WHAT IT TAKES TO WIN DISABILITY BENEFITS IN 2016
In 2010, 62 percent of persons who went before a judge got their Social Security disability benefits. In 2015, that number was 42 percent. It's harder than ever!
In 2016, here is a very general idea of what you must prove to get disability benefits:
AGE 50 OR OVER - You must prove that you are unable to perform any job that you have held within the past 15 years--called your "past relevant work." You must have objective and convincing medical evidence to prove this.
UNDER AGE 50 - You must prove that you can't perform any of your past work but also that there is NO WORK (of any kind) in the US economy that you can perform. This includes light and sedentary work and unskilled, minimum wage types of jobs.
The 2 best reasons not to walk into a disability hearing alone? An administrative law judge and a vocational expert. These are trained, experienced professionals. While they will try to give you a fair and thorough hearing, if you aren't familiar with the rules, regulations and procedures that they follow, you are ill equipped to deal with them.
The administrative law judge turns to the vocational witness and says:
"Assume that we have an individual the same age, with the same education and past work experience as the claimant. Further assume that this individual is limited to a full range of light work; can lift 10 pounds frequently and 20 pounds occasionally. The individual can stand and/or walk for a total of 6 hours out of an 8 hour day and can sit for a total of 6 hours out of an 8 hour day. This individual would need a sit stand option for a few minutes each hour while continuing to work. He would be able to frequently bend, crouch, balance and stoop but would be limited to only occasional crawl. He should avoid exposure to unprotected heights and dangerous moving machinery and should avoid concentrated exposure to temperature extremes, dust, fumes or other pulmonary irritants. The individual can maintain concentration, persistence and pace to adequately perform duties for 2 hour intervals and well enough to complete and 8 hour workday. Would this individual be able to perform any of his past relevant work? Is there any other work in the national economy that this individual would be able to perform?
The Vocational Witness Responds to Question A - "Yes, the past work of light product assembly would be available." In this example, the case is lost at Step 4 because the claimant can perform one of his/her past relevant jobs. This is a denial.
The Vocational Witness might respond: "No. No past relevant work is available because of the restriction to light exertion. However, there are other jobs in the light, unskilled category that could be performed. Examples of these jobs would include (1) Garment Sorter, DOT Number _______. There are 1400 of these jobs in Alabama and 32,000 in the national economy. (2) Another example would be a Toy Stuffer, DOT Code _______. There are 200 such jobs in Alabama and 72,000 in the national economy. (3) A third example would be Garment Tagger, DOT Code _____. There are 1,950 of these jobs in the state of Alabama and 323,297 in the national economy.
In this example, the claimant is denied at Step 5 - because he/she can perform some other type of work that is performed in the US economy. It matters not that
Walking into a Social Security disability hearing unrepresented takes a real act of courage. And this doesn't start to address the wisdom issue. Unless you are an attorney or a trained and well experienced disability advocate, it is very, very unwise to attend a hearing unrepresented.
In 2016, here is a very general idea of what you must prove to get disability benefits:
AGE 50 OR OVER - You must prove that you are unable to perform any job that you have held within the past 15 years--called your "past relevant work." You must have objective and convincing medical evidence to prove this.
UNDER AGE 50 - You must prove that you can't perform any of your past work but also that there is NO WORK (of any kind) in the US economy that you can perform. This includes light and sedentary work and unskilled, minimum wage types of jobs.
The 2 best reasons not to walk into a disability hearing alone? An administrative law judge and a vocational expert. These are trained, experienced professionals. While they will try to give you a fair and thorough hearing, if you aren't familiar with the rules, regulations and procedures that they follow, you are ill equipped to deal with them.
The administrative law judge turns to the vocational witness and says:
"Assume that we have an individual the same age, with the same education and past work experience as the claimant. Further assume that this individual is limited to a full range of light work; can lift 10 pounds frequently and 20 pounds occasionally. The individual can stand and/or walk for a total of 6 hours out of an 8 hour day and can sit for a total of 6 hours out of an 8 hour day. This individual would need a sit stand option for a few minutes each hour while continuing to work. He would be able to frequently bend, crouch, balance and stoop but would be limited to only occasional crawl. He should avoid exposure to unprotected heights and dangerous moving machinery and should avoid concentrated exposure to temperature extremes, dust, fumes or other pulmonary irritants. The individual can maintain concentration, persistence and pace to adequately perform duties for 2 hour intervals and well enough to complete and 8 hour workday. Would this individual be able to perform any of his past relevant work? Is there any other work in the national economy that this individual would be able to perform?
The Vocational Witness Responds to Question A - "Yes, the past work of light product assembly would be available." In this example, the case is lost at Step 4 because the claimant can perform one of his/her past relevant jobs. This is a denial.
The Vocational Witness might respond: "No. No past relevant work is available because of the restriction to light exertion. However, there are other jobs in the light, unskilled category that could be performed. Examples of these jobs would include (1) Garment Sorter, DOT Number _______. There are 1400 of these jobs in Alabama and 32,000 in the national economy. (2) Another example would be a Toy Stuffer, DOT Code _______. There are 200 such jobs in Alabama and 72,000 in the national economy. (3) A third example would be Garment Tagger, DOT Code _____. There are 1,950 of these jobs in the state of Alabama and 323,297 in the national economy.
In this example, the claimant is denied at Step 5 - because he/she can perform some other type of work that is performed in the US economy. It matters not that
- the claimant is not interested in doing this kind of work.
- the jobs only pay minimum wage and the claimant can't live on that wage.
- there are no openings for workers in any of these jobs at the present time.
- all of the "other work" would involve a move to another state.
- the claimant has a college degree and is qualified for much better paying jobs.
Walking into a Social Security disability hearing unrepresented takes a real act of courage. And this doesn't start to address the wisdom issue. Unless you are an attorney or a trained and well experienced disability advocate, it is very, very unwise to attend a hearing unrepresented.
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