W is a 47 year old paralegal who suffers from Lyme Disease. She filed a claim for Social Security Disability benefits in June 2005, alleging that she had become disabled in October 2004. W returned to work in October 2005 and worked until October 2006. W came to us one month before her scheduled hearing. At the hearing we asked the Judge to only consider the 12 months period that W was initially out of work. After the Judge issued a fully favorable decision in that case, we filed a new application addressing the period after October 2006. W was awarded on her second case without a hearing. Despite working for a full year in the interim, we succeeded in getting W over $40,000 in past due benefits plus ongoing monthly payments.

M applied for benefits in September 2003, claiming a disability beginning May 2003. Her claim was denied at all levels, leading us to appeal to Federal Court. While the matter was pending there, we filed a new administrative claim in March 2006, submitting additional medical evidence that could not be admitted in the Federal Court action. When the Federal Court remanded the case for a new hearing, the two claims were combined. From that hearing a fully favorable decision was issued in December 2007. As a result M was entitled to over $54,000 in retroactive benefits plus ongoing monthly payments.

R is a 55 year old tool fabricator who suffered from arthritis, high blood pressure and stomach problems. He received care from many physicians at a medical clinic who were consistently unable to identify the cause of his stomach problems. R filed a claim for Disability benefits on his own in 2004, but because he did not have a single medical specialist who could provide an opinion about the cause of his medical condition, R was denied benefits at a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge. Following denials at the Initial and Reconsideration levels, he came to us for our help.

On appeal, we argued that the Judge had erred in concluding that R could work. At a second hearing, before the same Administrative Law Judge, we convinced the Judge that the absence of a clear diagnosis to explain the cause of the stomach ailment was not as important as the findings that every physician at the medical clinic noted. The Judge reversed her prior ruling and awarded R four years of retroactive Disability benefits. R received over $35,000 in past due benefits and used his Medicare card to find a stomach specialist who did eventually diagnose his condition and helped relieve some of his symptoms.

Y is a 59 year old artist and entrepreneur with an autoimmune disorder that affected her nervous system. She had already lost her health insurance when she came to us in 2004, and could afford to receive only occasional medical care from her longtime internist. We filed a request for hearing on her behalf and did what we could to develop the medical claim; however, due to the unique nature of her condition and the fact that she could only obtain symptomatic care when she could pay for it, there was very little medical evidence available to submit. Following a hearing, Y was denied Social Security disability benefits by an Administrative Law Judge. His denial was based on his conclusion that she could perform one of her past jobs, as a manager of a fitness center—-a job that she held for only 2 months and had to leave due specifically to her inability to lift, carry and stand on her feet all day. We appealed the Judge’s decision and requested that the claim be assigned to a different Judge. The appeal was processed within 4 months and we won another opportunity to present the case, to a new Judge.

The second Judge refused to schedule Y’s hearing until he could arrange for a medical expert to appear at the hearing. We assisted the Judge’s assistant in identifying a specialist that would be available, and we got the hearing scheduled. At the hearing, the medical expert’s testimony helped convince the Judge that Y had been disabled since well before she filed her claim for benefits in 2003. Y received over $30,000 in past due benefits and, more important for her, was able to use her Medicare card to obtain medical treatment from neurological specialists who since that time have been able to dramatically improve her quality of life.

S is a 20 year old with emotional problems and borderline intelligence who could only work part time with the help of a job coach. We were retained just three weeks before the scheduled hearing at which the claim was denied. On appeal, S was granted a new hearing at which we took testimony from a medical expert and S was found disabled. His retroactive benefits carried back to 2002, and amounted to over $26,000 plus ongoing benefits—all of which has been paid to his Representative Payee.

C came to us in June 2007 after first filing for benefits in 1998. Her claim had been denied twice at the hearing level and by the Appeals Council. The national advocates who had handled the matter up to that point told her they would not appeal to Federal Court.

After meeting with C, we decided that instead of filing a new claim we would file a Federal Court action. Rather than filing motions and briefs for the Federal Court Judge to consider, we were able to convince the United States Attorney to remand the matter for a third hearing. At the third hearing in July 2008, a new Judge issued a fully favorable decision with disability going back to January 1, 1998—in other words, over 10 years of retroactive benefits in addition to her ongoing payments.