I have been to court with many clients who become angry with the vocational expert in their Social Security Disability hearing. This often comes with claims that the VE was desperately trying to find jobs the claimant could perform. The truth is that while the VE is paid by the Social Security Administration, they are […]
Social Security uses a sequential evaluation process that essentially acts like a flow chart for SSDI and adult SSI cases; meaning if you pass one step, you move on to the next evaluation. The steps are broken down below: Step 1 – Work Is the claimant earning enough money working to be considered “substantial gainful […]
When most people think about court or a hearing, their mind immediately pictures a Law & Order episode: massive courtroom, dozens of people watching, and plenty of lawyers yelling at each other and witnesses. Thankfully, a Social Security Disability hearing is nothing like what you see on television. A Disability hearing is much more relaxed. […]
I have had a couple conversations in the last few weeks with people who cannot work, but do not qualify for Social Security Disability. This is a very difficult concept to understand, and even more difficult to accept. As I have said before, there are two different kinds of Social Security Disability. One is SSI, […]
Social Security designates 6 different circumstances in which a Disability hearing may be expedited. Below I have generally outlined these unique situations. Remember that this is just an outline and for more detailed descriptions of when a hearing can be expedited, you should call Social Security or visit their website: Terminal Illness: For people whose […]
Generally speaking, no, a person cannot receive both Social Security Retirement payments and Social Security Disability payments. The reason for this, in theory, is that an individual is either not working because he is disabled or he is not working because he is retired (not both). In fact, if you receive Social Security disability, you […]
It is not uncommon for people applying for Social Security Disability to have collected some sort of income on unemployment. It these difficult economic times, people who cannot work need to find any sort of income to pay their bills so it is certainly understandable. However, it is possible that this may affect eligibility for […]
It’s a tough situation in which to find yourself. You’ve worked hard your entire life, and yet a recent injury or illness has made it impossible for you to continue. Your only solution seems to be filing for Social Security Disability. Then you have to hear on the news or from people on the street […]
I met an out of town couple about a month ago who had a teenage son with Autism. Their financial situation wasn’t dire so they had never seriously looked into Social Security Disability. But after finding out I was a Disability attorney, they had a million questions for me about whether their son would qualify. […]
I spoke with a woman recently who was considering filing for Social Security Disability. She had just asked a lawyer in their extended family to help them with their Disability claim. So this begs the question: Can any lawyer handle a Social Security Disability claim? Technically, yes. Lawyers are trained to consider rules and analyze […]