Your odds of winning at a disability hearing before a judge are about 50%. If you have a lawyer with you, however, your odds increase to 62%, making your claim statistically more likely to be approved than be rejected. Disability Determination Services Could Be Blocking Your Claim
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The flip side of this, of course, is that most claimants will need to go to a hearing, and will increase the chances of winning with good disability attorney representation .
What Happens When I First Call a Disability Attorney? When you first contact an attorney or law firm for representation, either the attorney or a firm staff member will conduct an initial interview with you to gather the basic facts of the case. These facts are used to help determine if the firm will take your case.
In fact, approximately thirty percent of claimants who file for disability will be approved on their initial claim and will never see a hearing office or an administrative law judge. Prior to a disability hearing, a disabled individual may be approved for disability...
I always spend some time talking with my clients after a Social Security disability hearing to discuss how the hearing went. It is a chance to look back and tell the client what was good (and bad), and give a prognosis. There is a great deal at stake at these hearings, and I want the client to return home with a fair idea of the probable result.
Retroactive benefits might go back to the date you first suffered a disability—or up to a year before the day you applied for benefits. For SSI, back pay goes back to the date of your original application for benefits.
Unfortunately, a settlement amount in a personal injury case will reduce or terminate Supplemental Security Income (SSI) once you received the settlement payout.
While the DDS office reviews applications and makes recommendations to the SSA, it is the SSA which makes the final decision to accept or reject claims for disability benefits.
Unfortunately, your odds are even lower for getting your benefits approved on the first appeal—about 12%. If you move on to the next level of appeal, which involves a hearing before an administrative law judge (ALJ), your chances for approval increase significantly—more than 55%.
Receiving a settlement should not impact your SSDI benefits because it doesn't qualify as income, which SSA considers when deciding what you're eligible to receive. This differs from SSI (Social Security Income), where lawsuit settlements count towards the eligibility threshold.
Individuals who receive Social Security Disability (SSDI) have essentially met eligibility requirements by paying into the social security system and being classified as disabled by the Social Security Administration's standards. A personal injury settlement will not affect SSDI benefits.
It's possible to be denied SSI but approved for SSDI. Both have the same medical requirements. They differ in technical requirements. For SSI, you need to be below an income limit while for SSDI, you need a specific number of work credits based on your age.
Tips to Improve Your Chances of Getting Disability BenefitsFile Your Claim as Soon as Possible. ... Make an Appeal within 60 Days. ... Provide Full Details of Medical Treatment. ... Provide Proof of Recent Treatment. ... Report your Symptoms Accurately. ... Provide Medical Evidence. ... Provide Details of your Work History.More items...•
1. Arthritis. Arthritis and other musculoskeletal disabilities are the most commonly approved conditions for disability benefits. If you are unable to walk due to arthritis, or unable to perform dexterous movements like typing or writing, you will qualify.
Even if you are denied social security disability 3 times you may be able to appeal or submit a new application.
The only way to overturn a decision made by an ALJ is to file an appeal with the Appeals Council. You can file an appeal to the Appeals Council by sending the SSA a letter or submitting Form HA-520.
According to the Social Security Administration (SSA), the average acceptance rate of initial applications is 22 percent, and approximately 63 percent of SSDI applications are denied.
There are three main possible "theories" an attorney can use to do this. Your lawyer can: prove that your condition meets a disability "listing". prove that you "grid" out of all work (including not being able to do your past work) prove that your non-exertional limitations prevent you from working, or.
It is not unusual for attorneys to wait until a month before a disability hearing to first speak to a client. Up to that point, your only contact with the law firm may be with paralegals or staff members. Nonattorney staff members are generally responsible for making sure request for hearing deadlines are met and medical records are requested and received, and for communication with clients about pre-hearing matters.
At the disability hearing, your lawyer will ask you ask you a series of questions called "hypotheticals." These hypotheticals are designed to rule out the possibility that you can work any type of job due to the limitations imposed by your condition. For more information, see our article on how an attorney uses hypotheticals at a disability hearing. (Also, you may want to learn more in general about what to expect at your disability hearing .)
If your attorney thinks additional testing is needed to meet the listing, he or she may request that an SSA doctor examine you or that you schedule the necessary tests with your physician. If your condition does not seem likely to meet the listing, the attorney will look to other possible theories.
To prove you are not capable of sedentary work, your attorney will use the documented symptoms of your illness, the opinions of your treating doctors, your testimony, and any other objective medical evidence in your file to show why you can't do various sit-down jobs. For example, if your doctor has said that you can't lift more than 10 pounds or sit more than two hours per day, this will help prove that you are capable of "less than sedentary work," meaning that Social Security will have to find you disabled. (For more information, see our article on "less than sedentary" status.
First, your lawyer will review your denial letter from Social Security to get the agency's reasons it denied your claim so that these issues can be resolved in your favor. (For more information, see our article on denial notices .)
Because Social Security frequently dictates the type of exam needed to win a claim for disability, a legal professional will review your medical records to determine whether you need to undergo additional testing. The legal professional may ask the SSA to schedule a consultative examination (CE) with one of their doctors or ask that you get the required testing done on your own, if need be.
A Social Security disability hearing can be a nerve-wracking experience, especially for those unfamiliar with the process and those unrepresented by an attorney. Depending on the administrative law judge (ALJ), a hearing can be contentious and adversarial or relatively laid-back and easygoing. While you can always hope for the latter, it's best to prepare for the former. No matter the judge, your chances of success will definitely increase if you avoid these common pitfalls at your hearing.
Finally, the biggest mistake disability claimants make is to try to navigate the system alone. An experienced disability attorney can prepare you for your hearing and greatly increase your chances of being approved.
If you don't, the judge will assume that you aren't having any problems and are capable of working.
Again, and this cannot be stressed enough, if the ALJ asks whether, for example, your spouse is on disability benefits, you must answer honestly. You just don't need to offer the information if you're not asked about it.
At the same time, a disability hearing is not a job interview. You're at the hearing to talk about the day-to-day limitations that prevent you from working, so don't minimize your symptoms. Often people fear that the ALJ will think they're whining or complaining, but this worry is misguided. No matter what problems you're experiencing—ifyour back pain prevents you from doing housework, your anxiety keeps you from leaving the house—you must tell the ALJ. If you don't, the judge will assume that you aren't having any problems and are capable of working.
If the ALJ asks you a question directly, you absolutely must answer it honestly. But your duty to tell the truth does not require you to bring up information unsolicited that might be harmful to your case. Here are a couple general areas or statements to avoid unless you are specifically questioned about them.
Occasionally disability claimants (applicants) are tempted to exaggerate their medical problems at their hearing . This is a huge mistake. Losing credibility with the judge is the quickest way to torpedo an otherwise valid claim. Here's an example of the kind of exchange that will raise red flags with an ALJ:
The judge issues a bench decision. You know you have won your case, because the decision has already been made.
Ideally, at the end of the hearing the judge states that the claim will be granted, and that a written decision will be forthcoming. But that does not happen as often as it should, and applicants often leave the hearing office without knowing the outcome of their claim.
When a potential disability client contacts a Social Security disability law firm, a paralegal or assistant will usually do an "intake" interview with you, often by phone. The assistant will ask you questions about your age, your medical condition, how often you see your doctors, whether you've been hospitalized for your condition, and whether you are working. The law firm will then decide whether it's in their financial interest to take your case. Established law firms (as opposed to young solo lawyers just starting out) generally only take cases on which they have a solid chance of making an ample fee.
You might ask the attorney or paralegal you spoke to for details on why they don't think you have a good case. If it has to do with your medical records, recent work, substance use, or receipt of unemployment benefits, you can address these issues before continuing with your claim.
Here are some of the factors lawyers consider when they decide to take a case. Some of the factors, such as age or medical condition, you can't change, but with other factors, you might be able to take actions to make your case more attractive to a disability attorney.
Because medical records are complicated, and a lawyer isn't always in the best position to assess whether Social Security is likely to grant a medical allowance for a complex medical condition, lawyers often focus on other factors when deciding to take a case.
If you aren't currently seeing a doctor, and don't have a history over the past several years of seeing a doctor, you'll have a harder time finding a lawyer to take your case. Good medical records are probably the most important factor in getting an approval for benefits, and this is especially true for mental claims. If you aren't currently seeing a doctor or psychologist, start now, and try again to find a lawyer.
Some disability lawyers won't take your case until you've been denied benefits. They'd rather not help out at the application stage, but they'd be more than willing to represent you at the appeal hearing.
Having what appears to be a severe medical condition will obviously help convince a lawyer to take your case, but there are certain conditions that some lawyers don't like to see in your medical file. Fibromyalgia is one of them. Historically it's been difficult to get benefits for fibromyalgia, though it's gotten easier since Social Security published a ruling on the subject. Also, applying for fibromyalgia along with similar conditions, especially a lesser known condition like Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, may signal to Social Security that you still haven't received the proper diagnosis.
If you have been denied disability by Social Security, there is something you can do. Cox Disibility Law, LLC has been handling Social Security Disability cases for more than 30 years. If we can help you turn your disability denial into an approval, give us a call at 800-930-1205.
Few people understand that Social Security disability decisions are made by applying a standard legal formula, following five steps in order. If, at any step in the process, a judge can make decision to completely deny or allow disability, he or she will not continue on to assess the other factors.
If a person’s medical condition does not cause at least some work related restrictions, the judge will deny the claim at this step. However, few people are denied at this level, and the judge moves on to the next step
If the profile does not match up with any of those jobs, then the person is considered “disabled” under the law.
In fact, approximately thirty percent of claimants who file for disability will be approved on their initial claim ...
The exams are scheduled because SSA actually requires that recent, or current, medical evidence be available in the claimant’s file before they can be determined disabled and awarded disability benefits .
At a social security hearing, on the other hand, a disability judge, or ALJ (administrative law judge) will be much more likely to take the doctor’s qualified opinion into account and let it influence the outcome of the case.
Note: Consultative exams are generally scheduled by a disability examiner when a claimant has not been seen by a doctor for more than three months. The exams are scheduled because SSA actually requires that recent, or current, medical evidence be available in the claimant�s file before they can be determined disabled and awarded disability benefits .
In fact, approximately thirty percent of claimants who file for disability will be approved on their initial claim and will never see a hearing office or an administrative law judge. The flip side of this, of course, is that most claimants will need to go to a hearing, and will increase the chances of winning with good disability attorney ...
Generally, these short examinations do not lead to an approval for disability except in disability cases that involve the most severe conditions. The importance of describing your work history properly. You should also describe your past jobs thoroughly.
Social Security guidelines require disability examiners to give heavy weight to the opinions of treating physicians if their opinion is substantiated by objective medical evidence. However, having said this, and speaking as a former disability examiner, I should point out that disability examiners often disregard the opinion of a claimant�s treating physician. Which is unfortunate, but often the case.
Many judges do not make the decision on your disability claim the day you are in court. Although almost all Social Security disability hearings have a similar theme, many judges decide claims using a different process. Some Administrative Law Judges will have already looked over your file before the hearing. These judges then get testimony from the claimant and then make a decision. Other judges may not have looked at your record at all before the hearing and first take your testimony before looking at medical documentation. Mr. Lewis believes you can usually tell if the judge has looked at your record prior to the hearing based on the questions the judge asks the Social Security disability claimant.
Other judges may not have looked at your record at all before the hearing and first take your testimony before looking at medical documentation. Mr. Lewis believes you can usually tell if the judge has looked at your record prior to the hearing based on the questions the judge asks the Social Security disability claimant.
Remember your disability examiner or judge also looks into whether your medical record offers serious proof or whether you would be able to perform substantial gainful activity (SGA) or not and whether you would be a reliable employee at a simple entry-level job that you can do by working around your disability. For instance, if you previously worked as a bus conductor but are held on a wheelchair now, you could still perform some kind of substantial gainful activity such as being a clerk if you hold enough qualifications for that. So, these are all the things that may or may not tip the balance in your favor.
Lastly, since you cannot shop for judges and can look into their approval rates and other statistics, it might be beneficial if you work with a disability attorney to work with you on your case and remedy any weak points according to the expected evaluation by your attorney (about the judge).
If you have a disability attorney handling your case they might be able to quickly guess whether your disability case would be approved on not based on their experience with disability cases, they may know the reputation and temperament of the judge.
Remember you could look for the approval rate of judges but you can't change your administrative law judge. Even when you have been scheduled for a video teleconferencing disability hearing and if you, for some reason, change it to an in-person disability hearing, even then your judge will be kept the same to maintain transparency in your case. The SSA has this policy of the no-judge-shopping-rule, so all disability claimants get the same level of consultative evaluation. (only in some cases where the same ALJ is not able in your locality or if you are unable to travel to their locality, would the SSA change your judge).