I was talking with one of our Portland, Maine judges yesterday between hearings. We discussed the amazing timeline of a recent Social Security claim. The judge said that it was helpful in that case to have a request for a bench decision in the hearing memorandum.
A bench decision requires some preparation, because there
Disability Determination Services (DDS) is the state agency that makes disability determinations at the initial and reconsideration levels for Social Security disability and SSI claims.
A medical source statement is an opinion from a treating doctor regarding a patient's functional limitations. A medical source statement must be considered when determining the Residual Functional Capacity (RFC) for a
The Social Security Administration can move quickly in certain circumstances. One such circumstance is a dire need case. Dire need is a type of critical case, and these claims are expedited by the SSA.
In this particular case, the claimant received a Reconsideration denial letter on February 27th and contacted me. We had
I have an upcoming hearing for a client suffering from chronic severe back pain.
When evaluating a claim involving subjective symptoms such as pain, a Social Security Administrative Law Judge must consider the credibility of the claimant's statements regarding pain and the functional limitations that result.
The judge must determine if the pain is as bad
I admit when I am wrong. Ask anybody who knows me.
In a recent blog post praising the Portland, Maine Hearing office for its spectacular performance for average claim processing time, I also said:
If there is a downside to this remarkable performance, I think the Portland hearing office has become less receptive to on
Lyme disease can certainly provide the basis for a successful Social Security disability claim. However, it can be a long road.
I saw a recent news story regarding a Connecticut man suffering from chronic Lyme disease, who is also struggling to have his Social Security disability claim granted. His story is all too common.
Chronic
At step 4 of Social Security's sequential evalution process, the SSA considers your ability to perform your past relevant work. This is a very important step in the process, because if the SSA determines that you retain the residual functional capacity to return to your past relevant work, your disability claim will be denied.
This article is the last in a series regarding how your previous work can affect your Social Security disability claim. We complete the series with an opinion from the highest court in the land, because there is actually a U.S. Supreme Court case regarding "previous work" in a Social Security disability claim. The case is Barnhart
At step 5 of the sequential evaluation process, the SSA considers your vocational abilities in addition to your medical condition, age and education to determine whether or not you can perform other work.
Acquired job skills can affect the outcome at step 5 if those skills can readiliy transfer to other jobs. Vocational skills trump age in
Social Security disability is an insurance policy, and you gain that insurance coverage through the Social Security taxes that you pay when working. Social Security counts each quarter that you work as 1 credit.
How long do you have to work before you are initially covered for Social Security disability? It depends upon your age.