Can't work because of an injury or illness?
	Is your child severely ill or injured?

"When people in Houston and the rest of Southeast Texas appeal their rejection, they get a hearing before one of 15 Social Security administrative law judges based either in downtown Houston or Bellaire. While managing their health problems, people here wait more than a month longer than

the national average for their face-to-face session with one of the little-known judges.

Numbers aside, the local judges, especially the nine based in Bellaire, are known for doubting disability claims.

In 1999, the last year in which information is available, the Bellaire-based judges granted disability benefits 55 percent of the time; their downtown Houston-based colleagues gave favorable rulings 58 percent of the time. The national rate is 69 percent, according to data from the Social Security Administration."

You and/or your child may be eligible for social security disability benefits...