We hope that you have not personally experienced the frustration and anxiety that the Social Security Disability backlog is currently generating here in Georgia and across the country.
But we are sorry to say that if you have applied for Social Security Disability benefits on your own, you might have firsthand knowledge of just how trying the backlog can be.
The backlog we are speaking of is the long queue of applications for benefits waiting to be processed. Across the country, an estimated 750,000 people are awaiting a hearing to determine whether they will be granted benefits. That number does not include those whose applications are stuck in limbo at other phases of the process.
To put it simply, the Social Security Administration is too understaffed and too overworked to get to applications in a timely manner. On top of that, demographers note that our country is getting older, leading to more people with illnesses, injuries and infirmities who need Social Security Disability. On top of that, jobs are scarce in a poor economy, so employers are less willing to “spend” a job on a sick or injured person who might otherwise be “employable” were the economy better.
Although lawyers who regularly work with Social Security Disability applicants are not magicians, they can offer assistance and assurance that you are completing the necessary materials correctly. At least that way, you can be assured your application will not be denied for being filled out improperly, or some similar technicality.
Source: The Arizona Republic, “Social Security disability applications backlogged,” Ryan Randazzo, Dec. 2, 2012
