Long Delays For Social Security Disability Claimants
Attorney
(866) 735-1102 Ext 645
Social Security Disability claimants should file their claims for Social Security Disability at the first indication that they may be disabled. The backlog of disability cases is so great that there is a long wait for cases to be heard and decided.
The long delays have caused a great hardship on disabled claimants who are financially strapped and have no savings and are now out of work.
The number of workers that qualify for disability has doubled in the past several years, even though Americans as a whole are healthier and live longer than previous generations. 3.9 million Americans received Social Security disability benefits in 1985; 20 years later the number has reached over 8 million. The system has now become so backlogged that some parts of the country, like Charlotte, have workers that are waiting two to three years before they can receive a disability benefit hearing.
One possible reason for the backlog in Charlotte is the closings of plants and mills and the severe shortages on staff members of the Charlotte disability court. The main reason, though, is the large number of baby boomers reaching their 50s and 60s.
In the 1990s, there was no significant backlog of cases. Today, the amount of cases waiting to be heard is over 750,000. However, the number of judges who handle the cases has remained the same, and the number of support staff members has decreased.
In 2006 in Charlotte, the disability court was a full 17 percentage points over the agency's 100 percent standard. Regardless, the backlog both in Charlotte and the US is overwhelming. Judges are becoming deeply frustrated seeing Americans every day in their courtrooms that require aid but are forced to endure long waits to be heard.