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Applying for Social Security disability benefits can be a frustrating and time-consuming experience. The Social Security Administration, or SSA, provides monthly disability benefits to individuals who have a mental or physical impairment that prevents them from maintaining a job. However, the SSA denies the majority of disability benefit applications. Fortunately, you can appeal the SSA’s denial if you disagree with the SSA’s determination regarding your condition. First, you can request a reconsideration of your application. If your application is denied after the request for reconsideration, you can request an Administrative Hearing before an Administrative Law Judge, or ALJ. The Administrative Hearing is an informal hearing, which usually occurs in a room similar to a conference room. You and your Ocala…Read More

It is very rare that a Social Security disability claim does not require the testimony of good lay witnesses in order to be successful. Truthful and realistic testimony from a non-expert witness can end up being a major part of the administrative law judge’s decision following your Social Security disability hearing. Selecting the right witnesses is important in ensuring the best possible outcome for you. Your Ocala disability lawyer can help you to decide who would be best. The most common people who serve as lay witnesses are spouses, adult children, relatives, close friends, and sometimes even minor children. As it is not in your best interest to have all of your family members and friends testify, your Ocala disability…Read More

An Ocala disability lawyer can help you prepare for your Social Security disability hearing. If you cannot work, you may be asked about your ability to do the following: Follow instructions; Make decisions in a workplace setting; Deal with supervisors, co-workers, and clients or customers; and React well to changes in your environment. You may be asked about the stresses in your life and how you react to them. It’s not unusual for different people to find different things stressful. Thus, if the administrative law judge asks you about how well you deal with stress, be sure to explain exactly what sorts of things stress you out, especially at work. Many people find it difficult to describe exactly what it…Read More

If you suffer from a physical or mental condition that prevents you from working to support yourself and your family, you may be eligible to receive Social Security disability benefits. The Social Security Administration, or SSA, provides monthly disability benefits to eligible individuals. However, the SSA establishes the criterion for determining whether you are eligible to receive disability benefits. If you feel as though your condition may qualify, discuss the application procedure with an experienced Ocala disability lawyer. An Ocala disability lawyer will review your condition and provide insight into whether she believes you are eligible. Generally, the older the applicant is, the less evidence the applicant will have to show regarding their inability to perform work. For example, if…Read More

The Social Security Administration bases your disability determination largely on your description of your pain. No matter what level of the application or appeals process you are at, you will need to be able to provide detailed estimates regarding the frequency, duration, and severity of your pain and other symptoms. When describing the frequency of your pain, you must not give vague answer such as “once in a while.” “Once in a while” could mean anything from once a week to once a year. Provide a solid time frame for your estimate: “A few times a week” is much better than “sometimes.” If your pain is irregular, you must take the time to find a way to convey an accurate…Read More

If you have applied for Social Security disability benefits and been rejected, an Ocala disability attorney may be able to help you through the appeal process. This is what happens what you file an appeal for a hearing by the Social Security Administration: The hearing takes place before an Administrative Law Judge, whose role is neutral and non-adversarial. There will not be a lawyer from the Social Security Administration representing the other side. The agency's role is not to try to prove that you are not disabled, but to provide benefits to those who are genuinely disabled and reject those who are not. At the hearing stage, the ALJ will be the one who determines whether you meet the requirements…Read More

Sometimes claimants don’t know how to describe the severity of their impairment if they have good and bad days. Describing what your impairment is like on a bad day might feel like you’re exaggerating because your impairment is not that bad most of the time. Similarly, describing what your impairment is like on a good day might feel like you’re admitting you’re not really that disabled. However, having good and bad days is rather common of most disabilities, and the simple answer to this dilemma is to simply describe both. However, there are a few extra things you need to include in the description of your symptoms if your disability has good and bad days. You will be asked how…Read More

If you are considering applying for Social Security disability benefits, an Ocala disability attorney may be able to help you.  Here is some general advice regarding what to do at your hearing before the Administrative Law Judge. The most critical aspect is that you tell the truth at your hearing. Don’t try to second-guess the questions asked by the judge or figure out what the best answer will be to help your case. Be honest about your abilities and limitations, because if the judge suspects that you aren’t telling the truth, you are more likely to lose. In addition, don’t play up your level of pain or disability to try to get more sympathy from the judge. You don’t need…Read More

One of the ways in which the Social Security Administration finds people to be disabled is through medical-vocational listings. The first step in doing so is figuring out what job-related tasks an applicant is able to do in spite of any impairment. This is known as a residual functional capacity (RFC) assessment. Then, the RFC assessment is used to determine whether the claimant is able to do any significant job that he or she has done in the past fifteen years. If that is not the case, then the Social Security Administration will take the RFC assessment into a work level that has been defined in the Dictionary of Occupational Titles: medium, light, or sedentary. A combination of the claimant’s…Read More

One of the criteria that Social Security Administration sets for being found disabled is having a “medically determinable impairment.” This term just refers to any impairment from a medical condition that is recognized by the medical community and can be diagnosed from objective evidence. Objective evidence can include x-rays, MRIs, or lab results, but it can also include physical tests. Basically, the doctor just needs to be relying on more than just your description of your symptoms to make his diagnosis. That’s not to say that describing your symptoms is not important. Some disabilities, especially those involving ligaments and muscle pain, are impossible to positively identify with objective evidence alone. Your description of your symptoms could point to several “medically…Read More