SSDRC




What is the Application Process for Social Security Disability and SSI?

How do you Win Benefits under Social Security Disability or SSI?

If I am determined disabled, how far back will Social Security pay benefits?

How do you prove your disability case if you have a mental condition?

What Can I Do to Improve My Chances of Winning Disability Benefits

Common Mistakes after Receiving a Denial of Social Security Disability or SSI Benefits

How to File for Disability - Tips for Filing

If You Get Approved For SSDI Will You Also Get Medicare?

How much does a Social Security disability attorney get paid?

Social Security Disability SSI Criteria and the Evaluation Process

How long does it take to be approved for SSI or Social Security disability?

What do you Need to Prove to Qualify for Disability Benefits?

Social Security Disability SSI and Fibromyalgia

Social Security Disability SSI and Degenerative Disc Disease

Can I Qualify For Disability and Receive Benefits based on Depression?

Answers to questions about SSD and SSI disability

What Disabilities Qualify for SSI and Social Security Disability Benefits?

Social Security Disability Status

Social Security Disability Tips — how a claim gets worked on

Social Security Disability, SSI Disability - Terms, Definitions, Concepts


Medical Disability - How does Social Security view your work and medical records


How to prove you are disabled
and win disability benefits


 
Nearly all Social Security medical disability and SSI disability decisions are made by considering A) your work activity over the fifteen years prior to the onset of your disability (when you stopped working due to your medical and/or mental condition) and B) the severity of your conditions, which is verified through the acquisition of the medical records you named during your Social Security disability interview.

If you do not have any current medical treatment sources, you most likely will be sent to a consultative examination by a physician (paid for by Social Security). Of course, it is always more beneficial to you if you have had some medical treatment...versus having your claim rely on a one-time examination by a doctor who has never treated you.

How does this process all work? Once you have provided Social Security with a list of your medical sources, they will send a request for records to all the hospitals, clinic, and physicians who have treated you prior to the onset of your disabling conditions (note: Social Security often develops a much longer medical history if you have provided medical sources that go further back than twelve months).

Social Security also considers the types of jobs you performed in the fifteen years prior to becoming disabled in an effort to determine if you could still perform any of your past jobs. If Social Security determines that you are unable to perform any of your past work activities, they will consider other types of work you might be qualified to perform.

What guides Social Security disability decision makers when they determine the severity of your medical conditions and what work you might be capable of performing? Social Security uses the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT) to determine the physical and mental requirements of various types of jobs; additionally the DOT considers the skill level a job requires.

For example, if an individual performed a job that required strong intellectual skills to perform the job, social security may allow that job to be ruled out if the individual has a mental impairment such as severe depression, anxiety, loss of mental function (i.e. stroke, head trauma, aneurysm), or any other significant mental impairment.

For many disability claimants who have jobs that do not have significant exertional requirements (it is more difficult to achieve a Social Security disability approval if your work was classified as "less than sedentary exertion", "sedentary exertion", or as "light exertion"), their job needs to be ruled out, so that Social Security can determine if their skills are transferable to any other types of jobs.

I must mention at this point that Social Security's vocational medical guidelines also consider an individual's age. Generally, individuals over fifty five have a better chance for a medical vocational approval than younger individuals. An individual's educational background is also considered when determining a person’s ability to perform other types of jobs if their job has been ruled out due to medical and/or mental impairments.















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Individual Questions and Answers


  • The Qualification Criteria for Social Security Disability

  • Filing a Social Security Disability Application - How to File & the Information that is Needed by SSA

  • Will a Social Security Judge give You an Immediate Decision at the Disability Hearing?

  • Question about when Social Security Disability Benefits began (date of onset)

  • Is getting social security disability easier for mental or physical problems?

  • Will SSD Be Based On Newer Or Older Medical Records?

  • Applying for disability benefits in Florida

  • What does SSA consider a severe impairment for Social Security Disability or SSI Disability Benefits?

  • If You are Denied for Disability, What Should You do First?

  • Does The Social Security Disability Reconsideration Have A Time Limit?

  • What is the Chance of Winning an SSA appeal for disability?

  • Methods of Eligibility for Social Security Disability Children Benefits

  • To qualify for Social Security disability or SSI, how severe must a condition be?

  • If you are applying for Social Security disability when does Medicare start ?

  • Who is eligible for SSI Disability?

  • If I get disability will my children receive benefits ?

  • ADHD, Social Security Disability, and Applying for Benefits

  • Making a Request for a Disability Hearing

  • Why Do Social Security Disability Claims Take So Long?

  • Social Security Disability Advice for Filing

  • Social Security Disability Mental Testing

  • Can You qualify for Social Security disability or SSI on the basis of anxiety or panic attacks ?

  • Will I Qualify For SSI, How Do I Get Approved?

  • How does work qualify you for disability ?

  • Who qualifies to Claim Disability Benefits under the SSD or SSI program?

  • How much does Social Security pay in disability benefits ?

  • Is there a trick to qualifying for disability benefits

  • Fibromyalgia and disability

  • What are the Chances of Being Approved for a Child who is Filing for Disability?

  • Why Do Social Security Disability Claims Take So Long?

  • Can You Appeal A Decision By A Judge On A Social Security Disability or SSI Case?

  • Hiring a Qualified Disability Lawyer in Florida

  • How Long Will It Take For A Decision Letter For Social Security Disability?

  • What are the Chances of Being Approved for a Child who is Filing for Disability?

  • Why Do Social Security Disability Claims Take So Long?

  • Social Security Disability SSI and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
























    SSD and SSI are Federal Programs

    The title II Social Security Disability and title 16 SSI Disability programs operate under federal guidelines and, therefore, the program requirements--medical and non-medical--apply to all states:

    Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming

    Recent approval and denial statistics for various states can be viewed here:

    Social Security Disability, SSI Approval and Denial Statistics by state

    Special Section: Disability Lawyers and unnecessary claim denials