Timothy Eugene Burns

Timothy Burns

I am sorry to hear you were dissatisfied with our practice. After reading your review, a couple of things occur to me. Yes, we are busy, but A case manager is always available. Even if your case manager works part-time (she spends 2 days a week with her 3 small children), any another case manager would have helped. As for me, because of my busy schedule, I am not always available via phone, but always by email and, certainly, by appointment. I regret you were unaware of those options. As for the wait time for benefits, lawyers have little they can do regarding SSA's long wait times for a hearing. There are more than one million people waiting for hearings in this country, and SSA schedules on a first-come, first-served basis. The AVERAGE wait after a person has requested a hearing is 526 days (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-01-27/trump-freeze-seen-worsening-526-day-disability-case-backlog). In Indiana, average wait times are slightly longer. Because of this backlog, SSA judges are busy doing hearings and preparing decisions. They do not have the time or the staff to look at a claim while a person waits for his/her hearing. Even though we continually send them medical records and motions, most judges cannot even look at a case until 7-10 days before the hearing. In other words, while we do what we can, there is little we can do about the wait time for a hearing. It is frustrating for us and our clients. In our letters and phone calls with clients we explain this. I am disappointed you felt that your claim was delayed by us. It was not. I am also saddened you posted this anonymously. I would love to speak with you about your concerns. I frequently have phone appointments with the folks I represent discussing issues like long wait times. Additionally, in the past, when a client's needs were not being met by a case manager, we have assigned a new case manager. I would have done that too. At Keller & Keller, our clients come first. I would like to talk to you about these issues and hope you call the office or email me directly at [email protected].