Atlanta Social Security Disability Law Blog

There are many people in Atlanta who apply for Social Security disability insurance or Supplemental Security Income benefits each year because of mental illness. One of the more serious of conditions, schizophrenia, can make it impossible for an individual to hold down a job and earn a living for him- or herself. For many of these Georgians, the only option is to file for federal disability benefits. But there is evidence that some of the individuals who have previously been diagnosed with psychosis or schizophrenia may actually have a treatable condition: anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis.

The condition causes the immune system to incorrectly attack the NMDA receptor, a protein that allows neurons to communicate. When the NMDA receptor is being attacked, it causes a person to act as if he or she is schizophrenic.

We have written extensively on this blog about the sad state of affairs when it comes to the backlog of veterans' service-connected disability claims. Much attention has been paid to the fact that many veterans have had to wait unprecedented lengths of time for a decision on their requests for benefits.

Now, finally, there may be some hope that things will get better instead of worse. This week, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced that it will require thousands of claims processors around the country to work 20 hours of overtime every month through the end of this fiscal year.

We have written numerous times on this blog about the wait many veterans in Georgia and all throughout our nation have had to wait in order for their decisions on benefits to be made -- not just when they will receive them, but if they will get them at all. The problem is continuing to get worse -- and the people who are waiting for veterans' benefits can hardly stand to wait much longer. The system is almost designed to be complicated; it is still reliant on paper forms being filled out and sent to the correct place.

One woman profiled in a recent story exemplifies the issues that veterans -- many of them relatively young -- are experiencing. While serving our country in the Army during Operation Desert Storm, she developed a chronic lung condition. For two years, she has tried to get her claim processed and approved so she can get the veterans' disability payments that she needs. As it stands now, she can scarcely walk and speak at the same time; she needs supplemental oxygen all the time and working any kind of job is basically impossible.

The men and women of Georgia who have served our nation and become injured in the course of their duty are often entitled to veterans' benefits. However, as many veterans know, it can take some real effort -- and, some say, a little bit of luck -- to cut through the red tape when decisions on claims for disability benefits are delayed. And many veterans can ill afford to spend time waiting when their expenses, and their health concerns, need to be addressed.

Part of the issue is that there are so many veterans trying to get their disability benefits; according to the Department of Veterans' Affairs, more than 800,000 claims are pending in the system. On average, the VA says, claims take an average of 273 days to be processed. However, many veterans have to wait much longer -- as much as twice as long in some cases -- in order to have their claims processed. And in many cases, at the end of all that time, the claims are denied.