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Social media may play role in SSA disability hearings

Are you mindful of what goes on your social media accounts? If you are applying for disability benefits with the Social Security Administration, you certainly should be.

The Washington Times reported that members of Congress made recommendations to allow SSA administrative judges to have the ability to review the social media profiles of claimants. This means there is potential for them to draw conclusions that an applicant is able-bodied from viewing Facebook, Twitter and other similar websites.

In addition, some members of Congress want to see reviews of cases by judges who “show inclinations toward rubber-stamping applications,” the Times reported.

“We recognize that one case of fraud is too many and work aggressively to detect and prevent abuses. We continue to enhance our program integrity efforts by adding tools like data analytics which enables us to identify patterns of suspicious behavior in disability applications,” Kia Anderson, a spokeswoman for Social Security, told the news source.

It is never advisable to fake injury or disability to get benefits, but you never know what can be taken seriously if the SSA is able to start reviewing websites such as Facebook or Twitter where jest is the norm. It is essential for claimants to be careful what they post online while applying for disability benefits.

The Social Security administration and it’s managers have shown a propensity toward paranoia when dealing with the public and their representatives in recent years. From the recent and now revoked policy of withholding the name of the judge from attorneys to their interest in viewing a claimants Facebook or Twitter account, it seems there is no end their endeavors to find ways defeat a claimant’s right to secure SSA disability benefits.

Sadly, claimants can have an uphill battle facing “hired gun” SSA experts and judges who often seem to go along with the SSA’s position concerning a claimant’s ability to return to work. In many cases, most reasonable people would agree a claimant could no longer perform.

Claimants must gather all available medical evidence and retain counsel willing to fight to secure their disability benefits. The Law Offices of Harold W. Conick, & Associates is ready, willing and able to battle for its clients right to disability benefits.