Attorney Bruce Billman dreads the question every client asks.They come to his office wanting help getting Social Security disability payments. And they all want to know: How long will it take?
"God, I hate looking them in the eye and telling them this," Billman said.
He doesn't have good news: On average, his clients will wait about a year to get a hearing to determine whether they'll get disability payments.
The backlog has long been considered a crisis by those in the field. A September report put out by the Social Security Administration noted, "For some, the long wait for their day in court leads to homelessness and the loss of family and friends. Sadly, people have died waiting for a hearing."
A $606 billion bill to fund education, health and labor programs may have relieved some of the long wait, said those familiar with the backlog. About $10 billion would have gone to Social Security for fiscal year 2008. But President Bush vetoed the bill Tuesday, saying it included too many pet projects and would lead to higher taxes. ...
One client of Bill Botts, executive director of Rappahannock Legal Aid, just got a letter saying it will be 14 months before her hearing.
Another of Botts' clients killed himself days after learning he would have to wait a year for his hearing.
And the wait time for a hearing in Fredericksburg area is much better than the national average.
2 comments:
HOs still have unlimited OT.
Go figure.
Not in our office according to the HOD. Too much time spent by management playing head games with staff and not enough time on moving cases. Management needs a complete overhaul. A sorry group of people indeed,
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