Articles Posted in Social Security

In your Social Security Disability case, there are lots of key dates and other pieces of vital information that will be essential elements of the evidence you provide to the Social Security Administration. Keeping up with all of them is extremely important because an error with any one of them can be the thing that trips up your Social Security Disability case and leads to your receiving no benefits. Don’t let that happen to you. Make sure you have effective and detail-oriented Chicago Social Security Disability counsel handling your case for you.

DLI, which stands for “date last insured,” is one of those key pieces of information, and it was at the center of one case recently decided by the federal appeals court here in Chicago. In that case, K.M. was diagnosed with lupus. Over the years, K.M.’s lupus caused deterioration in his mental functioning and motor speed. K.M. filed for Social Security Disability benefits based on his lupus along with other problems.

A Social Security Disability claimant’s DLI is extremely important for a number of reasons. One of those is that it may limit the medical evidence you can use in your case. If a medical opinion is composed after your DLI and is based on symptoms that you did not exhibit until after your DLI, then it can be disregarded in determining your eligibility for Social Security Disability benefits. In ruling against K.M., the ALJ assigned to his case refused to consider several of K.M.’s supporting medical documents, including two reports from a neurologist and an opinion provided by a counselor, precisely because each of them was created after K.M.’s DLI.

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Statistics show that most Social Security Disability claims are rejected at first. In fact, most are rejected at each of the first two levels. A rejection does not, however, mean that you do not have a valid claim. With the help of a skilled Chicago Social Security Disability attorney, you can overcome these initial rejections and get the approval you need to get the benefits you deserve.

O.O.’s Disability case was an example of this kind of multi-step process. He was a man in his 30s who had worked as a cook, a server, and a barista but had ceased performing those jobs due to his Crohn’s disease. He applied for Disability benefits, but the administrative law judge who heard his case concluded he was not eligible.

A federal judge reversed that decision. The reason for the man’s success lay in the evidence that he presented and how it should have been applied to determine his Residual Functioning Capacity” or RFC, which is something that details all of the limitations you have due to your health condition and how those limitations impact your ability to work.

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When you are seeking SSI and disability insurance benefits, you need to persuade the judge of several things. One of those things is that you have limitations and those limitations prevent you from holding a job. A recent case from nearby northern Indiana is an important reminder that, even if you are able to engage in certain basic activities around your home, you may still be too limited to work and still be entitled to benefits. Getting those critical benefits requires various forms of proof, and it pays to have an experienced Chicago Social Security disability attorney on your side, who knows how to present the evidence you need for success.

The applicant in that recent case, B.T., was a woman with multiple health issues, including diabetes, obesity, bipolar disorder, depression and anxiety. Despite these limitations she cared for her daughter with disabilities, as well as for her father. She also volunteered at her church. The administrative law judge who first heard B.T.’s case ruled against her, concluding that the evidence indicated that B.T.’s limitations would not prevent her from working.

A federal District Court judge, however, revived the case. That opinion is very instructive. As the judge explained in his opinion, just because you are capable of doing some activities, that doesn’t automatically mean that you are capable of doing work for an employer. The administrative law judge ruled against B.T., in part, because the evidence indicated that she could cook, manage her personal hygiene, clean and do laundry. However, the way B.T. was performing at home contained some critical differences from how she would be expected to perform at any workplace.

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When your application for Social Security disability benefits goes to a hearing before an administrative law judge (ALJ), it’s important to recognize in advance what you’ll be up against. You very likely will face an expert witness who will give testimony that you can still work and are not entitled to benefits. Part of succeeding in a scenario like that, then, is being ready to break down the credibility of that expert witness. Doing that is one of the many areas where skilled counsel can be invaluable, so be sure you’ve retained an experienced Chicago Social Security attorney when it comes time to pursue your Social Security disability case.

There are lots of ways in which an expert witness’s opinions can be flawed, providing you with potential avenues of attack. As an example, we can look at the case of A.B., a 40-year-old man with back pain, neck pain and many other conditions that prevented him from performing the health service, construction and food service jobs he used to do. Based on those multiple medical maladies, A.B. applied for Social Security disability benefits.

At the benefits hearing, a vocational expert testified that A.B., even with his significant medical limitations, could still handle three jobs: “callout operator, semiconductor bonder, or registration clerk.” Additionally, according to the expert, A.B. could be a counter clerk if certain lifting, standing and walking restrictions were in place. In total, there were roughly 140,000 jobs available that A.B. could do, according to the vocational expert.

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When you apply for Social Security benefits based on your disability, expect the government to fight back aggressively. They will have lawyers well-versed in Social Security law. They may have medical experts with impressive resumes. However, if you come to your Social Security hearing armed with the right legal representation and the right medical experts supporting your position, then you can overcome all that, succeed and get the award of benefits you need. Before you go, though, make sure you have a skilled Chicago Social Security attorney on your side.

In a disability case, medical evidence will, of course, most likely be center-stage. One of the most powerful forms of medical evidence that you can place on your side is the testimony of treating physicians stating that you are, in fact, disabled.

The testimony of treating physicians generally carries a great deal of weight. Additionally, as a recent Social Security case from here in Chicago shows, the administrative law judge (ALJ) hearing your case must either given those doctors’ opinions weight, or give very specific reasons why she didn’t.

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Seeking to obtain Supplemental Security Income and Disability Insurance benefits can be challenging. There may be lots of evidence and documents needed to obtain a successful result. To give yourself a strong chance of success, you need an experienced Illinois Social Security attorney to make certain that your case has everything that it needs to get you the favorable result that you deserve.

One man who took his case all the way to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals to achieve a successful result was Alejandro. Alejandro’s work-related medical problems began in 2006 when he fell off a scaffold while taping drywall. The man sought medical attention for his back injury, but the doctors found no fracture. When the pain did not go away, the man sought more treatment, and doctors discovered an injury to the spinal nerve root. The worker sought the care of a clinical psychologist for his constant pain. That doctor concluded that Alejandro displayed depressed mood, irritability, difficulty concentrating, and memory problems.

Based on the significance of his back injury, Alejandro filed a claim for Supplemental Security Income and Disability Insurance. The ALJ reviewed the evidence and concluded that Alejandro was not disabled. The ALJ decided that the worker suffered from “severe impairments—lumbar disc disease, myofascial pain syndrome, left knee pain, obesity, and depression,” but these problems did not limit Alejandro to such an extent that he could not work. Alejandro could do light work with some restrictions, according to the judge. One of the pieces of evidence upon which the judge relied was a 2007 report from a psychologist, to which the judge gave “great weight.”