HOW TO get SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY

How to Get Social Security Disability Benefits

1. Make sure your application is complete. It takes hours to complete a good SSDI application.

Most applications that I review are inadequate. Too many blank lines.

2. Provide full contact information for all your doctors, clinics, ERs, therapists or other treatment providers. Social Security only gets the records you tell them about.

3. Keep a record of all medical appointments AFTER you apply and make Social Security aware of them. Update Social Security. They only get the records you ask them to get! If you don't tell them about new medical appointments, they don't know.

4. Continue to see your doctor(s) regularly.

5. Return all forms sent to you promptly--and be sure they are done right.

6. Correctly state your ability to function on the Function Report. State how you are restricted or limited in your daily activities.

7. Follow up with Disability Determination Service (DDS) to be sure they get all your medical records. Call them about once a month for a status report.

8. Attend any consultative examinations Social Security/DDS schedules for you.

9. Appeal any unfavorable decision within the strict 60 days deadline.

10. Consider getting a professional attorney or advocate to help you. The US government says that only 31 percent of claimants win without representation, but 60 percent win if they are represented.

It's easy to get in over your head in Social Security disability. It's complicated, laden with rules and laws, uses confusing terms and definitions, and it's established to deny cases, not to approve them. For instance, at the initial application level, about 7 out of 10 claims will be denied. At the second stage, called "Reconsideration," the denial rate is more dismal with only about 15 percent being approved. You have a right to a hearing as the "third level" of review. At the hearing, you odds are about 50/50. So, be sure to have a hearing.

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IS IT HARD TO GET SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY IN TENNESSEE?

How hard is it to get Social Security disability (SSDI) in Tennessee? It can be very difficult. In the beginning stages of the process, it seems like the agency is out to deny as many claims as possible. Later--in the appeals process--it takes more technical and legal skill to move through the labyrinth of obstacles. What's the usual reason for an SSDI denial? If you look at all the denial letters, the most comm on reason given is: You are not disabled according to our rules. The 2 main explanation for finding claimants not disabled are: 1. You are able to perform some of your past relevant work. 2. You can't perform any of your past work but you are able to do other work. Those are the two "catch all" reasons Social Security gives for nearly all of their denials. Both of these reasons fall into the category of a medical denial . The claimant's condition is not deemed severe enough to prevent all work. There are other reasons for d...

WHAT YOU WILL BE ASKED AT A DISABILITY HEARING

Most Social Security disability claims will be denied twice: First at the end of the Application process, and again after the "Reconsideration" process. The third stop will be a hearing before a federal Administrative Law Judge (ALJ). It is here at the hearing level that most SSDI claims are paid. So, what do you need to know about your Social Security disability hearing? First, the judge will follow the rules established by the Social Security Administration. His or her job is to determine whether you meet the particular laws and rules to receive disability payments. So, it is a legal proceeding where you must prove certain things in order to get paid. Among the things you must prove: Your insured status with Social Security: You have worked recently enough and paid into the Social Security trust fund to gain the required "work credits" to support your claim. You have a severe medical or mental impairment supported by adequa...

CAN YOU WIN YOUR DISABILITY APPEAL WITHOUT A LAWYER?

The Social Security Administration does not require you to have a lawyer to file an appeal or to appear at a hearing. However, most people heading for a disability hearing will hire a lawyer or advocate to help them. Studies have shown that you are about twice as likely to win with a lawyer. A recent study found that claimants with no lawyer win about 30 percent of the time while claimants with a lawyer or advocate win 60 percent of the time. " He just cooked his own goose." These statistics cover only one aspect of a disability appear--your odds of winning. The other important aspects are time and convenience. If you prepare and adjudicate your own disability appeal, expect to spend 12 to 24 months working on the case. You will be collecting, reading and submitting hundreds or thousands of pages of medical records. These records are complex and often difficult to understand. And you must know how each medical record helps (or hurts) your dis...

DISABILITY SURVIVAL GUIDE: NORTH ALABAMA EDITION

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