A federal judge in San Francisco gave preliminary approval this August to a plan by the Social Security Administration to pay $500 million to settle a class action lawsuit brought on behalf of 80,000 recipients who lost their benefits, starting in 2007, after being classified as individuals using government benefits to flee arrest.

The Social Security Administration program was administered via a computer program that simply matched names of those named in arrest warrants to those receiving social security.  However, the majority of class members were not fleeing at all or never knew that criminal charges were pending against them, let alone that a warrant had been issued.

In addition to the 80,000 recipients who are due withheld Social Security benefits, another 120,000 individuals who were reportedly told between 2000 and 2006 that they weren’t eligible for benefits may now re-establish their eligibility.

If you or a loved one has a visual impairment and receives some form of Social Security benefit (which includes SSDI and SSI), or if you have a visual impairment and serve as a representative payee for someone who receives a Social Security benefit, a pending class action lawsuit filed in San Francisco may affect you.

The lawsuit, authorized by the federal court in September, alleges that the Social Security Administration (SSA) violates the rights of people with visual impairments by sending official communications in formats that they cannot read. Over the years, many people with visual impairments have complained that they miss out on important information about their benefits because they are unable to read the typical Social Security notices.

The lawsuit claims that a federal law, called the Rehabilitation Act, requires the SSA to provide notices in alternate formats to people with visual impairments. Several proposals are included in the lawsuit, including sending notices in Braille, by e-mail, or on audio tape. The case is scheduled to go to trial in the spring.

If you are interested in learning more about the case, and how it may affect you or your patients/clients please contact our office.