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What does social security look for in disability cases?
It's been said numerous times before on this site: When the social security administration reviews a disability claim, it is not nearly so concerned with what a claimant has been diagnosed with as it is with the effects that a claimant's medical condition has on their ability to work (or, in the case of minor children, their ability to engage in various age-appropriate activities). For social security disability and ssi disability claims involving physical health problems, the DDS examiner will evaluate a claimant's past work to determine if the claimant is able to return to any past job (usually, as long as that job, or type of job, was performed for at least a full year). If it is concluded that the claimant is not capable of engaging in past work, the examiner will move on to the next step in the evaluation process to ascertain if the claimant is capable of doing "other work". Other work is ordinarily a range of jobs for which a disability claimant might be considered suitable based on current physical capabilities and past work skills. Past work and other work, it goes without saying, are huge aspects of the SSA disability evaluation process. However, when disability examiners look at claims for social security benefits based on disability, the process becomes significantly more detailed than just looking at these two issues. In deciding which type of work a claimant might still be capable of performing, and considering the claimant's current physical capabilities with regard to that prospect, the disability examiner will also review a whole range of physicalities. For instance, based on a review of the claimant's medical evidence, how well can the claimant perform overhead reaching, or dexterous finger movements? If the medical issues involved include degenerative disc disease or arthritis in the upper extremities, the ability to raise one's arms to shoulder level or higher might be significantly impaired, as well as might be the ability to use the hands in an intricate fashion. If that's the case, a claimant could not reasonably be expected to "return to" or "go to" a job for which either the ability to reach overhead, or employ a significant level of finger dexterity, is required. In some cases (and every case is different), such restrictions will be enough to "get a claimant out of past work" yet will nonetheless result in a claimant being denied due to a determination that they are capable of performing a type of "other work" that is not ruled out by their particular restrictions. In other cases, depending on a claimant's age, level of education (though, in reality, education level has little bearing on the outcome of a claim), and past work skills, such restrictions might potentially result in an allowance, or approval for benefits. The basic answer, however, to the question, "What does social security look for in disability cases?" is this: sufficient, and recent, medical evidence that supports an individual's claim that they are not capable of working (i.e. performing any work they did in the past or any "other" reasonable work) and that this incapacity has lasted, or will last for a period of not less than twelve full months. Disability Advocates Help with Claims Free Case Evaluation |
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