Skip to main content

10 WAYS TO WIN A SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY CLAIM HUNTSVILLE AL


How do you win a Social Security disability claim in Alabama?

By the Forsythe Firm in Huntsville

1.  Realize what you are trying to prove:  that you are no longer able to work.  This is the gist of Social Security disability claims.

2.  Be sure your application is completed fully and accurately.

3.  Return all forms and requests for information promptly.

4.  Be sure to supply Social Security with complete names/addresses/phones for ALL your doctors, clinics, hospitals, and other providers, going back 24 months.  They only contact the medical providers you tell them about.

5.  Describe your past work for the past 15 years on your WORK HISTORY REPORT.  Social Security will send you this report after you apply for disability.  Describe the walking, standing, lifting, etc. you did on each job. Few claimants fill out the Work History Report fully or correctly.  It's tedious and may not make sense to you, but failing to fill it out properly and fully will cause a denial.

6.  Fill out the FUNCTION REPORT fully.  This is also a form that will be mailed to you after you submit your application.  Most claimants do not take this form seriously.  You must!  Take your time and fill it out correctly. (My firm offers a free document:  Tips for the Function Report.

7.  DON'T EXAGGERATE.  Don't try to amplify your symptoms.

8.  DON'T MINIMIZE by making your symptoms seem less severe than they really are.  I would say 80% of the applications I review either exaggerate or minimize symptoms, probably without meaning to.

9.  If Social Security schedules a consultative physical or psychological exam for you, attend and be on time.  In fact,  be 15 minutes early.

10.  Consider getting a disability lawyer.  A US Government study finds that you are about 3X as likely to be approved if you use a lawyer.  Source:  Study by the Government Accountability Office (GAO).

________________

To get a FREE consultation with the Forsythe Firm please call (256) 0297. All our work is free until you are approved and receive your back pay. If you don't get approved we will not receive any fee.  Our firm is rated A+ by the Better Business Bureau.

Email us at:  forsythefirm@gmail.com

 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

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...

MISTAKES THAT RUIN A SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY APPLICATION

MISTAKES THAT RUIN A SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY APPLICATION  The paperwork for Social Security disability is daunting:  page after page of never-ending questions.  But, since most applications will be denied, it behooves you to complete the application correctly.  Here are some mistakes on your Social Security disability application that may ruin your claim.   Failing to Fill Out the Forms —The Social Security Administration (SSA) will send you a lot of forms to fill out. It’s up to you to make sure that you fill out every part of those forms correctly.  Don’t forget: if a question doesn’t apply to you, put “not applicable” or “N/A” in the provided space.   Do not leave anything blank. Return all forms within 10 days. If you don't your application may be discarded or withdrawn. Writing Illegibly —If your case reviewer can’t read your answers, then he/she can’t really say that you answered that question. Be sure the  answers to questions are nea...