Limitations That Help in Any Job Anywhere

Posted on February 4, 2011 by Editorial Board

When you testify at your disability hearing about your limitations that contribute to your disability you should prioritize the message, and tell the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) about your biggest problems first.  Save the minor problems for the bottom of your list to keep the judge’s attention and maintain your credibility.  You should also focus on limitations that significantly affect you in any job, anywhere, in contrast to a limitation that would be easily worked around.

If your limitations are well supported by medical evidence, the ALJ conducting your hearing may decide to include the limitations into your residual functional capacity (RFC) which is a big part of the disability evaluation process.  If the ALJ doesn’t believe the limitation is well supported, he or she may not include that limitation in your RFC.

More limitations make your RFC, or the judge’s opinion of your capability to work, more restricted.  In the real world it’s easy to imagine that a worker would have less opportunity to work as they become more limited.  To win your benefits the ALJ needs to find you are unable to work in any job, anywhere, so long as that job is available in significant numbers in the national economy.  Your RFC will need to be significantly eroded by severe limitations for you to be unable to work in any job, anywhere.

Not all Limitations Are Equal

A critical part of the disability hearing is when the ALJ reads their RFC of the claimant to the Vocational Expert (VE) within a hypothetical question.  These questions generally ask the job expert their opinion as to whether or not a person could work with the listed limitations.  Some limitations can easily be dealt with by the VE, meaning some limitations will not significantly decrease your ability to work.

The most important limitations you should discuss in your hearing are the ones that prevent you from working entirely, or the limitations that affect you in any job, anywhere.  A less helpful limitation brings you less potential jobs, but usually there will still be available jobs that could work around your limitation.  After taking into account your limitations in your RFC if there are jobs available that you can still do, then you lose the hearing.  Your best limitations that can help you win your case would be the limitations that prevent you from performing any job, or the ones that would prevent you from keeping any job.

Examples of limitations that affect you with any job, anywhere, so long as they are well supported by the evidence, would be: taking too many breaks at work due to your condition, being off task at work for too long each day due to drowsiness caused by a prescription drug or your condition, or excessive absenteeism reasonably caused by your condition.  These limitations would not be tolerated in competitive employment, which typically results in the VE testifying that ‘no jobs’ would be available for a person with those limitations in their RFC.

Posted in Basics of SSD, Capability to Work (Step 5), Legal Concepts in SSD, Past Relevant Work (Step 4), Questions & Answers, Vocational or Work Issues, Your Limitations | Comments Off on Limitations That Help in Any Job Anywhere

Does it matter if you get a local Social Security Disability Lawyer?

Posted on February 2, 2011 by Editorial Board

A local attorney may be more accessible if they have an office near you.  Also, you will likely have more opportunities to meet with the attorney face to face.  They might be familiar with the local judges and experts that do Social Security disability hearings.  Some lawyers have nationwide Social Security law practices.  They can access information from colleagues about specific judges, and they can access national databases with information about specific judges.

More important than whether your attorney is local or not is whether they are experienced and capable.   Is your attorney is familiar with disability law?  Do they understand the medical and vocational issues in your case?  If so, they will be an effective advocate for you regardless of where their principal office is located.  Don’t hesitate to ask an attorney for their qualifications.  Two good questions to ask are how many disability clients they have represented and whether they have represented clients with your particular medical conditions.

Getting disability benefits can be an intimidating and difficult process.  Having a disability attorney that you trust will make that process less stressful.  Try making a list of the things that you want in an attorney and then find the disability attorney that best matches those qualifications.

Posted in Appealing a SS Decision, Basics of SSD, Filing Initial Application, Questions & Answers, Social Security Forms, Social Security Hearings, Why People Are Denied | Comments Off on Does it matter if you get a local Social Security Disability Lawyer?

What are the Chances of Winning an Appeal in a Social Security Disability or SSI Claim?

Posted on January 31, 2011 by Editorial Board

The chances of winning at the appeal level in a Social Security Disability or SSI claim vary according to the level the case is at, what occurred at any hearing before an Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”), and whether the claimant is being represented by an attorney.

Often, claims considered at the initial and reconsideration stages of an application do not have a good chance of winning.  In fact, most claims are denied at these stages.  Once the claim is denied twice and goes to a hearing before an ALJ, many factors come into play.  These factors include the level of development of the case, including the quality of the medical records submitted to the examiner or ALJ, updating the examiner or ALJ with current medical information, and attending any consultative exams the examiner or ALJ ordered.

If the ALJ denies the claim, the claimant or their representative should go over the unfavorable decision to point out any inconsistencies with the testimony during the hearing and in the medical records.  It is helpful to have a lawyer from the beginning of a new claim, but it is especially important at the appeal level because an attorney will have the legal knowledge necessary to file a substantive appeal.  The chances of winning an appeal go up significantly if the claimant has a lawyer.

Posted in Appealing a SS Decision, Questions & Answers, Reconsidered Application, Winning Disability Benefits | 1 Comment

How Long will it Take to Receive a Decision on my Disability Case?

Posted on January 28, 2011 by Editorial Board

Receiving a decision regarding your Social Security Disability or Supplemental Security Income claim for benefits can take a long time.  Cases may take up to 2 ½-3 years before an Administrative Law Judge reviews the case and issues a decision.  The time frame to get a decision on your initial application can be as long as 3-4 months.  If your initial application is denied, you have must file a written appeal, or Request for Reconsideration, within 60 days.  The time to get a decision on your request for reconsideration is typically 3-4 months.  If your Request for Reconsideration is also denied, you have 60 days to file a written Request for Hearing.  Sometimes, Requests for Hearings are granted within 6 months of filing the request but they can take much longer.  After your hearing, the Administrative Law Judge that heard your case will give his or her decision to a decision writer who will put the decision in writing.  The decision is then mailed to the address you have on file with the Social Security Administration.

The average time frame between your hearing and receiving your decision is typically between 2-4 months.  If you disagree with the Judge’s decision, you may file a written Request for Review from the Social Security’s Appeals Council within 60 days.  A decision regarding your request for review may take anywhere from 30 days to 9 months to, in some cases, over one year.  Often, processing the initial application and Request for Reconsideration takes 6 months or longer and processing the Request for a Hearing takes a year or more.  As such, it’s important to remember that, although many sources of information (including the Social Security Administration) may give you average time frames in which to get a decision regarding your claim for benefits, there is no set amount of time in which to get a decision regarding your Social Security Disability or Supplemental Security Income claim.  There is just no way to know for sure how long processing your claim is going to take.

Posted in Questions & Answers, Social Security Hearings | 1 Comment