HUNTSVILLE DISABILITY GUIDE

As a Social Security disability advocate in Huntsville, I try to help individuals get their SSDI (Social Security Disability Insurance) benefits approved as quickly as possible.  Sometimes, an individual does not want to hire me but simply wants some advice on how to "do it myself."  My advice is given here for the benefit of other "do-it-yourselfers" who want to take on the US Social Security Administration alone. List all doctors, psychologists, clinics, hospitals or ERs you have visited for two years prior to the date you claim to have become disabled.  Even if you went to the ER with an ear ache and don't feel that it "amounted to anything," list it anyway. Include mental as well as physical conditions for which you have been treated.  Social Security must consider all your conditions and their combined effects. Take time to fill out all the forms completely and correctly.  It may take you 6 or 8 hours to complete all the application forms.  T...

When you appeal a denied Social Security disability claim, your appeal is heard by a US Administrative Law Judge (ALJ).  Within about 6 weeks after the hearing, you will receive a notice of decision in the mail.  There are 3 possible decisions:     FULLY FAVORABLE.  This, of course, is the decision you want.  It means you have been found disabled on the date you allege and you are receiving "back pay" all the way back to the alleged onset date (minus the mandatory 5 month waiting period). PARTIALLY FAVORABLE.  The "next best" decision.  This usually means that the ALJ has found you to be disabled - but your disability began later than the date you allege in your application.  The effect of moving the onset date is to reduce or eliminate your back pay.  For example, if your alleged onset date (AOD) is 6-1-10 and the ALJ finds that you became disabled on 6-1-11, you have lost 12 months of back pay, simply because the onset date was ...

The Problem with Unemployment Benefits I recently appeared in a Social Security disability hearing where the client had what should have been a clear cut disability case.   He had a severe medical condition that had lasted for many months.  His condition did not respond to treatment and was expected to last indefinitely.  Finally, he had seen his family doctor in Scottsboro several times per month and his medical file showed unmistakable evidence of the extent and severity of his condition.  Unfortunately, the client had been receiving unemployment benefits after leaving his previous job.   Applying for unemployment benefits is something most people do automatically after losing a job, almost without thinking about it.  Unfortunately, filing for unemployment insurance can have serious consequences if you are also filing for Social Security disability.      Why?  Because of the weekly certification req...

A Social Security disability hearing has 5 steps or parts.  The last two parts are critical, especially part 5. Part four asks if the claimant can perform any of his past relevant work (in general, any of the work he has done during the last 15 years)?  If not, the hearing proceeds to step five. The question is now, "Is there any other work that this claimant can perform?"  This is where the hearing reaches "critical mass."  To obtain benefits, the answer must be "No."  If the vocational expert testifies that the claimant can perform other work, it will generally spell a denial of benefits. Step 5 is where most hearings are won or lost.  The claimant--through his representative--must convince the judge that he cannot do any full-time work.  The judge is supposed to take into account the claimant's age, education, skill level and past experience, in addition to his physical and mental impairments. A representative is going to anticipate the type...

When Social Security denies your application for disability benefits, you appeal the decision.  About a year later, you and your representative appear before an administrative law judge asking for approval of your benefits.  The hearing is supposed to be non-adversarial. In legal terms, this means that Social Security does not have an attorney at the hearing arguing that your benefits should be denied.  And they don't.  Who they will have at the hearing is a "vocational expert," typically a vocational rehabilitation counselor who gives evidences about the kind of past work you have performed and any other work you may still be able to do.  Sometimes I feel that these "experts" are neutral, as they are supposed to be.  Other times, I feel that the "experts" are adversarial, in that they find ridiculous jobs that they say the claimant can perform. In one hearing, the vocational expert said that my client could not perform any of her past relevant wor...