The Ombudsman contacted the SSA on the woman’s behalf and received an almost immediate response, which demonstrated that the woman’s visits to the SSA had already started staff review of the problem. The problem lay in the fact that the woman did receive Bureau of Workers’ Compensation payments prior to the time she submitted a claim for Social Security Disability. Information about that was entered into the system at the SSA as a routine part of the SSD application process. After her claim for SSD was processed and awarded, a code in the system that requested a follow-up on the Workers’ Compensation payments was not deleted. Fortunately this problem is one that can be corrected locally rather than requiring action from another office within the Social Security system.
Two days later the Ombudsman received notification that the change had been processed successfully and a retroactive deposit of more than $4,500 was released. The next day the woman called to say the funds were deposited into her bank.
The Ombudsman Column, a production of the Joint Office of Citizens' Complaints, summarizes selected problems that citizens have had with government services, schools and nursing homes in the Dayton area. Contact the Ombudsman by writing to the Beerman Building, 11 W. Monument Avenue, Suite 606, Dayton 45402, or telephone (937) 223-4613, or by electronic mail at ombudsman@dayton-ombudsman.org or like us on Facebook at "Dayton Ombudsman Office."
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