Our Los Angeles readers may have noticed that Social Security Disability has garnered quite a bit of national news coverage in recent days. But, as always, most news coverage is focused on the negatives, leaving some people who are either receiving SSD benefits or who are in the middle of the application process to wonder when their issues will be addressed.
For instance, a recent article noted a prevalent problem that applicants face: travel. Specifically, many people who are forced to appeal an initial rejection of benefits must travel to another city to be heard on their appeal of that decision. This contradictory stance is almost completely illogical: a person may have a disability that leaves them unable to travel, but in order to get the benefits they need to make ends meet they have no choice but to finds some means of transportation to get to an appeal hearing.
The good news is that federal regulations allow an applicant to request that a hearing be moved, if there is a Social Security location that is closer to the applicant’s residence. The bad news? Sometimes these requests are rejected.
Being denied Social Security Disability benefits, and then facing the prospect of going through the appeal process, can be frustrating enough without the complications traveling to the hearing can present. Any Los Angeles resident who finds themselves in this type of situation should probably explore every avenue that they can to see if there are options they have not considered yet. Getting the right information can make the difference in a successful appeal that results in the approval of SSD benefits and a denial that ends the process altogether.
Source: news-journalonline.com, “Don’t deny access to justice,” June 9, 2014
