This information may help claimants with representation, as well as claimants who are not represented by an attorney or non attorney representative. Understanding how the Social Security Disability system works can make the difference between winning or not winning the continuing disability benefits and backpay to which a person is entitled. In pursuing a claim for ongoing and past due benefits, claimants should learn about the disability process to improve their chances of winning. |
|
Who is considered disabled for social security disability or ssi? Basically, the criteria for being considered disabled is this: you must have a severe medical condition that results in an inability to work at the SGA level (basically earning $900.00 gross income per month) and your condition, or impairment, must last, or be expected to last, at least 12 calendar months. In a nutshell, that basically defines a disabled individual for the social security administration's disability program. Anyone who meets this definition, regardless of their particular impairment, will be approved for disability benefits. This gets back to the same point I made in another article. The disability itself is not the issue. Whether it's heart disease, respiratory problems, cancer, or whatever, the main issue for the disability program will always be this: WHAT IS THE FUNCTIONAL OUTCOME of a medical impairment with regard to a claimant's ability to work? If your particular condition affects you to the extent that 1) you simply cannot work at the SGA level and 2) this condition will continue for no less than 12 months (or is projected to last that long), you'll be considered disabled by SSA and get disability benefits. Not surprisingly, most claims for social security benefits based on disability are given what is called a durational denial. That is, even though a claimant's condition is acknowledged to be severe, it is somehow "decided" that the condition will not last a full twelve months. This is possibly one of the uglier sides of the disability process, because how long a condition will last is always a subjective matter. In fact, it is particularly subjective in disability cases because, although Disability Examiners are highly trained, the truth is: they are not doctors, and, in fact, have no specific medical training. And although examiners consult with doctors assigned to their units at Disability Determination Services, these doctors never see, and will never see, the claimants whose conditions they evaluate. Very often, DDS doctors (also referred to as Medical consultants and Medical examiners) come to conclusions that are very different from the doctors who actually treat claimants. Why is this? Basically, it's for this reason: disability cases are evaluated for decisional errors for the purpose of quality control. When examiners and their unit physicians make decisions that Quality Checkers don't agree with, these are counted as errors. Too many errors and disability examiners (and even DDS medical consultants) can have management "breathing down their necks", so to speak. Of course, from the standpoint of job security, no one likes that. Therefore unit doctors and examiners very quickly learn this unfortunate rule: TO NOT MAKE TOO MANY APPROVALS ON DISABILITY CASES. In fact, QA very rarely sends back cases that were denied. For the most part, they select cases that some examiner stamped for approval. And when they do, those cases tend to get turned into denials. Disability Advocates Help with Claims Free Case Evaluation Back to Disability answers from a social security Examiner |
|
SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY ATTORNEY, REPRESENTATIVE LAWYER LIST ANSWERS TO YOUR SSD & SSI QUESTIONS PAGE 4 ANSWERS TO YOUR SSD & SSI QUESTIONS PAGE 5 |
|
If you suffer from a medical disability such as hip, neck, shoulder, ankle, wrist, back, or other joint problems, disc herniation, degenerative disc disease, spinal stenosis, carpal tunnel syndrome, rsi or repetetive stress injury, inflammatory bowel disease, ulcerative colitis, irritable bowel syndrome, arthritis, dysthymia, depression or other mood disorders, congestive or chronic heart failure, type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, diabetic neuropathy, high blood pressure (hypertension), seizure disorder, stroke, copd, emphysema, hearing loss or poor hearing, statutory blindness, peripheral field problems or other vision loss, clinical obesity, attention deficit hyperactivity or, simply, adhd, bipolar disorder or manic depression, panic disorder, schizophrenia, autism, head trauma, memory loss, low iq, mental retardation, learning disability, epilepsy, cancer, chronic fatigue, multiple sclerosis, lupus, anxiety, inner ear problems, meniere's, vertigo or dizziness, kidney failure requiring dialysis or other renal problems, cirrhosis, hepatitis, or other liver disease, pancreatitis, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, asthma, bronchitis, cystic fibrosis, rsd or reflex sympathetic dystrophy, crohn's disease, sarcoidosis, peripheral vascular disease, lyme disease, cerebral palsy, down syndrome, hiv, aids, anemia, sickle cell, thyroid problems including hypothyroidism, esrd or end stage renal disease, reflux, gerd (gastroesophageal reflux disease), cfids, muscular dystrophy, coronary artery disease, cardiomyopathy, or tachycardia, bradycardia or other arrhythmia and have initiated or been denied on a social security disability, or ssi, claim for benefits, this site may assist you with your case. Social Security Disability benefits are often difficult to win; however many claims for social security disability are lost simply because a claimant did not know enough about the disability process to their social security or ssi claim. For information re: representation on a social security disability or ssi claim (attorney or non attorney representative), see the "questions" & "how" pages. |
| Social Security Disability If I win a disability claim, how much will I get and for how long ? |