Eligibility

In the paragraphs below, an experienced Ocala Social Security disability law office attorney explains the importance of your treatment history. Role of Your Medical Records Medical records document everything you have done in your efforts to cure or improve your condition. They document your symptoms, what your physicians have prescribed or done, your compliance with their instructions and the results of treatment. They also provide documentation for your Ocala Social Security disability lawyer and the ALJ of the existence and severity of the condition that your claim cites as rendering you unable to work. Current and Complete Medical Records You can contribute to the accuracy and completeness of your medical records by implementing the following suggestions: Consult a physician. Your…Read More

Regardless of the result, a medical diagnosis alone is not enough to render you eligible for Social Security disability benefits. As long as you and your Ocala Florida Social Security disability lawyer can prove that your condition has adversely affected your ability to work, you will remain eligible for SSD benefits.Read More

Ocala Social Security disability lawyers are familiar with Social Security disability claims involving common digestive impairments such as abdominal distress, diarrhea and fecal incontinence. Some of these digestive impairments, such as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, are generally known as Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD). Social Security Disability Claims and IBDs IBDs present any number of symptoms such as diarrhea, fecal incontinence, rectal bleeding, abdominal pain, vomiting or arthralgia, that often cause you to spend a lot of time away from your workstation during the course of your normal workday. These conditions often result in a great deal of time spent in the restroom and it is unpredictable as to when those conditions will present themselves. You may also suffer from…Read More

Separating mental impairments resulting from addiction from mental impairments not caused by addiction It is particularly helpful to have an experienced disability lawyer assist you with your Florida Social Security disability claim when documented substance use disorders and mental impairments are involved. As an experienced Ocala disability lawyer, I know that these are some of the most complicated and difficult disability claims because it is extremely difficult to differentiate between mental limitations resulting from substance use versus mental limitations resulting from other causes. If you have mental impairments that would diminish sufficiently to allow you to work if you stopped using drugs or alcohol, you will not be disabled. Because of this, the Social Security Administration suggests that the most…Read More

The Social Security Administration will need to determine your mental residual functional capacity or RFC if you have a mental disorder. This involves an evaluation of the extent to which your mental impairment affects your ability to perform work- related activities, including your ability to retain information, concentrate, interact with others and adjust to change. A mental RFC assesses whether you have the capacity for skilled, semiskilled, unskilled, or below unskilled work. Many jobs require only unskilled work. Unskilled work involves uncomplicated tasks that can be learned on the job in a short period of time, usually 30 days or less, and that require little or no judgment on the part of the worker. An example of an unskilled job…Read More

To qualify for Florida Social Security disability benefits, you will probably need to prove to the Social Security Administration that you cannot do “past relevant work” (i.e., the easiest job you had in the past 15 years), and cannot adapt to other jobs in light of your age, education, and experience. The first step in determining whether you are capable of adapting to other jobs is to determine your residual functional capacity or RFC.  Your RFC is the most exertion you are capable of despite your impairment.  As we explained in an earlier post, your RFC is expressed in terms of whether you are limited to medium work, light work, or sedentary work. Medical Vocational Guidelines After the Social Security…Read More

Most applicants for Florida Social Security disability benefits must show that they can no longer perform work they had previously done and that they cannot do any other work. In determining whether an applicant can perform any other work, the applicant’s age is an important consideration for the Social Security Administration. In fact, the Social Security guidelines are less stringent for claimants 55 and older. Medical-Vocational Guidelines for applicants 55 or older The Medical-Vocational Guidelines are rules utilized by the Social Security Administration to determine what other work you can do. These rules are favorable to those over 55 years of age because they recognize that if you are older and your medical condition limits your level of exertion, it…Read More

Standing, walking, and sitting limitations If you are under the age of 50, you will probably need to convince the Social Security Administration that you cannot perform most sedentary jobs to win benefits.  Evidence of limitations in your ability to perform the specific functions required by sedentary work is crucial.  Sedentary jobs require a certain capacity to sit, walk, and stand, among other requirements.  Proof that you lack the minimum capacity to perform these functions can establish that there are few sedentary jobs that you can perform. Standing and walking restrictions For the most part, sedentary work requires the capacity to stand and walk intermittently for a total of two hours of an eight-hour workday. Any significant reduction in your…Read More

If three requirements are met, the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) must give your treating doctor’s opinion controlling weight,which means he will adopt your doctor’s opinion regarding the extent of your disability. The three requirements are: The doctor must be an acceptable medical source, The doctor must be a treating source, and The doctor’s opinion must be well supported. Acceptable medical source. Not all health care providers are acceptable medical sources. According to the SSA, the doctor providing the opinion must be a physician (M.D.or D.O.), psychologist, optometrist, a speech language pathogist, or a podiatrist. The opinion of any other type of provider, such as a chiropractor or nurse practitioner, will not be given controlling weight by the SSA, but may…Read More

The Social Security Administration manages two programs that provide benefits based on disability or blindness:  the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program and the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program. Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) SSDI provides benefits to disabled or blind individuals who are “insured” by workers’ contributions to the Social Security trust fund. This program is financed with Social Security taxes paid by workers, employers, and self-employed persons. These individuals have worked recently enough and long enough (normally, 40 quarters of work and disability beginning within 5 years of the qualifying work), to become eligible. SSDI operates like a private Florida disability insurance policy. Your Social Security contributions are based on your earnings and your Social Security taxes are…Read More