Category Archives: Social Security Disability
Navigating the Fears of Pursuing Vocational Rehabilitation Due to The Receipt or Pursuit of Social Security Disability Benefits
First, the process of vocational rehabilitation is essentially the process to prepare you to look and apply for jobs. Neither of those means you will actually get the job and even if you do, does not mean you can actually perform the job. Both looking and applying also does not equate to a termination… Read More »
Gap In Medical Treatment And Effects On Social Security Disability Benefits
Medical records are the focus of every social security disability case. The Social Security Administration (SSA) will thoroughly comb through your medical records to assess the extent of your treatment in order to determine the severity of your disability. In many instances in a social security disability case, a claimant will stop treating with… Read More »
3 Suggestions To Increase Your Chances Of Winning A Claim For Social Security Disability Benefits
The Social Security Administration (SSA) denies a whopping 72% of the initial disability benefit applications and denies about 90% of reconsiderations (the first level of appeal). (Annual Statistical Report, 2011). Though these numbers might make you think poorly of SSA, in most of these cases the evidence in SSA’s record just does not support… Read More »
How Does The Social Security Administration Evaluate Disability Claims Based On Fibromyalgia?
Early in my career, I used to warn potential clients that fibromyalgia was a “diagnosis of exclusion.”Many physicians seemed to be making the diagnosis of fibromyalgia, when everything else was ruled out.There did not seem to be actual objective evidence of fibromyalgia, just an inability to diagnose anything else.Proving disability in these cases was… Read More »
The Effect Of Drug Addiction Or Alcoholism On A Claim For Social Security Disability
On March 22, 2013 a new Social Security Ruling regarding drug addiction and alcoholism (DAA) went into effect. (SSR 13-2p). While the ruling does not dramatically change the way that SSA evaluates DAA in disability cases, I thought this was a good time to write on the topic. What is DAA in the Social… Read More »
The Importance Of The “Disability Onset Date” In Social Security Disability Decisions
The “Disability Onset Date” (DOD) is the date that the Claimant has met the evidentiary requirements to prove “disability” as defined by the Social Security law. This date is extremely important in evaluating disability cases. For instance, if the DOD is after the Claimant has turned 50 years old, the Medical Vocational Guidelines might… Read More »
Can I Apply For Social Security Disability Benefits If I Am Still Receiving Workers’ Compensation?
There are no prohibitions against receiving both Social Security Disability (SSD) benefits and workers compensation (WC) benefits. The law merely provides that there may be a reduction in your monthly SSD check because of the simultaneous receipt of WC benefits. In this post I will explain the calculation of that reduction, reasons for and… Read More »
How To Find Out Your Monthly Social Security Disability Benefit Amount
Each year the Social Security Administration (SSA) used to send out statements to each taxpayer. These statements would indicate what earnings had been reported to the SSA, whether the taxpayer had contributed enough to qualify for benefits, and what the monthly benefit would be for both disability and retirement benefits. As a cost saving… Read More »
Liver Disease, Alcoholism & Social Security Disability
The most common forms of liver disease I see in my disability practice are liver cancer, hepatitis, cirrhosis, and alcoholic liver disease. All of these medical conditions can be severe enough to prevent a person from working. This post describes the most common types of liver disease and how they may be used as… Read More »
How Do I Calculate My Past Due Benefits For Social Security Disability?
The primary benefit to being awarded either Social Security Disability (SSD) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a monthly check from the United States Treasury. Besides those monthly checks, most people also get a bigger (sometimes much bigger) first check which represents their “past due benefits.” This post attempts to shed some light on… Read More »