Daniel A. Bernath

Attorney at Law 

Member United States Supreme Court Bar.  Member California Bar

15532 SW Pacific   PMB 202
                                Tigard,  Oregon 97223

                              (503) 639 6666  ussyorktown@comcast.net

                         Tuesday, September 09, 2008

Hearing Office Director

I am the attorney for approximately 400 Social Security claimants; many of their files are in your office.

 You have in your employ, Dan R. Hyatt at the Portland ODAR.  Dan R. Hyatt has revealed in his defense to the charge of disclosing a claimant’s private medical history and social security number to persons outside of the Social Security community that he also permits attorneys at law into his office in the secured area of the Office of Disability Adjudications and Review.  This of course is a violation of my 400 client’s privacy as guaranteed by federal law and regulation even though this is similar to Dan R. Hyatt’s revealing claimant’s social security numbers to outsiders this might not also “not occurred” to him that he is in violation of federal law and regulation .

 Says Hyatt;

“I invited (private attorney) on one occasion to visit with me in my office…

This meeting took place (in my office at ODAR)”

Hyatt says that this meeting took place inside of his office.  His office has nearly every square foot covered in claimant’s files on his desks, chairs, couch and floor.  There are open files of medical records of claimants and of course their social security numbers are written on every document of their file.  The statement he claims he made in his office was not made by him.  However, he is not permitted to let attorneys Graf, Schneider, Lowry, Gabin, and the other 25 lawyers he says appear before him to stand around and view private information as if they were at a Border’s Bookstore.

I demand that Dan R. Hyatt cease permitting access to my client’s personal and confidential medical records and social security numbers. With identity theft at epidemic proportions these serious breaches by Dan R. Hyatt contributes even more to the publics unease with permitting rogue Social Security employees handle these important documents.  Dan R. Hyatt believes that the laws on confidentiality on Social Security numbers and private medical records simply do not apply to him.

Respectfully,

Daniel A. Bernath

Daniel A. Bernath