SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY UPDATES

Getting approved for Social Security disability benefits is a unique combination of skill, luck and persistence. Skill in that someone has to prepare the case for appeal before an administrative law judge.  The person preparing the case must understand, at minimum, the five sequential steps in the evaluation process.  The case won't go to step 2 until it passes step 1, etc. Legally admissible evidence has to be presented and that evidence should be compelling.  Social Security will, honestly, be looking at ways to deny the claim or appeal.  So, skill is required to develop and present a potentially winning case. Luck, in that there are things you cannot control.  One example, you cannot control which judge hears your case.  Award rates vary widely from judge to judge. If you get a judge who approves 65 percent of her cases, your odds are pretty good.  If you get a judge who only approves 15 pe rcent, your odds are not so good.  Judg...

Some important terms stand out in Social Security disability regulations.   Here is what they mean. Alleged Onset Date (AOD) .   This is the date the claimant alleges to have first become disabled.   If it becomes the Established Onset Date (EOD), meaning that the Social Security Administration agrees that the claimant did indeed become disabled on that date, benefits may be paid back to that date.   So the AOD/EOD affects how many months of back pay or past due benefits the claimant is entitled to receive. Waiting Period .   The waiting period for all Title 2 (regular disability) claims is 5 full calendar months.   This is really an elimination period.   5 months of benefits will be subtracted from the Established Onset Date.   For example, if you are found to have become disabled on March 15 th , your waiting period will include the months of April –August and your first benefit payment eligibility will be for the month of Septemb...

The Social Security disability program is really a government-sponsored disability insurance program.  You get covered by working and having Social Security (FICA) taxes deducted from your pay.  However, you are not immediately insured when you begin working and you may stop being insured after you stop working. A "quarter of coverage" is the basic unit used to determine whether a worker is insured under the Social Security disability program, or Title II. Most adults, depending on age, need 20 quarters of coverage to be covered by Social Security. So, what is a "quarter of coverage"?  You will hear these informally called "Social Security credits,"  or "work credits," too.  Until 1978, a "quarter of coverage" was awarded to workers who earned $50 or more in a calendar quarter.  After 1978, the amount of wages required to earn one quarter of coverage changed automatically each year based on the National Average Wage Index. In 2...

The Social Security Act provides benefits for long term disability.  It does not provide benefits for unemployment or the inability to get a job.   Here are some examples of employment problems which have nothing to do with disability or Social Security:  Nobody will hire me. My job skills are ancient. The economy has tanked. The jobs I used to do have now moved to Mexico or overseas. The jobs I could once do are now done by machines. There are no jobs in my field (or in my hometown, etc.) The above statements have nothing to do with Social Security and will never result in a Social Security benefit.  They are not disability issues, they are unemployment issues. We need to focus on why you are disabled, not why you can't get a job. We have to focus on specific limitations in the ability to perform work related activity.  These limitations, for example, could include a restriction in the ability to: sit for prolonged periods stand/w...

It's a well known fact that around 7 0 percent of disability claims are initially denied by Social Security.   So, what do you do?  Do you just keep applying and reapplying again and again? No.  That is not the best way to approach winning disability.   Once you have been denied,  it is probable that you will be denied over and over.  The same decision makers will look at the same evidence and make the same decision.  That type of movement gets you nowhere but eats up a lot of time while the bills keep piling up. Usually, it is much better to appeal the denial and kick the case on up the chain of command to a higher level.  In Alabama, that means asking for a hearing before an administrative law judge (ALJ).  The ALJ is not bound by any previous decisions and can give you a totally new decision if the evidence justifies it.  Many of the denied cases get paid when an ALJ gets involved. Contact the Forsythe Firm in Huntsv...

Many people are lured into a false sense of security by their experience with Social Security retirement claims.  With a retirement claim, it is very straight forward.  You apply for benefits and if you are old enough a check begins arriving each month. Social Security disability benefits are not nearly as simple.  That is because the eligibility rules are much more complex with the disability program.  Before you can receive a disability benefit you must prove that you are disabled using objective medical evidence provided by acceptable medical sources.  Therein lies the challenge. You must prove that you have a physical and/or mental impairment which produces symptoms so severe that you cannot perform any of your past relevant work or any other work which exists in significant numbers in the national economy.  This is not at all cut and dried but is open to a great deal of interpretation by Social Security decision makers. What typica...

If you are age 50 or over, you may qualify for Social Security benefits for any physical or mental condition which prevents you from full-time work. Yes, younger individuals may also qualify.  However, Social Security uses Medical-Vocational Guidelines which relax the requirements somewhat for persons age 50 and over. In addition to your age, other factors include your past work experience and education.  But being age 50 or more is the greatest single advantage a claimant has in being approved for Social Security benefits. The Forsythe Firm will provide you with a free case evaluation and local consultation.  If we represent you, you will never pay a fee until you get benefits with back payments.  If you do not win benefits you will never pay us a fee for any service we perform. Contact us at (256) 799-0297.  We're located across from Bridge Street.