Widow's suit blames disability lawyer for her husband's suicide
The widow of a Kentucky man who committed suicide after his disability benefits were suspended has sued the lawyer who represented him.
The suit says Leroy Burchett, 41, killed himself on June 1 after the Social Security Administration suspended his benefits pending a review of about 900 cases handled by the lawyer, Eric Conn, report the Associated Press, Lex18 and the Floyd County Times.
The Social Security Administration letter to Burchett said it is obligated to conduct of new determination of disability when there is reason to believe fraud or similar fault played a role in a case.
Burchett’s widow, Emma Burchett, told AP her husband had chronic pain and several surgeries to install metal plates in his neck and back. After receiving the letter, he quit taking his medications, including two antidepressants. “If he hadn’t got that letter and hadn’t been losing his medical insurance this never would have happened,” she told the wire service.
Conn was targeted in a whistleblower suit by two Social Security employees, though the federal government declined to prosecute the lawyer, according to the AP story. An investigation of Conn ended without any finding of fraud or misconduct, his lawyer said last month.
Conn, who calls himself “Mr. Social Security,” maintains through his lawyer that the Social Security Administration is to blame for suspending the benefits without a hearing.
The agency reinstated the suspended benefits, pending hearings on the cases, on June 4.
Related article:
ABAJournal.com: “Disability lawyer who made $22M cleared by probe, his lawyer says, but SSA axes some client benefits”
