CAN I GET SOCIAL SECURITY DISABIITY FOR....?

Most disability benefits today happen because the claimant convinces a judge that he or she is not able to work.  This is particularly true for claimants under the age of 50. How do you convince a judge? Good medical evidence is the key .  Review the doctor's records in your Social Security file and see what they say.  If they don't support severe medical problems, you probably don't have a case. Writing down your symptoms can be useful.  Start with the ones that you feel would keep you from performing 8 hours of work each day. Assess you areas of physical and mental function .  How long can you sit and stand without pain?  If you were working, what would your lifting maximum be, in terms of pounds?  Any problems with posturals:  bending, crouching, kneeling, etc.? Think about how your last job ended .  If you stopped working for any reason besides a medical impairment, it sends the wrong message to Social Security.  If you we...

When your Social Security disability claim is denied, you will file an appeal and ask for a hearing before an administrative law judge.  The hearing will last about 45 minutes.  What happens at the hearing?   Here is the typical format: The administrative law judge (ALJ) will explain the purpose of the hearing and how it will be conducted.  He/she will introduce everyone present and place those who are going to give testimony under oath. The judge may allow the claimant's representative to make an opening statement--a summary of the case and the claimant's legal position--why benefits should be awarded. The ALJ will question the claimant. The judge will usually begin by verifying when the claimant last worked.  Employment records and wages are available to the judge. Often, there will be questions about the type of work the claimant has performed over the past 15 years.  One question is common, "Tell me how your last job ended." Then, the jud...

When Social Security denies your disability claim, you have only one good option if you want to get paid:  file an appeal. What does an appeal do for you?  Several things. 1.  It protects the original filing date and alleged onset date of your claim, making it possible to get retroactive or "past due" benefits back to the earlier date. 2.  It moves your claim to a special division within the Social Security Administration--where a federal administrative law judge will eventually give you a hearing, evaluate all your evidence, including new evidence, and give you a new decision. 3.  It puts you in the best possible position to get your benefits approved and paid. I think many people see an appeal as a last, desperate measure that has little chance of success.  This is absolutely wrong.  The appeal is your absolute best chance for an approval. In fact, your odds of being approved at the hearing are about twice as good as with the applicatio...

Veterans who have served years in the armed forces often leave the service with a myriad of physical and behavioral impairments.  Common physical problems include back, joint, knee, hip and foot issues which make it difficult to sustain work.  Psychological or behavioral issues include Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), anxiety, depression or a combination of these. Military personnel pay into the Social Security disability program during their years in uniform.  If they leave the military with serious impairments, they are entitled to VA disability benefits and Social Security disability (SSDI) benefits.   Some things you should know about  SSDI benefits: 1.  You must apply to Social Security separately.  It's a totally different process than the VA benefits. 2.  The rules for SSDI benefits are similar to the rules for VA disability; however, they are not the same.  For instance, the VA may give you a partial disability; how...

Back and neck pain continue to be the leading causes of disability.  Social Security pays out millions of dollars in disability claims each year for bad backs. The medical term for a bad back is usually degenerative disc disease or simply "DDD." What will you need to get approved for benefits? a doctor's diagnosis, preferably supported by an MRI or at least X-ray imaging of your spine medical records of past treatment and evaluations proof that your condition is severe and functionally limiting (limits standing, bending, lifting, etc.). Besides medical evidence, other factors that will be considered include:  your age, education and type of work you have performed over the past 15 years. A high percentage of viable disability applications will be denied initially and will require an appeal to be paid.  When you file an appeal, you are asking an administrative law judge to review all the facts in your case and render a totally new decision.  Most of the ...

Most Alabama workers are covered by Social Security disability because they pay FICA withholding tax out of every paycheck.  This provides coverage against long term disability and loss of income. However, Social Security can be difficult to deal with and there are complex rules that must be met before they will part with any money.  It can take anywhere from 4 months to 4 years to get approved. Here is the sticky part.  Social Security will often agree that you cannot perform the work you once did.  However, they will say that you can still perform some jobs which exist in the national economy.  These jobs are often unskilled minimum wage jobs, such as hand packager, inspector or copy colater.  It doesn't matter that you can't actually find one of these jobs. If you file an application and are denied (as up to 75% are), you have 60 days to file an appeal.  The appeal puts you in line for a hearing before a US administrative law ju...