DISABILITY SURVIVAL GUIDE: NORTH ALABAMA EDITION

  By Charles W. Forsythe - The Forsythe Firm in Huntsville An Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) has made a decision on your Social Security disability appeal hearing. The decision must now be sent to to a process called "Decision Writing" - where an attorney or paralegal will draft the formal binding decision, explaining the judge's legal rationale for the decision and explaining the mandatory 5-Step decision making process. The decision writing process translates a judge's ruling into a formal, legally binding document. It is a vital but time-consuming phase that ensures all medical evidence and vocational factors align with the law. A typical written decision will be 10 to 20 pages, thus very detailed.  It takes time to write one. There are many decisions ahead of yours and usually they are written in the order received. The step-by-step process breaks down as follows: The Judge’s Ruling & Instructions:  Following your hearing, the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) r...

  You often hear the negative about Social Security disability:  how hard it is to get, the long application process, the complicated rules, etc. There is a positive aspect of SSDI, however, that we may loose sight of: Over 50 percent of all claimants will receive benefits IF they follow all appeals to the end. While almost 75 percent of initial claims are denied and 90 percent of "reconsideration" appeals get denied, cases that go before an Administrative Law Judge have a much better success rate. If you persist and take your SSDI claim before a judge, you have between 50 - 58 percent chance of winning and being paid.  Most claimants will also collect substantial past due benefits or "back pay." Unfortunately, thousands of claimants give up after the first denial.  They receive a letter that says, "You are not disabled under our rules," and they quit.  this is a mistake. You must understand from the beginning that receiving Social Security disability bene...

  Do you believe you are disabled and entitled to monthly benefits from the Social Security Administration (called SSDI benefits, for "Social Security Disability Insurance)? Social Security's eligibility requirements are very strict. Here's a partial checklist to see if you meet the basic, technical requirements to receive a disability check:    1. You must not currently be working at "Substantial Gainful Activity" (SGA). In           2026 you must not be working and earning wages or self employment income                of at least $1,690 per month, gross wage You must be "insured" by the Social Security Act. Generally, you must have worked and paid FICA tax for at least 5 years out of the most recent 10-year period. This gives you the minimum "quarters of coverage" to be insured or covered for SSDI. You must have a "severe" medical and/or mental condition that keeps you from working and ...

When you file a claim for Social Security disability it comes down to 2 things: 1.  Can the judge pay the claim? 2.  Does he/she want to? There are a few cases where the judge really believes that you are disabled and deserving of benefits - but he/she can't legally pay you. Here are some of the reasons that Social Security may want to pay your claim but cannot: 1.  Your disability began after your Date Last Insured (DLI).  In simple terms, your SSDI coverage expired before you became disabled.  There is no coverage. 2.  You have not earned sufficient work credits, or "quarters of coverage" to be insured for SSDI.  Here, also, you have no coverage under Social Security Disability Insurance. 3.  Your impairment has not lasted for at least 12 consecutive months or you can't demonstrate that your condition is medically expected to last for at least 12 straight months.  There is no short term benefit. 4.  You have returned to work at "Substa...