A client with long-haul COVID symptoms was recently awarded Social Security disability benefits at the initial stage of review. That was great news. But when Social Security allows a disability claim at the initial or reconsideration level of review, they
Latest from Social Security Disability Lawyer Blog
What you Need to Know
Social Security has started sending a paper booklet along with the Notice of Award letter to those whose claims for Social Security disability benefits have been granted. The booklet is entitled “What You Need to Know When You Get
“I’m not the person I used to be”
I’m not the person I used to be.
Social Security disability applicants sometimes tell me this when I meet with them to discuss their claims. At the hearing, I will ask them to explain to the judge why they are
Review your Fully Favorable decisions
When I see that a Social Security disability case has been closed, I review the ALJ decision online long before the paper copy arrives in the mail. For unfavorable decisions, of course you are looking at the reasoning of the
What is a Medically Determinable Impairment?
Social Security requires a medically determinable physical or mental impairment as the basis for a finding of disability. The “medically determinable” language is part of the definition of disability in the Social Security Act itself. See 42 U.S.C. 423(d)(1)(A).
The impairment(s) must
The best time to draft an Appeals Council Request for Review
We all lose a disability claim now and then. When the claim really should have been granted, the next step is drafting a Request for Review for the Appeals Council. Like most appeals of Social Security disability claims, there is
Composite work – DDS sometimes gets it wrong
Sometimes a prior job is actually more than one job at the same time. You were both a carpenter and a work site supervisor. Your were a front desk clerk at a hotel, but also cleaned rooms and sometimes carried
Transferability of Skills – Summary
A series of recent posts here on the blog have taken a closer look at transferability of acquired job skills.
Transferability of skills is an issue when all four of the following are true:
1. Transferability is material to
Fee Cap will be raised to $7,200
Social Security regulates the fees paid to those repesesenting disability claimants before the SSA. A contingency fee of 25% is permitted, and charged by pretty much everyone who does this type of work.
For those using the fee agreement process
Headed to Austin
I will be attending the annual NOSSCR Conference in Austin, Texas this week. NOSSCR is a critically important organization for those of us who represent clients before the Social Security Administration, and I am happy to be a sustaining