VOCATIONAL PROBLEMS - NOT COVERED BY SSDI

The federal regulations are very clear:  Social Security disability is for individuals who are impaired and unable to work.  It is not for persons who can't find work, got laid off, lack job skills, need more education or may be having other employment problems.

Here are examples of scenarios that are not covered by the Social Security disability program and will pay no benefit:

  • Sam's company was suffering a loss of sales and had to cut its workforce.  Sam was one of 200 workers laid off and he could not find another job, even though he tried to do so.
  • Dorothy had worked at a manufacturing plant for 18 years.  Then, the plant closed and employees were left without jobs.  Dorothy would have to go to trade school and learn new skills to find a job elsewhere.
  • David's new supervisor at his office made unreasonable demands, forcing David to work overtime, including weekends and shifts that he had never been required to work.  David complained and was fired.
  • Wilma worked at a fast food restaurant earning minimum wage. She barely got by.  Then she wrecked her car and couldn't afford to buy another car.  She now had no way to get to work.  She was absent from her job for 3 days while she tried to find other transportation but the restaurant fired her
  •  Jenny worked for the ABC Company for 11 years.  Recently, her mother suffered a stroke and was no longer able to care for herself.  Jenny stopped working to care for her.
The above stories are all examples of unemployment or occupational problems.  They have nothing to do with disability and no Social Security benefit is payable for these problems.  Social Security requires a physical and/or mental impairment which is medically determinable, which has lasted or is expected to last at least 12 consecutive months or to end in death.
A good rule of thumb when applying for disability is this:  Explain why you are not able to work, not why you are unemployed.

One of the things we do (for free) at the Forsythe Firm is to evaluate a situation to determine whether there is a reasonable chance that the individual can be awarded Social Security disability payments based on current regulations and the individual's set of circumstances.  Of course, nobody can predict with certainty where a case will be successful.  However, we can know for sure that some types of situations are never covered by the Social Security Act.

If you have a disability claim or question, please contact us at the Forsythe Firm in Huntsville, AL.  We will give you a free, no obligation analysis of your situation to see if we can help you obtain disability benefits.  You may reach us at (256) 799-0297.

www.ForsytheFirm.com 

 You may email us information about your claim on the above site.









  

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