IS AN ADVOCATE WORTH HIS SALT?

Have you ever heard the old saying, "He isn't worth his salt?"

I'm told the old saying comes from the old Roman Empire when salt was a rather precious commodity.  Workers who worked paving the roads were often paid their wages in salt.  Thus, a good worker was one who was "worth his salt."

I meet personally with every client who comes into my office for help with a Social Security disability claim.  One of the things I do is to sit down with each claimant and help them complete the various forms and questionnaires that go along with their disability applications.  

One of these forms is the Function Report (Form SSA-3373-BK).  This is also called an ADL Questionnaire, for "Activities of Daily Living."

The form is long, tedious and tiring--but very important.  Social Security awards disability benefits based on functional limitations.  They must know how your illness, injury or condition affects your activities of daily living--everything from driving to cooking, cleaning, shopping and spending time with others.

The common tendency with claimants is to rush through the form, completing it as quickly as possible, and getting rid of it.  I think this may explain, at least in part, why 70 percent of applications are denied.  The Function Report must be completed with exacting detail, meticulous accuracy and total consistency.  Rushing through the form will end in disaster in most cases.

That's why I try to be "worth my salt."  I take an hour or so and sit down with my client and help them complete the Function Report with loving and comprehensive detail.  Often, we are rewarded with an approved claim that does not have to go through a 12 to 18 months appeal process.  

This is one example of how your attorney or advocate can be "worth his/her salt" in helping you with your disability claim.  If you are not represented, you must take it upon yourself to complete the Function Report correctly, thoroughly and consistently--avoiding the temptation to rush through and "just get finished."

 

Comments

  1. Charles W. ForsytheApril 15, 2016 at 8:03 PM

    Another important questionnaire is the "Work History Report." It's another example of the temptation to rush through it, get it done, and put it in the mail. However, the Work History report is very crucial in Step 4 of the disability determination process and can be important in Step 5, also. Failure to adequately describe your past work, the lifting, bending, standing, stooping, reaching, etc. can cause a misdirected decision and cause your claim to be denied when it should have been approved. Ask your attorney/advocate to help you complete the Work History Report.

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