Delays in the Issuing of Hearing Decisions

Can I Do Anything to Speed Up the Delivery
of My Hearing Decision?

I have noted on this web site and on my Social Security disability blog that the Social Security Administration is making a determined effort to reduce the long backlogs in the Atlanta area and throughout Georgia.  New judges have been hired and new hearing offices opened.  Paper files have been replaced by electronic, paperless files.

Despite these positive changes, there are still inefficiencies in the process.  While there are more judges hearing cases, and more hearings scheduled in general, there continues to be long delays in the processing of hearing decisions.

There are many reasons for this, including:

  • not enough staff people at the hearing offices
     
  • a somewhat inefficient process whereby a staff member who was not at the hearing actually writes the decision
     
  • Social Security’s refusal to allow attorneys to draft favorable decisions thereby reducing the administrative burden on SSA office staff

In the Atlanta area, for example, it is not uncommon for a decision to be delayed three to six months or longer.  This is especially frustrating if the judge announced at the hearing that he would approve your case and now you have to wait six months or longer to get the written decision. 

 

I receive weekly or daily emails from several of my clients in cases that I feel 99% certain that we won, but where no written favorable decision has been issued.  Many of these clients are struggling to pay mortgages, car payments or other bills and they really need the money that will be released if the judge would only process the written paperwork.

I wish I had a good answer for this problem. I know that the judges in the hearing offices that I frequent are working hard and I know that they feel the pressure to process decisions.  I also know that the Commissioner of Social Security, the regional commissioner and the chief judge are insisting that each judge schedule as many hearings as possible - ideally 7 hearings a day three to four days a week.

The hearing judges are therefore caught between a rock and a hard place - they are under immense pressure from their superiors to hear cases to reduce the hearing backlog. The statistics that have caught the media’s attention refer to delays in hearing cases - apparently the senior officials in the Social Security Administration have made a strategic decision to improve the hearing delay calendar without addressing the resulting decision processing backlog.

I have spoken to several of the judges who I know fairly well about these delays in decision processing.  These judges assure me that the chief judge and the hearing office managers are well aware of the problems.  They also advise me that little if anything will happen if my paralegal or I call repeatedly.  I strive to prepare my cases thoroughly, present pre-hearing briefs whenever possible and keep my direct examination questions concise and straightforward.  I do not think that my clients or I would be well served if I gain a reputation as an attorney who harasses judges about a situation that they cannot fully control.

Also be aware that there are a few cases that judges hold onto because they are waiting for a medical expert review or because a Social Security ruling on point is due to be released shortly.

Now, if a judge who normally issues decisions in 4 weeks is running three months late, I might make a call, but otherwise I will not do anything that might jeopardize what appears to be a positive outcome.

On the other hand, my paralegal and I do call the payment centers immediately to encourage action on payment processing.  At the payment centers, the “squeaky wheel” often does get the grease.  This strategy simply does not work when it comes to the hearing offices.

You, as the claimant, do have the right to contact your Congressperson to ask for help in nudging judges to process decisions.  If you are going to go that route, I recommend that you include in the documentation you provide the Congressional aide any collection letters, foreclosure notices, or other evidence of significant money problems that you can.  If you have a medical problem and you are waiting for Medicare or Medicaid approval tied to your case, include that.  My experience has been that lawmakers can sometimes help but only if you can show that you have a true medical or financial “dire need” for your benefits. 

 
 
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