Mr. Watts suffered from paranoid schizophrenia. He initially applied for social security disability benefits on April 2nd 1957. However, on April 11th 1957 he filed what social security deemed to benefits a complete withdrawal of his claim.
On May 18th 1959 he filed a second application from benefits. His application was denied and he appealed and obtained a hearing on his claim. The hearing examiner (they are now called Administrative Last Judges) determined that his was disabled. He was awarded benefits retroactive to 1958 (under social security law, retroactive benefits can only be awarded back to no more than one year prior to an application). Mr. Watts appealed, alleging that his first application should not have been considered withdrawn and that he was entitled to benefits beginning in 1957.
After a hearing, the hearing examiner held that the decision was correct and benefits were payable back to 1958. Mr. Watts appealed and the Appeals Council declined review. Mr. Watts then appealed to federal district court.
The court reviewed the record, which should that Mr. Watts suffered from severely disordered thought processes and that his prognosis was poor. At the time he withdrew his first application, he had been laboring under the delusion by that he was being followed and spied upon by various people who were attempting to put him in jail for misstating his date of birth on his application.
The court found that he had not been mentally competent to withdraw his application. There was no question he had been disabled continuously since that time and therefore, his benefits should have been awarded commencing with the earliest date possible under his initial application, which was July 1957.
See Watts v. Celebrezze, U.S.D.C., S.D. Ind. Indianapolis Div., Civ. No. 62-C-29 (6/26/63) (CCH U.I.R. Fed. Par. 14,983). See also Social Security Ruling (SSR) 64-33c.
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