Pond Lehocky Disability attorney Andrea Burns wrote a column for Pennsylvania Law Weekly and Law.com dissecting How Covid-19 Threatened to Derail the Social Security Disability Backlog Progress.
Burn’s highlights that “in 2018, the average wait for a hearing decision was 591 days, which represented an increase of nearly 40% since 2010. Leading to the disturbing reality that claimants have literally passed away while waiting for a final decision in their disability case.”
Amid the pandemic, the Social Security Administration transitioned to telephonic hearings. “While the telephone hearing solution is not without issue, Pond Lehocky is proud to continue the fight to keep our client’s cases moving forward so that they may secure the benefits they desperately need,” Burns closed her column with.
Burns earned her bachelor’s degree in public health from Johns Hopkins University in 1998 and her law degree from Widener University School of Law in May 2003. She began her law career as a staff attorney at a non-profit firm where she successfully represented low-income clients in landlord-tenant disputes and drafted wills, trusts and power of attorneys. She also provided healthcare advocacy for senior citizens and low-income families regarding Medicare, Medicaid, COBRA, and other healthcare programs. Prior to joining Pond Lehocky Disability, Burns was a volunteer attorney for a non-profit legal aid network in Mobile, Alabama where she represented SSI clients in court and completed pro-bono work.
