Investigation Discovers Wrongful Payments In Social Security Disability Claims

September 26, 2012

An 18-month investigation conducted by a Senate subcommittee found the Social Security Administration (SSA) had wrongly paid out compensation in roughly one-quarter of the 300 cases that were examined between 2006 and 2010, costing American taxpayers potentially millions of dollars. According to FOX News, investigators found that many of the overpayments were due to negligence and mistakes by federal administrative judges.

In one case in particular, an Oklahoma city judge was found to have approved approximately 90 percent of the 5,400 Social Security Disability claims that came across his bench in a two-year period. The awards amounted to $1.6 billion and were often given without any kind of trial.

In other instances of misconduct, investigators discovered judges had submitted versions of documents that had been edited, rather than including the whole document, which could have contained crucial information pertinent to the case.

Mark Hinkle, an SSA spokesperson, stated last week the agency was aware of the issues and was doing everything in its power to resolve them and prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.

In the meantime, the Indiana disability lawyers with Fleschner, Stark, Tanoos & Newlin believe anyone applying for Social Security benefits will face heavy scrutiny, making it more important than ever to have an experienced and knowledgeable attorney on your side who will walk you through the entire process of filing a claim.