DISQUS

Denise Williams · 4 months ago

My sister was verbally approved by a judge in Denver (at her hearing) for SSDI Jan. 7th 2009. She has not received any of her benefit so far. This has been on the jusges desk sense June 12th waiting for his signature. Can you tell me about how long this process takes?
Thank you very much,
Denise Williams

TomaszStasiuk · 4 months ago

If a person has been waiting six months for the written decision after being told that the case will be denied, they can call the ODAR office and ask to speak to the Judge's clerk.

For one of my clients, I might (politely) mention the date of the hearing, that my understanding was that the case was going to be approved, note that approximately six months has passed and the delay is causing a hardship for my client. Then, politely inquire as to the status of the decision.

It is wise to keep in mind that the Judge and his/her staff hold the claimant's future in their hands so tact is important. It is rare that a case is *just* waiting on a signature. Often a case is out of the ODAR office for 2-4 months just to be written.

If it is just a matter of the signature (that is, if the the ALJ's clerk confirms that a signature is all that they are waiting on), I might ask when this case might be signed off on. If the judge is unavailable (vacation, out sick, etc) and we cannot expect a signature for some time, I might leave a message for the head of the ODAR office, explaining the situation (as described in the second paragraph) and ask about having another judge in the office sign off on the case. This is rare, but I have seen it happen.