This is part two of a three part interview I conducted with attorney Bryan Konoski.  Bryan's practice is focused primarily on appellate work - filing appeals from unfavorable hearing decisions with the Appeals Council and, if denied at the Appeals Council, with federal court. In this part of our conversation, Bryan and I speak about vocational witness testimony.  As you may know, Social Security judges almost always call a vocational expert to testify at disability hearings.  The vocational witness will classify your past work based on exertional level (sedentary, light, medium ..read more

This is part one of a three part interview I conducted with attorney Bryan Konoski.  Bryan is a Social Security disability attorney whose practice focuses on Appeals Council and Federal District Court work. The appellate work that Bryan does is very different than disability application and administrative law judge hearing work.  With very rare exception Bryan is not presenting new evidence of disability to a judge.  Instead, he is identifying errors of analysis made by hearing judges who have denied a claim. Because hearing  judges are so busy, and because the SSA uses s ..read more

What type of conduct does Social Security consider to be fraudulent?  Are you committing fraud if you exaggerate your symptoms or if there is no MRI to document your back pain claim? Or does SSA define fraud as conduct that goes far beyond overstating your symptoms?  In my conversation with former SSA fraud examiner Greg Brinkley we try to draw a clear distinction between statements you might make in writing or verbally that won't result in a claim approval and statements that might prompt a visit from a fraud investigator. Some Members of Congress believe that the Social Security ..read more

How do Social Security claims examiners (adjudicators) analyze disability claims and what do they do on a day to day basis? In this episode I speak to Greg Brinkley a former Social Security employee.  In his 27 year career with the agency, Greg served many roles, including that of a  claims specialist (adjudicator), technical expert, fraud examiner and team leader. Because of his experience Greg was the person that other Social Security personnel relied upon to solve problems, create work flows and handle the most challenging situations. Since retiring from Social Security, Greg h ..read more

After trying thousands of cases over the past thirty years, I have a fairly good idea what types of cases are likely to be approved.   There are certain fact patterns and claimant profiles that I know will resonate with Social Security judges. I regularly speak with colleagues throughout the country to discuss their experiences.  These discussions help me educate myself and learn how to be a more effective advocate for my clients. My friend and colleague, attorney Stephanie Joy, facilities discussions like these in a closed LinkedIn Group called the SSD Zoom Roundtable.  Every ..read more

During the course of your Social Security disability case, SSA will send you dozens of forms.  These forms include documents with titles like "Function Report-Adult," "Disability Report -Adult," "Work History Report," "Activities of Daily Living Report," "Pain Questionnaire." Most of these forms are accompanied by a page or two of instructions that tell you nothing about what SSA really wants to know.  In today's episode I discuss these forms with my long time friend and colleague attorney Stephanie Joy  of Joy Disability.  I met Stephanie through the Zoom Roundtable gro ..read more

Social Security disability judges rely primarily on evidence to decide whether you qualify for disability benefits.  Within the last few years, SSA changed its procedure to remove "claimant credibility" as a factor that judges can use. In other words, you may appear before a judge who finds you completely believable and honest, but you will still lose if the evidence in your case file does not clearly document a disability.  If a judge was to approve you based primarly on your testimony and the judge's "gut feel" about you, then that approval would almost certainly be held by by the ..read more

Would you be surprised to learn that the judge who hears your disability case is not the person who actually writes the approval or denial in your case? In the strange universe that is Social Security disability, a "decision writer" working in a cubicle hundreds of miles from the judge and weeks after your actual hearing will sit down with the exhibit file, the audio recording of your hearing and your judge's notes to actually write the decision in your case. Whether you win or lose is up to the judge but the words of the decision are often written by a young lawyer who, of course, was not a ..read more

How does the Social Security Administration decide your case?   As I discuss in this podcast, Social Security about 1/3 of claims are approved when a claimant first applies.  Those denied must appeal - first by filing a "Request for Reconsideration" and when that is denied (as it usually is) by filing a "Request for Hearing." In this podcast I will walk you through the timeline of an average case and point out when you have the best chances at winning. =============== FREE SURVIVAL KIT ================ Don't know where to begin? Download my free “Secrets of Getting Approved” Surviv ..read more

Since the average Social Security disability case can take two to three years from the date you file until the date of your hearing, you can expect the judge who hears your case to ask you about your activities during this long delay. In this episode I discuss seven types of activities that you should avoid while you wait for your court date. While disability judges don’t expect you to sit at home and stare at the wall for three years, they will be suspicious if you testify that you engage in certain activities. For example, one of the activities that can raise a red flag for your judge wou ..read more