Social Security Disability Claims in Atlanta Georgia

A story published online by a CBS news affiliate provided the following information regarding social security disability and SSI disability claims in Atlanta, Georgia. I will say before I mention these figures that it is always difficult to rely on any information provided through a news outlet. Reason: 99 percent of all news writers have zero knowledge as to how the social security disability system works and, thus, seem unable to distinguish between total cases pending in a region and cases that are actually backlogged at the social security hearing level. So, I'll just restate the information as it was provided by the article.

Apparently, in Atlanta, Georgia there are 22,000 pending claims for social security disability and SSI disability. The average wait for a hearing seems to be two years (two years seems, more and more, to be the magic--and discouraging--number for individuals who have filed a request for hearing before an administrative law judge). The article further states that some claimants in that region have waited up to four years (again, very sad but not surprising) and that Atlanta has the largest backlog and waiting lists in the country.

I don't actually know if this information is correct and, as I said, I tend to be skeptical of information other than what is received from the federal government (only as it relates to social security disability issues, of course--I seldom ever trust the federal government when it comes to economic forecasts and trade and budget statements). However, referring to a national ranking report of 148 hearing offices, the Atlanta hearing office came in at #138, with 56 percent of its cases being more than a year old.




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Prior Posts

Who qualifies for disability
Social Security Disability Requirements
Social Security Disability Requirements and Eligibility
Social Security Disability List of Impairments