A medical source statement is an opinion from your doctor regarding the nature and severity of your limitations due to your medically-determinable impairments. A medical source statement is often simply a form that is completed and signed by your doctor. The name derives from a section of the regulation describing medical opinion evidence.
The SSA must give controlling
A hearing memorandum is required at the Portland, Maine ODAR. Written by the claimant's representative, the hearing memorandum sets forth the background facts of the case, a description of the medical evidence, and (most importantly) a "theory of the case," with an analysis of the claim at each step of the sequential evaluation process.
The memorandum, which I write
I have noticed concrete benefits for my Social Security disability law practice from this professional blog.
One unexpected benefit has been that the blog serves as a repository of legal knowledge for me. Legal blogmaster Kevin O'Keefe has mentioned this benefit, and he is correct. I actually find myself referring to my own blog for information.
For
I had a Social Security disability hearing this week for a closed period case. A closed period means that the claimant was disabled for a period of time, but is not disabled on a continuing basis.
Usually, a closed period occurs because the claimant returns to work at the SGA level prior to the hearing date.
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 not
Gordon Gates is a Social Security disability lawyer. He represents clients with Social Security disability and SSI claims in Maine and New Hampshire.
An attorney licensed in Maine, Gordon is authorized to represent claimants before the Social Security Administration anywhere in the country. However, his disability practice is focused on the states of Maine
I like to write the client a letter at the end of the case saying that the case is over and that I am closing my file. Such a final letter marks the end of the attorney-client relationship.
I have added a few paragraphs to that final letter, to give the Title II disability client
"Trial work" is a concept that applies to people already receiving 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 benefits while testing his or her ability to work. However, this trial work can be a trap for the unwary.
Some recipients try working part-time, and may earn less than the SGA amount. They assume their disability benefits will not be affected by this part-time work. After all, they were allowed earn that much when they applied for disability benefits. But the trial work amount is quite a bit less than SGA, and this can cause problems for people who earn more than the trial work amount.
After 9 months of trial work, Social Security can terminate your benefits if you reach the level of SGA. The 9 months of trial are not necessarily consecutive, so a few months here and there of part-time employment can consume the trial work period. The SSA looks at a five-year period for trial work, so that 9th month of trial work can sneak up on you. So what should you do? Continue Reading Trial Work
This Google search query landed a visitor on my blog: What should I do after being denied by the social security appeals council?
I am going to answer that question right now.
The Appeals Council is the last word on your claim from the Social Security Administration. Your next step is U.S. District Court.
The Medical-Vocational Guidelines are used by Social Security to determine disability due to exertional impairments at step 5 of the sequential evaluation process. The guidelines, or the "grids," consider a claimant's exertional level (that's the medical part) and the claimant's age, education and work history (the vocational factors). Depending upon these medical-vocational factors, the SSA determines that a person is either disabled or not disabled.
In general, the grids are not where you want to be as a claimant, because the grids direct a finding of "not disabled" in most situations. In fact, every claimant loses under the grids until age 50 (or age 45 if unable to communicate in English).
However, the grids are a two-edged sword. Once you reach the age of 50 (and have no transferable skills or education that allows direct entry to skilled work), the grids direct a finding of "disabled" at the sedentary exertional level. The SSA presumes that the transition to unskilled sedentary work is too difficult for these claimants. At age 55, that same claimant grids "disabled" at the light exertional level.
Let's look at an example to see how the grids operate. Continue Reading The Medical-Vocational Guidelines