Both a person's assets and current income will be evaluated before any real work is done on a disability case. If a person is found to have too much in assets or earnings, the claim will never make it onto the desk of a disability examiners, examiners being the case processing specialists that make decisions on SSDI and SSI claims for the ...
Assuming a claimant s case does not fall under the first two examples, the disability applicant needs to have a realistic idea about how much effort they want to put into the process of getting disability benefits. For most claimants the disability process will be time-consuming, difficult, confusing and challenging.
Texas Law. Requires State Agencies and institutions of higher education to provide persons and employees with disabilities access comparable to access and use provided to the public and State employees without disabilities for the following: telephones and other telecommunications products. information kiosks. transaction machines. internet ...
In other words, disability attorneys will risk their own (or their firm's) money only when a medical exam could realistically turn a losing case into a winning one. In most circumstances, the client is required to reimburse the attorney for the costs of the exam if he or she is approved, and sometimes, even if denied.
Filing for social security can be a complicated and long process. Here are some common mistakes to avoid. The Social Security Disability Benefits process is frustrating for most people. You have to fill out numerous forms, talk to numerous people about your disability...
Checking the status of your Social Security disability claim can help speed up your case. Here's some advice from a former examiner on applying for and winning your SSDI or SSI disability case. Only certain types of doctors are allowed to make disability decisions on certain types of claims.
Oftentimes the consulting doctor specializes in an area of medicine completely unrelated to your alleged impairment, and performs a perfunctory exam that lasts fifteen minutes or less .
If your file contains insufficient medical evidence, in many cases Disability Determination Services (DDS) will arrange for you to attend a consultative examination (CE) with a doctor paid by Social Security. With few exceptions, the physicians who perform the "independent" disability exams for Social Security rarely write reports favorable ...
If you're filing for disability benefits because you're unable to work, Social Security requires that your impairments be documented with medical evidence. The strength of a disability claim often depends on the nature and quantity of the medical treatment received. In some cases, however, an individual may be found disabled even ...
Consultative examinations are status examinations performed by doctors or medical professionals (psychologists would be included when the CE, or consultative exam, involves mental testing) paid for by Social Security.
This is provided, of course, that the doctor is a “ treating physician ”, meaning a doctor who has a history of providing treatment to a patient versus a doctor that a patient has only seen once or twice (such as would be the case involving a quick visit to an urgent care).
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.
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.
For SSDI, if you haven't worked for a numbers of years, meaning your " date last insured " is in the past, a lawyer won't likely take your case—unless you might be eligible for disability through SSI. For SSI, if you have significant income or assets, a lawyer won't be interested in your case. A lawyer might also try to estimate the amount of backpay you'll receive, as lawyers' fees are paid out of your backpay.
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.
Whether There Is Substance Abuse. Most lawyers will not take clients with a current substance abuse problem, unless their medical conditions are extremely severe and quitting the alcohol or drug use very clearly wouldn't make their problems less disabling.
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.
If you filed a request for a disability hearing, you may not hear anything for many months. In fact, most Social Security disability hearing offices are so backlogged with cases that it takes over a year, or more, to get an administrative law judge hearing. However, it is still worth it to check on the status of your case at least once ...
The next level of appeal (in most states) is a hearing before an administrative law judge (ALJ). Once a disability claimant submits a request for hearing, the claim is no longer with the DDS; it has gone to the hearing office, called the Office of Hearings Operations (OHO), where it awaits a hearing date. (This office was formerly called the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (ODAR).)
ALJ Hearing (Second Appeal) The next level of appeal (in most states) is a hearing before an administrative law judge (ALJ). Once a disability claimant submits a request for hearing, the claim is no longer with the DDS; it has gone to the hearing office, called the Office of Hearings Operations (OHO), where it awaits a hearing date.
A claims rep can usually provide a general update on your case, as to where it is in the process, but will not be able to give you much detail on when a decision will be handed down or whether there are any obstacles holding it up.