Probably not, according to Virginia Social Security lawyer Doug Landau. Very likely your monthly Social Security benefits will go up! When the U.S. consumer price index (CPI) increases, Social Security recipients get a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). In 2014, Federal Social Security payments went up by 1.5%. This came to an average of $14/month. Just as…
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It is becoming harder and harder to win Social Security Disability cases with just the testimony of a disabled worker, his or her family, and other lay witnesses. So what can a claimant do in order to show a Federal Administrative Law Judge the extent of his or her disabling conditions ? The short answer,…
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With average processing times for Social Security claims hitting 511 days as of July, 2015, it is no surprise that the number of pending claims at the hearing level hit the one million mark in November of last year. In fact, the number of pending Social Security claims has continued to increase every month and…
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It does not matter where you live — city or boondocks — how old you are, how much vacation you have, or whether you have reliable transportation. Workers’ Compensation judges will assume there is a light duty job you can do if you’re not in a coma, bedridden, or confined in an institution or hospital.…
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Where a Nurse Practitioner’s statement is submitted as evidence of disability to a Social Security Judge and the treating doctor countersigns the document, can the judge discount this medical opinion? A recent case held that discounting these opinions because the doctor merely countersigned the nurse practitioner’s statement is inconsistent with the Social Security Administration’s rules.…
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