Disability Claims Spike In Georgia And Tennessee

From the Chattanooga Times Free Press:

Judy Duncan had worked in the same place for more than 40 years.

Over that time, her knees began to give out and, when she was laid off three years ago, she already was medically disabled, she said. ...

At 63, the East Ridge resident was able to get by in her job as an insurance company office clerk because she knew the job like the back of her hand and her employer accommodated her limitations, she said.

But when she found herself unemployed at the start of a worldwide economic crisis, her physical problems made it impossible to get back into the work force. ...

Duncan, with the help of her attorney, was approved for disability compensation seven months after losing her job.

There are thousands of other Americans just like Duncan, and they are fueling a large spike in applications for Social Security Disability Insurance benefits.

Nationally, applications were up 17 percent from 2007 to 2009. In Georgia and Tennessee, applications are up more than 25 percent in the same time frame, Social Security Administration numbers show.

Claims have risen so much, Georgia requested another 100 federally funded staffers to sort and handle the paperwork. Starting in mid-November, 35 of those employees will staff a new Claims Adjudication Office in Dalton, Ga. ...

Disability claims have been on the rise for years because of aging baby boomers whose ailments make work too difficult. But the latest spike, seen over the last three years, is fueled by both boomers and the economy, officials say.