How Will SSA Determine Whether I Meet Disability Requirements?

The means by which the Social Security Administration decides eligibility are based upon two sets of regulations, the Listing of Impairments and Medical-Vocational Guidelines. An Ocala, Florida Social Security disability attorney can help you to explain on your initial application how you meet these requirements, and assist in appeals if your claim is denied.

The Listing of Impairments

Generally a person is found disabled by SSA using criteria which include the condition itself, along with a combination of age, education, and what is termed residual functional capacity. If your condition is present in the Listing of Impairments, however, you will be deemed disabled without regard to whether or not you can perform at a job you have held in the past 15 years.

If your condition is not included in the Listing (often termed the “Blue Book”), but meets the criteria for the listed impairments, it may be considered “equal to the listings,” in which case you will be deemed eligible. Your Ocala, Florida Social Security disability attorney has experience working with the Listings, but  they can be found online at:

The Medical-Vocational Guidelines

SSA will look to this second set of regulations if your condition is not included in the Listing of Impairments. Prior to this, however, it will be necessary for you to show that your condition precludes you from being able to work. The Guidelines deal solely with conditions which cause exertional limitations, but they can also be used as a foundation for determining disability in other instances.

Your Doctor’s Opinion

SSA considers its Listings as medical fact, and their process of determining eligibility for disability objective. Your doctor’s opinion, therefore, will not be given substantial weight in their evaluation of your condition. More useful will be tests which show the presence of a condition included in the Listing, rather than a treating doctor’s analysis of how that condition might affect the patient’s ability to work.

It may come as no surprise to you that a large number of claimants are initially denied. However, many of these are found eligible after appeal. An Ocala, Florida Social Security disability attorney will be especially useful to you at this point. If you have become disabled and are unable to work, call CJ Henry for a consultation at (352) 304-5300.