I get calls and emails from people who are still working, but are struggling, and are considering Social Security disability.
Depending upon a person’s individual circumstances, this is typically what I say to those who are currently working, but are exploring the disability process:
It is hard to plan for disability. First, there is no
Although medical evidence is the centerpiece of a Social Security disability claim, non-medical evidence can play an important role, and help to persuade an administrative law judge that your are disabled from competitive employment.
Atlanta, Georgia Social Security disability attorney Jonathan Ginsburg wrote a good article on this subject, entitled "Unconventional, Non-Medical Evidence That
Social Security has issued a new rule regarding the production of medical evidence for Social Security disability cases. Entitled Submission of Evidence in Disability Claims, the rule makes several changes in the regulations effective April 20, 2015.
If you are practicing in this area of law, you have to read the new rule.
The reentitlement period is a safety net for Title II disability recipients who return to work. The reentitlement period begins at the end of the 9-month trial work period, and lasts for 36 months.
If you cannot continue working at the SGA level due to your disabling impairments during the 36-month rentitlement period, you do
Trial work is a concept that applies to people already entitled to Title II disability benefits. Sometimes Title II recipients will attempt to return to work to see how it goes. Social Security encourages this, and allows a 9-month period for a person to still receive disability benefits while testing his or her ability to
Each year, the Social Security Administration releases statistics about the disability and SSI programs in an easy-to-understand format, the “waterfall” chart. The chart shows what claimants can expect, statistically, for their claim for Social Security disability benefits.
The latest chart, for FY 2014, shows an ALJ allowance rate of 45% for claims at the hearing
Sometimes a prior job is actually more than one job at the same time. You were both a nurse supervisor and performed the duties of an RN. You were both a carpenter and a construction supervisor. These are called composite jobs.
In every disability claim, the SSA must determine (at step 4 of the 5-step
Working on initial disability claims, from the application itself through the DDS review process, is one of the most enjoyable parts of my job as a Social Security disability lawyer.
Most of my practice involves preparing disability claims for hearings before administrative law judges, but a certain percentage of my cases are initial claims or
Multiple Myeloma is a blood cancer that used to be a terminal diagnosis. However in the past 10 years or so, truly amazing advancements have been made in the treatment of this disease. There are new drugs, like Revlimid and Valcade, and autologous stem cell transplants are a treatment option that offers lengthy remissions. I
The patient is doing well.
I wish I had a nickel for every time I read that sentence in a progress note for a patient who is applying for disability benefits.
This statement (and similar language) in a patient’s medical records can cause problems in a disability claim, because it is routinely misinterpreted by those