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USING GRID RULES TO WIN SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY

Grid Rules help claimants age 50 and over get approved for Social Security disability (SSDI) benefits.

The grids take into consideration the claimant's age, education, past work experience and residual functional capacity (RFC).

By combining all these factors in the chart or "grid," Social Security determines if an older individual meets their rules for disability benefits.

Grids work especially well when the claimant is age 55 or over ("advanced age"), has no sedentary or skilled work within 15 years, and is restricted to either sedentary or light exertion levels.

 After your attorney is able to get past steps 1 through 3 of the sequential decision making process, a grid rule will often indicate "disability/award" at Step 4.  Here are the steps I'm talking about:

1.  Is the claimant now working at substantial gainful activity?  (Translation:  Is the claimant now working and earning wages of at least $1,350 per month)?  If no, continue to Step 2.

2.  Does the claimant have a medically determined impairment that has lasted at least 12 straight months, is expected to last 12 straight months or longer, OR to result in death?  If yes, proceed to Step 3.

3.  Does the claimant meet a published Listing?  If not, what is the claimant's residual functional capacity?  In other words, is he/she restricted to work at the sedentary, light or medium level?

4.  Can the claimant perform any of his/her past relevant work?  That is, is the claimant able to perform any of the full-time jobs that he/she performed during the past 15 year period?  If not, the grids will usually direct a finding of "disabled" at Step 4 and an award will be made.

This keeps the claimant out of the rough, dangerous waters of Step 5:  "Can the claimant perform any job that exists in significant numbers in the US economy? It is obviously difficult to prove that a claimant can't perform an unskilled sedentary job that requires no training or experience. Nobody wants to enter Step 5 because it is the most demanding part of the decision making process.  It's much better to use the grid rules and win the case at Step 4.

The first time I looked at the grid rules many years ago, I thought they were the most confusing data I had ever read.  But after using the grids for  years, they not only become familiar but also the advocate's best friend.  They allow you to win SSDI cases that otherwise could probably not be won.

_________

 Charles Forsythe is a founding partner of the Forsythe Firm in Huntsville, AL.  The firm has successfully represented Social Security disability claimants for decades.

 

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