Five Elements of a Strong Social Security Disability Claim
You lost your job and you believe you cannot work. Can you turn to Social Security Disability?
Your Age: Social Security makes it very hard for a young person to get a disability. Who is a young person? Social Security classifies anyone under age 50 in the young category. But even if you are in the 50-54 category it is still going to be hard to get disability but if you are 55 are over it gets easier. it gets even easier if you are 60 years of age or older.
Your Past Work: Your past work can be very important when it comes to disability. If all you have done in the past is manual labor and you cannot do this anymore this can give you a strong case depending on your age. On the other hand, if you have done sit-down work of a light nature such as secretarial work in the last 15 years you will have a tough time getting a disability.
Your Skills and Education: If you are a highly skilled and educated worker, then this can present a problem for your disability case. Social Security looks at transferable skills. If you have great skills then even though you cannot do your current job, your skills could transfer to a lighter job you can do. At your hearing in front of the judge, Social Security will have a vocational expert present who can testify about whether your skills will transfer to a light or sedentary job.
Your Disability Must be Permanent: If you have had a car accident or a serious operation, you may be currently “disabled” by your impairment but this does not end the inquiry. You still will have to show your disability will last more than 12 months for you to have a good disability case.
Medical Support for Your Disability: You have lost your job. You have been laid off. You cannot find a job. You have a disease or a medical impairment. This is helpful but unless your healthcare providers support your claim for disability you still do not have a good disability case. In addition, if you have a particular medical impairment, then you need a specialist in that field to treat you and provide an opinion regarding your ability to work. You may be examined by Social Security doctors but those examinations are cursory and they rarely find a person disabled.
In summary, these are the five critical factors I look at when I determine if you have a good Social Security Disability Case.
