"Let's Get Loud" Series - ALJ's

by Susan Golden

Claimant 3:  Administrative Law Judges

Mr. V applied for benefits in 2017.  He retained our service after he had applied on his own.  Mr. V. worked as a jeweler his entire professional life, well over 30 years.  He had 2 children, and was separated from his wife, but they remained friendly.  His only concern was being able to take care of his children.  He suffered from severe lower back pain and needed surgery.

On January 10, 2018, I submitted proof of dire need to the State agency.  Mr. V’s case was initially denied and a hearing was scheduled for April 12, 2019.  On January 30, 2019, three months before the scheduled hearing, I received a phone call from Mr. V’s mother that he had passed away.  She actually found him dead on the floor of their apartment.

ALJ John Carlton, at the Bronx hearing office, denied Mr. V’s claim on September 26, 2019.  It took the ALJ FIVE months to issue a decision.  We appealed the case to the Appeals Council (“AC”).  Prior to 2016, the AC remanded and even approved quite a lot of cases.  After 2016, approvals disappeared, remands are rare, and most cases are denied.  Mr. V’s claim was denied by the AC on December 9, 2019.

We appealed the case to Federal Court.  The Honorable Judge Ronnie Abrams ordered a remand for a new hearing on July 6, 2021.  The case was supposed to go back to ALJ Carlton for another hearing, but first it had to be sent back to the AC for processing from Judge Abrams.  The AC did not send it back to ALJ Carlton until January 2022.

On January 9, 2022, we received a letter from the Bronx hearing office, on behalf of the ALJ, requesting updated medical information, despite knowing that the claimant had been deceased at this point for three years.  On March 9, 2022, two months later, we received another letter from Hearing Office Director Michael E. Higgins, requesting a “current Authorization to Release Information” form.  Again, the claimant was deceased.  What is going on at this office?  The hearing was scheduled for June 8, 2022, six months after the Bronx OHO received the case, almost a year after the case was remanded by Judge Abrams, three years after the claimant passed away, and five years after he had originally applied for SSD benefits.

On September 27, 2022, almost four months after the last hearing, we sent a letter to Chief Judge Selwyn S. Walters at the Bronx OHO because ALJ Carlton had still not issued a decision.  We did not receive a response.  On December 21, 2022, SIX months after the last hearing, ALJ Carlton denied the claim again, seventeen months after Judge Abrams remand order.

After filing another appeal in Federal Court, on December 13, 2023, United States Magistrate Judge Stewart D. Aaron remanded Mr. V’s case for a new hearing.  The case was assigned to a different judge, ALJ Joani Sedaca at the New York City OHO, because ALJ Carlton had already heard the case twice.  Notably, our initial request for a hearing was May 9, 2018.  Mr. V’s third hearing has been scheduled for December 2, 2024, six and half years after the initial request, and six years since Mr. V passed away.