According to figures from the National Organization of Social Security Claimants Representatives, known as NOSSCR -- or noss-car -- the backlog of people around the country waiting for decisions on their social security disability applications increased by more than 38 percent last year.

Nationally, the number of new claims filed between 2008 and 2009 jumped 14 percent.  In Maine, it was slightly higher:  17 percent.   Topsham attorney Jim Fongemie says all this is creating longer wait times for decisions and hardships for his clients who are appealing their initial denials.

"I have clients who call in and say, 'I'm being evicted.  I can't pay my rent.  I can't buy medication.  I can't go see a doctor.  I can't buy food," Fongemie says.  "So there are people in really, really dire straits, and obviously the longer they have to wait for a decision, the more difficult it is."

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