Driskill Blog Update – 12.28.18

On Monday, December 17, 2018, I appeared in federal district court to present arguments on behalf of two clients before the judge on appeals filed from Social Security Administration judges denying applications for disability benefits. If a person is denied disability benefits by the SSA, our office is aggressive in filing appeals to court if we believe there is merit to an appeal and that the client can be helped.

The objective is to have an application for benefits approved by the SSA. However, there are times when a claim is denied that should be appealed to court.

A federal judge reviewing an SSA decision does not substitute his or her opinion for an SSA judge as to whether a person is entitled to disability benefits. Rather the federal judge reviews the entire SSA file — including all medical records together with the transcript of the hearing – and rules as to whether the SSA followed the rules and issued a proper decision. My efforts in these types of appeals are to establish that the SSA did not consider properly evidence that supported a determination the client is disabled or that the SSA did not follow SSA rules.

The SSA is very diligent in trying to provide proper decisions. Yet, errors are made that should be appealed.

The federal judge reversed the SSA on one claim. On the other, the federal judge upheld the SSA. On the one unsuccessful appeal, we have filed a new claim. We are not giving up on that client.