive a denial before they involve an attorney in their claim. Some even wait until a hearing is being requested to hire counsel, which these days means spending the vast majority of the case unrepresented. Early attorney involvement has always been our recommendation, but it is now more important than ever.
As always, we are here for you to answer any questions you have.
Sarah and Chuck