Social Security clogged with disability claims, these mornings Buffalo News. If you are filing for a SSD claim you will be in for a long wait. The Western New York area ranks just about last in waiting. I received and e-mail about two days ago from an I-w she told me her wait time from start to finish 30 months. Then I heard from another i-w that I worked with for number of years and retired on his own. (NYSRS denied his claim) He filed for his SSD and received it in 8 months no appeal. The SSD doctor (ime) told him you should have never been denied your disability benefits from the STATE due to your work injuries. I posted up some of the highlights of the article. Do not let this discourage you from filing your claim you never know what will happen. I do have a list of SSD attorneys just send me a pm and a can forward some to you.


For all the talk of an impending crisis in Social Security, one already exists: The system is clogged with hundreds of thousands of disputed disability claims, a backlog so big that some people wait years for a hearing.
Social Security officials blame under funding, understaffing, a dramatic rise in cases and an increasing number of claims involving hard-to-prove ailments, such as back pain, depression and anxiety. Even with a $500 million infusion from the federal stimulus program, it could take years to clear the backlog. Social Security benefits are available to people who can no longer work because of a disability, regardless of whether it was suffered on the job or off. The monthly checks average $1,063.
Someone seeking benefits must first send an application and wait an average of 106 days for a decision, according to the Social Security Administration. The agency denies nearly two-thirds of the applicants, who then can request a hearing to appeal. Then the real wait begins. Those who received a hearing last fiscal year had waited nearly a year and half on average - twice the wait time in 2000, according to the SSA. More than 765,000 people - about double the number in 1998 - are now waiting for a hearing. Sixty-one percent of applicants who go through an appeal hearing are ultimately approved for disability benefits. Recipients receive benefits if they are deemed mentally or physically unable to work and the condition is expected to last at least a year or will lead to the person's death.
People injured on the job can often collect workers' compensation, though it generally runs out after a certain amount of time, while Social Security benefits continue as long as the disability persists.