If you do not meet or equal a listing in the Social Security Administration’s Listing of Impairments, but you satisfy Step 4 of the sequential evaluation process (that is, you’re not able to perform past relevant work), you will be found disabled if you are not able to perform other work. In this article, Ocala disability lawyer CJ Henry will explain that Step 5, the final step in the sequential evaluation process, examines your potential ability to perform prevalent work that you haven’t actually done before.
In this final step, the Social Security Administration will evaluate whether you are, despite your impairment, still able to adjust to other kinds of jobs that exist in significant numbers in the national economy. This is a very complex step that requires detailed analysis and much numbers-plugging. Here, your actual medical reports and findings do not play so much of a role as do other factors that are related more vocation-related.
The Social Security Administration will look at your work capacity, your age, your level of education, and your work experience in determining your remaining capacity for working. It uses a special tool for making this complex determination of disability: the Medical-Vocational Guidelines. Also known as “grids,” the Medical-Vocational Guidelines are calibrated in such a way that the more advanced in age you are, the easier it is for you to be determined disabled.
The sequential evaluation process is complex, and it’s easy for the Social Security Administration to find you not disabled, even if you’re suffering from a debilitating medical impairment that prevents you from working. Do not give up if your initial application for Social Security disability benefits is denied. Instead, seek the help of experienced Ocala disability lawyer CJ Henry. For a free initial consultation, contact me by filling out the form on this page.
