HOW TO GUARANTEE A DENIAL OF BENEFITS
Failure to completely fill out all the Social Security forms will practically guarantee a denial of benefits. The most neglected form is the Work History Report.
The Work History Report is used by Social Security to determine the exertion category of past work: Was it light, medium, heavy or very heavy work? A claimant needs for the past work to be properly classified and this means the Work History Report must be complete and accurate. I estimate that it takes about 1 hour to correctly fill out the Report.
I am now writing a brief on an appeal case. I just looked at the claimant's Work History Report. This report was filed by the claimant with the original application almost 2 years ago. What I want to know is, how much standing, walking, reaching, bending and lifting the claimant was required to do in her previous jobs.
What I find on the Work History Report is a lot of blank spaces. No information was filled in by the claimant. Apparently, she filled out this form they way I used to do my homework--in a hurry and just skipped over things. This is typical of what I see in Social Security disability applications. Instead of answering the questions, the claimant writes "NA, unknown, not sure," or just leaves the questions blank. This always comes back to hurt them.
A question on the form asks, "What was the heaviest weight you frequently lifted on this job?" The answer: "Unknown." How many hours per day did you stand? Answer: (Blank).
When a vocational expert at Social Security looks at this form, they will often classify past relevant work improperly because they don't have the correct information to work with. This will often contribute to a denial of benefits--thus adding an additional18 to 24 months of waiting before it gets to a judge who can sort it out.
Moral of the story? If you are filling out forms for a Social Security disability claim, complete every form, every line, every question. Don't skip things and don't leave things blank. Yes, it is tedious, boring work. Yes, it takes a lot of time. Yes, it's easier just to write "NA" or "Unknown," or leave it blank. But if you do that, you are almost guaranteeing a denial of benefits. Why bother at all?
You may need help with completing a proper Social Security disability application. Some attorneys and non-attorney representatives will do this for you (some will not). Those who do this for their clients cannot charge a fee just for filing out the forms. I generally offer this service to the clients that I agree to represent. Why? Because I know how critical a good, complete application will be to the potential success of the application. It takes a few hours to complete a disability application and all the supporting forms. Resist the temptation to cheat yourself and cut corners. Sure, you can file a quick, incomplete application--but it will usually go nowhere.
The following forms must accompany a Social Security disability application, and each should be filled out meticulously:
The Work History Report is used by Social Security to determine the exertion category of past work: Was it light, medium, heavy or very heavy work? A claimant needs for the past work to be properly classified and this means the Work History Report must be complete and accurate. I estimate that it takes about 1 hour to correctly fill out the Report.
I am now writing a brief on an appeal case. I just looked at the claimant's Work History Report. This report was filed by the claimant with the original application almost 2 years ago. What I want to know is, how much standing, walking, reaching, bending and lifting the claimant was required to do in her previous jobs.
What I find on the Work History Report is a lot of blank spaces. No information was filled in by the claimant. Apparently, she filled out this form they way I used to do my homework--in a hurry and just skipped over things. This is typical of what I see in Social Security disability applications. Instead of answering the questions, the claimant writes "NA, unknown, not sure," or just leaves the questions blank. This always comes back to hurt them.
A question on the form asks, "What was the heaviest weight you frequently lifted on this job?" The answer: "Unknown." How many hours per day did you stand? Answer: (Blank).
When a vocational expert at Social Security looks at this form, they will often classify past relevant work improperly because they don't have the correct information to work with. This will often contribute to a denial of benefits--thus adding an additional18 to 24 months of waiting before it gets to a judge who can sort it out.
Moral of the story? If you are filling out forms for a Social Security disability claim, complete every form, every line, every question. Don't skip things and don't leave things blank. Yes, it is tedious, boring work. Yes, it takes a lot of time. Yes, it's easier just to write "NA" or "Unknown," or leave it blank. But if you do that, you are almost guaranteeing a denial of benefits. Why bother at all?
You may need help with completing a proper Social Security disability application. Some attorneys and non-attorney representatives will do this for you (some will not). Those who do this for their clients cannot charge a fee just for filing out the forms. I generally offer this service to the clients that I agree to represent. Why? Because I know how critical a good, complete application will be to the potential success of the application. It takes a few hours to complete a disability application and all the supporting forms. Resist the temptation to cheat yourself and cut corners. Sure, you can file a quick, incomplete application--but it will usually go nowhere.
The following forms must accompany a Social Security disability application, and each should be filled out meticulously:
- Disability Report (part of the application online)
- Work History Report
- Function Report
- Any other forms sent to you by Social Security
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