Posted on 12/22/2011 11:26:33 PM PST by Steelfish
DECEMBER 22, 2011 Two Lawyers Strike Gold In U.S. Disability System
BY DAMIAN PALETTA AND DIONNE SEARCEY
Lawyers Harry and Charles Binder began representing applicants for Social Security disability benefits in the 1970s, when the field was a professional backwater. Last year, their firm collected $88 million in fees for guiding clients through the system, government data indicate, making it the nation's largest Social Security disability advocate by far.
"We'll deal with the government," a cowboy-hatted Charles Binder proclaims in his firm's ubiquitous television ads. "You have enough to worry about."
Having firms like Binder & Binder deal with the government was supposed to be part of the solution for a federal disability-insurance system staggering under a ...
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
Since most of us are not subscribers, we can’t read the rest of the article.
So noted. Point well made.
In that case, let’s just go with this: if somebody can make a living like this off of government red tape, then the whole system should be blown up and started over.
But of course everybody in charge will say, “oh well, that’s just the way it is”, and continue a status quo that fails to work.
The test for getting for getting disability benefits is a subjective one. And that’s where lawyers can rake in a lucrative income.
The test for getting for getting disability benefits is a subjective one. And that’s where lawyers can rake in a lucrative income.
Did you read the article, then?
Yup, almost everyone gets rejected the first time, and then they need to hire a lawyer to fight it in court.
I personally know two people that were not rejected the first time so I would surmise that there are many others in that category. The “fight” is not in court, it is an administrative review/appeal procedure that may end with an administrative law judge hearing. However, it is not “court” in the standard sense.
“The test for getting for getting disability benefits is a subjective one.”
There is no “test” for getting disability payments. The process is totally corrupt. I know of honest people with real disabilities that prevent them from working. They are routinely turned down.
I also know of people who lie and cheat the system. The get regular payments.
The government bureaucrats who administer the system are lazy, incompetent and corrupt. The rules are impossible for a normal person to understand.
It is just one more example of taxpayer money being wasted. Lawyers with connections get extremely rich. People who cheat the system get handouts from taxpayers and honest Americans get screwed.
You are correct. My wife is trying to get disability insurance. She worked longer than her doctors wanted her to knowing how hard it would be for me to keep up alone. Finely they told her she had to quit. She’s working on her second denial now. Been out of work since July. She has days she can’t get out of bed because of her neropathy and nights she can’t sleep due to unstable blood sugar. I work 60-80 hrs a week when I can just to keep up. We started off with a lawyer.
Her sister who I think makes 90% of her issues up (all mental problems) had no problem getting approved.
You are correct. My wife is trying to get disability insurance. She worked longer than her doctors wanted her to knowing how hard it would be for me to keep up alone. Finely they told her she had to quit. She’s working on her second denial now. Been out of work since July. She has days she can’t get out of bed because of her neropathy and nights she can’t sleep due to unstable blood sugar. I work 60-80 hrs a week when I can just to keep up. We started off with a lawyer.
Her sister who I think makes 90% of her issues up (all mental problems) had no problem getting approved.
Binder & Binder making $Millions from depleting Social Secutrity. Add in SSI
benefits from nidigent womens with children the U.S. is bankrupt.
Be proud fellow Americans , we live in an entitlement minded society.
Bust-outs and losers fund securing the vote for Obama.
Yep, you’re right. The system makes no sense.
I have MS (I haven’t filed for disability, although I’ve had drs/social worker at the hospital recommend it.) I have a job, and I’m good at it. They accommodate me (I work from home)...so I have no need or desire at present.
However, I know people in the MS community who were turned down, and had to hire a lawyer. Then there are others, with less tangible disability, and they were accepted with no problem.
I didn’t read the article, but people are willing to use a lawyer because they’re just too “sick” to deal with the process, which can be long and arduous, and is almost impossible for a lay person to maneuver. Once you’re approved, there is a windfall of income, seeing you’re paid back disability benefits (i.e. from the time you applied) so the payout to the lawyers can be justified in their mind.
It takes 2 years from being deemed “disabled” for Medicare benefits to kick in...and that is another frustration for those that are truly disabled, have been laid off from work, and can’t get insurance because of pre-existing conditions.
It’s a bad system!
paste the title into Google and the click on the first link. You should be able to read it.
They are on TV everyday
ambulance chasers. pretty soon they’ll get elected to Congress. Then watch.
The Lawyer's fee is set by the court and is a fixed amount and they can't charge more than that. As Lawyer fees go, it really isn't very much. They get nothing if the client loses the case.
Except they don't have to pay back the taxpayers if they lose. The lawyers have a stacked deck. The taxpayers get a bill either way.
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