New Disability Facts

[Guest guest]

I am posting this information to give some background on the

Disability process, and for interest.

The Social Security Administration in the USA employees 56,000

workers. Plus the Office of Hearings and Appeals (seperate from the

SSA) employees 8,000 people.

There are 1,000 Administrative Law Judges in the USA. (These are the

men and women who hold 'hearings' on disability cases that have been

turned down two times. There are about 130 or so Hearings offices in

the USA. (Sometimes however, a Hearing may be held at a hotel or

other place, which allows the Judge to get out to rural areas so

people in those areas don't have so far to travel). If you have been denied

benefits twice and are waiting for a hearing, make sure your attorney knows

your case so well and can find exactly what is missing for a favorable decision.

There are 27 Administrative Appeals Judges. (This is at the Appeals

Council step, and hopefully no one will have to go this far because

cases are usually 'remanded' back to the ALJ with an unfavorable

decision).

The SSDI (Social Security Disability Insurance) process is a 5 step

sequential evaluation process for determining awardance of benefits.

New regulations are in place for 2006 and among them are conditions

for workers 50 and over who apply for SSDI and workers who are

younger than 50 who apply for benefits. There is a rigidity of rule-

following.

SSDI applications cannot be made until a worker has stopped working

and is unable to work; has an impairment (Listed in the 'Listing of

Impairments' that is expected to last 12 months or more or result in

death; the claimant has a 'severe' impairment; residual functioning

capacity (RFC)is determined with what the claimant can still do even

with impairments; medical and vocational evaluation is given to

substiantiate the claim,, and what past revelant work the claimant

has done.

Most people are awarded benefits after the 3rd stage and found to

be 'disabled' by Social Security's definition of 'disability'.

A consultative examination (by a doctor employed by SSA is part of

the 'process'. This doctor reviews your medical history, asks

questions, may ask you questions about why you are applying for

disability, why you think you are unable to work, and may order

additional tests, example X rays of feet/back/hips, etc.

SSA also classifies work as 'skilled' or 'unskilled'. For purposes of

the Medical-Vocatiional Guidelines, semiskilled and skilled work are

treated as one category. Transferability of work skills is also

considered.

To every young person out there, it is recommended that the day you

turn 16 (or whatever the legal work age is in your state) that you go

out and get a job. A job where part of your earnings is paid into

Social Security. Save all your pay stubs. Save your tax returns.

Sometimes SSA screws up and has the wrong information on your Social

Security number. You might one day need these files. And if you are a young

person without a Social Security number, get one. Contact your local field

office for information about how to apply for an SS#,

The latest news is that there are so many disability cases in the

State of Ohio, that some of those cases are being transferred to

Administrative Law Judges in California. Exactly how that is going to

work, we are waiting on, since claimants AND their attorneys need to

attend hearings. Whether the actual hearings will be in Ohio or

California has not been determined.

The Social Security Administration is a bureacracy. Always be polite

to whomever you speak to, or work with, make notes and write down the

person's name.

The Office of Hearings and Appeals is more friendly, and generally

easier to deal with.

If you have been denied benefits twice, get an attorney who

specializes in this work. There are plenty. I will post good places

to find reputable attorneys next. An attorney is limited to the

amount of payment which she/he may collect from your case - if you

win. That is $5,300.

This is interesting work/study I am doing and is going very well. I'm

learning from the best and brightest, hitting the books, and picking

the brains of the most talented attorneys who WIN their cases.

~ Gretchen