22 Social Security Appeals Thrown Out as Garbage

HOUSTON — Twenty-two people face a long delay in their appeals to the Social Security Administration for disability benefits because their case files were accidentally thrown out as garbage, according to a federal memo.

“To prevent such a disaster from occurring again, it is imperative that no case folders ever be placed on the floor,” said the memo by Social Security hearing office manager Linda F. Taylor. The memo was circulated Wednesday and was obtained by the Houston Chronicle.

The discarded files were in a box placed beneath a mail table and a cleaning crew mistook the box for garbage, the memo said.

The files belonged to people scheduled for hearings this week before an administrative law judge, officials said. They had been appealing for benefits for at least six months. Officials said it would take several months for government officials to obtain copies of the records needed to conduct an appeals hearing.