The conventional wisdom is that if you have drug and alcohol problems you cannot get Social Security disability benefits. As with almost everything regarding Social Security disability, the conventional wisdom is wrong. The reality is that you can get disability benefits even if you suffer from drug and alcohol problems. In 1996 Congress passed legislation prohibiting the award of Social Security disability or SSI benefits on Read Full Article » Drugs, Alcohol, & Social Security Disability
The conventional wisdom is that if you have drug and alcohol problems you cannot get Social Security disability benefits. As with almost everything regarding Social Security disability, the conventional wisdom is wrong. The reality is that you can get disability benefits even if you suffer from drug and alcohol problems. In 1996 Congress passed legislation prohibiting the award of Social Security disability or SSI benefits on Read Full Article » Children and Social Security Disability
Can children receive Social Security disability? Yes. There are three basic ways in which children can receive some type of disability benefits from Social Security: 1. The first is by receiving disability benefits under the earnings record of their parents. In other words, if a child’s parents become disabled or die, the child can collect disability benefits under the parents’ Read Full Article » What is the Best Social Security Disability Firm For Me?
This is a decision only you can make, but here are some of the things you want to consider. I believe that the most important thing to consider is whether the firm you are hiring does federal court litigation. What Does That Mean and Why Is It Important? As we noted in prior articles, the Social Security disability adjudicative system Read Full Article » Appeals to The Federal Court: You Need to Be Doing It
For many disability representatives (non-attorneys and attorneys alike), if an application is denied by an ALJ and the Appeals Council does not grant review, then the claim is effectively dead. That shouldn’t be the case. In order to best represent your clients, federal court appeals must be part of your overall strategy. I want to briefly describe the federal court Read Full Article » The Economic Crisis and Social Security Disability
Times Are Hard People are losing their jobs and new ones are not being created. It does not look like things will be getting better any time soon. So what does this mean for the Social Security disability system? I have some very definite opinions on that based on my many years of experience both inside SSA and as a Read Full Article » The 3 Most Common Mistakes in Social Security Disability Cases
I am often asked what are the most common mistakes I have seen in Social Security disability cases. I can think of quite a few cases where mistakes were made and deserving people got no benefits. There are three common mistakes people make in these cases.I want to highlight these mistakes because they are entirely too common, even though they Read Full Article » How Long Do I Have to Be Out of Work Before I Can Claim Disability?
This is a more complex question than it may seem at first, but I will try to explain my answer in some detail. To begin with, your inability to work must be due to medical problems, whether physical or mental. In other words, no matter how long you are out of work, you cannot get disability unless your inability to Read Full Article » How Social Security Determines Disability
In order to qualify for Social Security Disability (SSD) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) you must meet certain technical qualifications. I have written about these technical requirements before, so I will only briefly touch on them here. For SSD you generally will have to have worked for 10 years in this country while paying taxes. For SSI, you must meet Read Full Article » I Don’t Go to The Doctor. Can I Get Disability?
Probably not. If you do not treat regularly for your medical problems, you probably cannot win your case. There are some rare instances where this is not true. But generally you must be seeking active treatment for your condition to be considered disabled. Many clients come to my office complaining of what they say are terrible medical problems. I ask Read Full Article » The Importance of Medical Treatment in Disability Cases
When you seek to obtain Social Security disability or Supplemental Security Income benefits, you need to be seeing your doctors regularly for whatever physical or mental problems you are having. Think about this: there are nearly 3,000,000 new applications for disability every year. If the Social Security Administration (SSA) gave out benefits just based on people saying they are disabled Read Full Article » 
