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Public Data on Social Security Disability Benefit Hearings

The Social Security Administration (SSA) has recently added made more of its operational procedures and policies public via www.data.gov. The change comes at the urging of President Obama and the Transparency and Open Government Initiative.

Ideally, this initiative will provide disabled and needy Americans with more information about how their SSI and SSDI claims are being processed and what criteria the SSA judges and officials use to decide individual disability cases.

If you are a disabled individual who is awaiting your Social Security disability benefits, the SSA suggests that you can use the information provided on Data.gov to: 

• Get an idea of how long the current wait time is for a disability claim
• Find out about the current backlog of disability benefits claims
• Learn about the types of disability benefit claim decisions that have been made by Administrative Law Judges 

While it is certainly laudable that the SSA is making an effort to be more transparent in its operations and how it handles the critical disability benefit claims that are flooding its offices, the information on Data.gov really serves to provide a broad overview of what is happening within the SSA.

Disabled individuals who are awaiting Social Security disability benefits, or who have been denied for their disability claim, require more individualized attention and answers about their unique disability case. A Social Security disability lawyer is a great resource in helping disabled individuals get the help that they need.

When you are interviewing Social Security Disability attorneys ask critical questions, like: how many Social Security Disability hearings do you have per month; do you understand the SSA's POMS (the manual Social Security employees use to process claims); and, do you understand the date last insured and how it affects my disability onset date? The Law Offices of LaVan & Neidenberg P.A. represent thousands of disability claimants. Our disability lawyers possess the experience you need to secure your benefits.