Social Security Disability Law Podcast Jonathan Ginsberg

This is part two of a three part interview I conducted with attorney Bryan Konoski. Bryan's practice is focused primarily on appellate work - filing appeals from unfavorable hearing decisions with the Appeals Council and, if denied at the Appeals Council, with federal court.In this part of our conversation, Bryan and I speak about vocational witness testimony. As you may know, Social Security judges almost always call a vocational expert to testify at disability hearings. Th...

This is part one of a three part interview I conducted with attorney Bryan Konoski. Bryan is a Social Security disability attorney whose practice focuses on Appeals Council and Federal District Court work.The appellate work that Bryan does is very different than disability application and administrative law judge hearing work. With very rare exception Bryan is not presenting new evidence of disability to a judge. Instead, he is identifying errors of analysis made by hearing ...

What type of conduct does Social Security consider to be fraudulent? Are you committing fraud if you exaggerate your symptoms or if there is no MRI to document your back pain claim?Or does SSA define fraud as conduct that goes far beyond overstating your symptoms? In my conversation with former SSA fraud examiner Greg Brinkley we try to draw a clear distinction between statements you might make in writing or verbally that won't result in a claim approval and statements that might ...

How do Social Security claims examiners (adjudicators) analyze disability claims and what do they do on a day to day basis?In this episode I speak to Greg Brinkley a former Social Security employee. In his 27 year career with the agency, Greg served many roles, including that of a claims specialist (adjudicator), technical expert, fraud examiner and team leader.Because of his experience Greg was the person that other Social Security personnel relied upon to solve problems, create ...

Social Security disability judges call on vocational witnesses to testify at the vast majority of disability hearings. Although you have never met this witness, he/she plays an important role in your hearing.Disability judges pose "hypothetical questions" to the vocational expert in your case and the answers to these questions will determine whether you win or lose.My guest in this episode is vocational expert Stuart Gilkison. Stuart works as a contractor for Social Security and a...

After trying thousands of cases over the past thirty years, I have a fairly good idea what types of cases are likely to be approved. There are certain fact patterns and claimant profiles that I know will resonate with Social Security judges.I regularly speak with colleagues throughout the country to discuss their experiences. These discussions help me educate myself and learn how to be a more effective advocate for my clients.My friend and colleague, attorney Stephanie Joy, facil...