William MussemanOdar Office, Administrative Law Judge
For the 2010 *fiscal year, Judge William Musseman has disposed 671 cases at the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (ODAR) in COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO. Out of those 671 dispostions, 102 were dismissed, 282 were approved and 287 were denied. This means that the percentage of depositions that Judge William Musseman has approved in COLORADO SPRINGS for the 2010 fiscal year is 27%. The information below for Judge William Musseman was last updated on 12/01/2022.
AVERAGE STATISTICS
| Office | *Fiscal Year | Total Depositions | Total Decisions | Total Denials | Total Awards | Cases Dismissed | Cases Approved | Cases Denied |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| COLORADO SPRINGS | 2010 | 671 | 569 | 287 | 282 | 15% | 42% | 43% |
| COLORADO SPRINGS | 2012 | 787 | 649 | 464 | 185 | 18% | 24% | 59% |
| COLORADO SPRINGS | 2015 | 605 | 469 | 325 | 144 | 22% | 24% | 54% |
| COLORADO SPRINGS | 2014 | 578 | 435 | 304 | 131 | 25% | 23% | 53% |
| COLORADO SPRINGS | 2013 | 859 | 718 | 524 | 194 | 16% | 23% | 61% |
| COLORADO SPRINGS | 2011 | 780 | 640 | 408 | 232 | 18% | 30% | 52% |
| COLORADO SPRINGS | 2016 | 582 | 465 | 325 | 140 | 20% | 24% | 56% |
| COLORADO SPRINGS | 2017 | 499 | 369 | 229 | 140 | 26% | 28% | 46% |
| COLORADO SPRINGS | 2018 | 258 | 167 | 131 | 36 | 35% | 14% | 51% |
| COLORADO SPRINGS | 2019 | 450 | 348 | 251 | 97 | 23% | 22% | 56% |
| COLORADO SPRINGS | 2020 | 255 | 186 | 139 | 47 | 27% | 18% | 55% |
AVERAGE TIME
| Dismissed | Approved | Denied | |
|---|---|---|---|
| William Musseman | No Stats for FY2020 | ||
| All ALJs in COLORADO SPRINGS | 20% | 34% | 46% |
| All ALJs in COLORADO | 19% | 38% | 42% |
| All ALJs in the Nation | 18% | 45% | 38% |
9 Comments
8/8/2019
I went before this judge in july. He is a know nonsense judge and didn’t ask me a single question. I’m 55 and don’t know if this helped me my lawyer asked me some questions I had letters from my doctor and therapists he then asked the specialist based on Social Security rules and he named five of them could I work. She said know . He then said hearings over. Took a little over a week to get my letter from him. Fully favorable decision. Not I had over 3 years of documented medical history showed appointments every week that I went to and still do and I’m on 6 different medications I take daily. You need to be prepared before this judge you need a strong pattern of weekly appointments with your doctors and therapists documented. No gaps in care. You do this you Will be fine.
Musseman is full of bias, the denial was decided before I entered the courtroom, which was all of ten minutes. I do believe he should be disbarred. In 2019 thus far he has denial rate of 59%, Dismissing 21% and approving only 20%. This man was a joke of a Judge, discarding the facts of my claim and my Professional Doctors opinions. I was sexually assaulted in 2014 and suffer from Severe Panic Disorder, Agoraphobia and Depression. My Panic Attacks are triggered by white geriatric men, so why would they have him hear my case. It was a blatant disregard for my welfare and safety. It is clear he is BIAS, he makes an annual salary of 172000.0. I am not surprised by the Federal Agency as I have been violated by multiple Agencies in the past and present.I am angry and frustrated!!!
I am blown away by this judge! He did not ask my husband any questions besides irrelevant things such as his height and weight (nothing to do with his claim) and then said ok and had the attorney ask all the questions to my husband. When we just received the decision my husband was denied for the Seventh time, and he is 100% disabled by the military and hasn’t worked since 2012!!! In the decision letter there were multiple things incorrect to include his SEVERE impairments 3 of them I have never even heard of so I have no idea where they got that from. They put in there my husband is obese and that was one of his severe impairments mind you he was filling for disability because of his PTSD so what does obesity have to do with that? I have read multiple reviews about this judge and there is not one positive review on him and I think something needs to be done about this!
I’m going to state my peace because frankly, that’s all I can do at this point and my heart hurts so bad – at least sharing my experience will hopefully make me feel a tiny bit better and may help others who could go through a similar situation, avoid mistakes that you won’t even know about until it’s too late. My mother is profoundly deaf, she has been profoundly deaf her entire life. She filed for SSI after many years of making it on her own – really from having a good man who loved her despite of her disability. Thank God for my father who has been able to support her and their children mostly on his own throughout our lives. I’m glad my grandparents didn’t institutionalize her as suggested when she was 5 – and I’m glad she ignored the doctors who recommended that she not have children due to her disability. Unfortunately my father became disabled a few years ago, it was then that my mother really decided she would try to get SSI benefits for her disability. She had MANY audiology tests done throughout her life – but apparently they weren’t filled out properly. When she finally made it to a hearing with a judge after a few years of being denied, he asked that she have a test done by an audiologist who understood what portions of the form needed to be completed. That judge retired or something so my mother’s case was next heard by Judge William Musseman. He heard the facts, read the report that clearly stated that she was profoundly deaf – he quickly closed the hearing. The lawyer was ecstatic. As my mother, the lawyer and my father left the courtroom the lawyer said “you won”. My parents asked him how he knew that, he stated that he could tell. The report proved that she was profoundly deaf, and that Judge understood that she was truly disabled, had admitted that she wasn’t employable and had closed the case without further questioning. 15 months or so later, my parents received their denial letter. The Judge William Musseman had decided that because the audiology reports, that had been done prior to seeing a judge, had not been completely filled out, and the report that the latest audiologist completed was AFTER her 10 year deadline to file (after she had been unemployed for 10 years is my understanding) – she was not eligible. So at the end of the day, my mother – who has been disabled HER ENTIRE LIFE, who has worked through her struggles, managed to make it without the resources that she did have available – now cannot get the assistance that disabled individuals in our country are entitled to. I can guarantee you that there was never a question about whether or not my mother had always been profoundly deaf. You can hear it in her voice, you can tell by the words she uses – it is beyond ridiculously obvious. Was the denial handed out because someone thought she was being fraudulent? Nobody could say that with truth in their words. My mother COULD have been on disability a long time ago but chose to fight to make it without government assistance. This is her re-payment for that. Insurance doesn’t cover hearing aids. She now has one broken/outdated hearing aid that she can’t wear and another one on the brink of going out. Hearing aids cost anywhere between $4k and $8k. Imagine someone profoundly deaf who can’t afford hearing aids, who can barely hear WITH THEM trying to get employment without them…. This is such an injustice. I could get hundreds of letters from upstanding United States citizens who have known my mother to prove that she has always been profoundly deaf. Even her AUDIOLOGISTS could testify on her behalf. So I called the lawyer myself, and asked what the next step was. He said the Supreme Court. But that he couldn’t take it any farther because of several reasons. One, it would cost him about $20k and he’s only allowed to keep $6 so it would cost his company out of pocket $$ and two – the date of the proper audiologist report could continue to be an excuse as to why she could be denied. I will be writing a letter to every Congressman, Attorney General, Senator, that I can. I know that this is all a waste of my time – but can I really sit around and do nothing? I’m afraid that my mother has given up on everything, and I just can’t do that. She is done fighting for herself. It’s so sad to see someone who has done what is right her entire life, had so many obstacles to overcome – who has worked hard to be an upstanding United States Citizen to get treated like this – it’s just sickening. Every day she cries – and she doesn’t understand. It’s hard enough to explain what happened to her when she can’t hear – it’s even more difficult to explain to her when it’s just so wrong. She doesn’t understand how she was supposed to know the audiology reports weren’t sufficient. “Why didn’t someone tell me” she says. Truth is, who would have known? Her biggest mistake was not engaging a lawyer a lot earlier. She doesn’t understand how they can “get away with this”. There is nothing I can say to her as I don’t understand how someone could be so thoughtless about the reality of her situation and the sheer blatant disregard for someone’s REAL life disability situation. I think it would have been easier if she would have been an alcoholic, or a drug addict which frankly is a choice. She never had a choice. She SHOULD HAVE chosen to utilize gov’t assistance her entire life. Now she has also been diagnosed with COPD to top it all off…. She’s at odd with the world, at odds with God, and has no faith in our Government. At what point will she really just give up? Sincerely, a worried and disappointed daughter and US citizen – Virginia Sullivan
I had my hearing with this judge. I was denied, even though the guy who says what kind of jobs you can do, stated that there were no jobs that would hire me, due to the restrictions I had, and the time that would have to be missed due to numerous medical conditions. I also had forms from three of my doctors stating that I could not work. I just don’t understand when the guy that the courts bring in, says there are no jobs I could do, and then I still get denied??? I have since reapplied, and have to wait another 15 months or so to get my hearing date to try again. It’s so disappointing, especially when you have worked for this money, paid into the disability fund, and then get denied.
This judge barely listened to me. I felt like I was taking up his “valuable golf time” in fact. I have countless medical records to back up my disability claim – even from a spine surgeon that said surgery wouldn’t even help me. Add in my other medical disabilities and what should have been a favorable decision was not, even after 2 years!! I have worked since age 13, always working & many times more than one job at a time even, so I am no “slacker” as I think this judge sees the people that come before him. My lawyer asked if I was appealing (it would be my second) and I am NOT – I am near homeless and starving waiting on a process that is unbearable. The lawyer said “Well, it was our bad luck to draw this judge.” Having a decent judge should NOT be “luck of the draw”.
This Judge solely makes his decision on the social security statues, also those by-laws for individuals under the age of 50 are extremely direct. Meaning if you are under the age of 50 chances are that you will be denied,I had suffered a stroke in 05, medical records from 4 different doctors stating that I am in need of a total shoulder replacement & suffer from mid-range of COPD and was told that I can still be a telemarketer. There has to be a human element when making a decision that is going to effect someones life, if you do not have this then a computer can do this job, by just filling out a check list and giving you a award or denial. An individual must be heard, understood & shown at least a little empathy as to what is happening with them as a whole or whats the point of being a judge? Definition of a judge from Websters:to form an opinion about (something or someone) after careful thought.:to regard (someone) as either good or bad. law : to make an official decision about (a legal case) This judge has none of above and does not do this.
You need to look at the person and all that is brought to your attention! You are denying people who well deserve and need their disability which some have paid into! STOP being discriminative to people under the age of 50! Do you think they can’t and/or don’t have medical problems before the age of 50???
No B.S. allowed before this gentleman. He is tough, but fair. Workers under 50 will have to prove a listing to win. Be prepared. He rarely questions a claimant.