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BEST WAY TO BE APPROVED FOR SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY (SSDI)

If you have worked at least 5 of the past 10 years, you are probably covered by Social Security disability--a US government program to help totally disabled persons who can no longer work.

While you are technically "covered" by Social Security based on paying into the system for years, being approved for benefits is difficult and time consuming.

The difficulty is proving that you are "disabled according to our rules."  It's Social Security's rules at are tough to get past.

For claimants under the age of 50, here's their definition of disability:  You have a severe medical or mental impairment that prevents you from working any full-time job which exists the US economy. (Not local economy, the US economy).

The hard part is the word "any."  You can't do ANY job.  That includes unskilled sedentary jobs that require no training or education (maybe not even the ability to read or write).  It includes very low-paying jobs where you can work sitting down and never lift  more than 10 pounds.  Examples:  ticket taker, toll booth operator, parking garage attendant, small parts inspector...." on and on.

In a hearing, you will face a professional vocational counselor who will testify that there are thousands of easy jobs available in the national economy.  So, it's very easy to lose benefits.

So, what's the best way to get approved?  Get professional help from an advocate or attorney who knows the rules, understands what Social Security is looking for, and knows how to provide the evidence for a fully favorable decision. 

There are basically 3 was to victory with Social Security:

1.  Meet one of their published Listings.  Very difficult.

2.  Qualify under a Medical-Vocational Guideline or "grid rule," if you are age 50 or over.

3.  Present objective medical evidence that your functional limitations will prevent you from doing even simple, sedentary, unskilled work.  In short, prove that you can't do the sitting, lifting, bending, reaching or concentration required of those "easy" jobs.

That may sound easy, but it isn't.  You will face a skeptical judge and a vocational witness who sympathizes with the judge, in most cases.  You will face a system that denies a majority of claims.  Winning is an exception, not a rule.

The sooner you can involve an experienced advocate/attorney in your case, the better your odds are.  Government data shows that claimants with an attorney/advocate win 60 percent of claims, but claimants without and attorney/advocate only win 31 percent of claims.  That's a 2-to-1 difference.

The best way to win?  Get competent help right away.

__________________

Charles W. Forsythe is an experienced, successful partner with the Forsythe Firm in Huntsville, AL.  He has decades of experience in Social Security disability claims, appeals and hearings.  (256) 503-8151 or (256) 799-0297. 

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