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September is World Alzheimer’s Month, meant to lessen stigma and increase public education about the challenging diagnosis. Alzheimer’s Disease International, referred to as ADI, created the month dedicated to this noble cause in 2012. Alzheimer’s and other kinds of dementia can become disabling and prevent sufferers from working. Those patients may qualify for Social Security Disability […]

It is no secret that it can take months and even years for approval of Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income claims. Both of these government benefit programs require that the applicant meet the federal definition of disability and it is this question that often takes so long to answer. It tends to be more […]

If the Social Security Administration, or SSA, denies your initial application for Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income, there are several levels of review and appeal you can request. The third level is an administrative hearing before an administrative law judge, often called an ALJ. While the thought of a legal proceeding may make you […]

Normally, when the Social Security Administration approves a disabled claimant’s application for Social Security Disability Insurance, called SSDI, the claimant must wait five months for monthly benefits to begin. This can be a hardship for a person without income because of disabling impairment as the bills have likely already started to pile up. The waiting period seems […]

Federal law specifically defines “disability” for purposes of eligibility for Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income, referred to as SSDI and SSI, respectively. As we have blogged about before, the Social Security Administration (SSA), uses a five-step process to determine whether a claimant meets the definition. Listing of impairments At the third step, SSA […]

Social Security laws have changed over the years in how they treat alcoholism and drug addiction when determining whether disability prevents working for purposes of eligibility for Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income, or SSDI and SSI, respectively. Substance use cannot be material part of disability Today, a claimant may not receive benefits […]

You may think your disability is obvious and there should be no problem getting your Social Security Disability or Supplemental Security Income – usually referred to as SSDI and SSI – approved. After all, your doctor may have ordered that you not work, or you may be unable to take care of your basic daily […]

A recent investigative journalism piece revealed that some doctors hired to review applications for Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income may be working too fast to achieve a high degree of accuracy. The Nashville Tennessean said in May that the federal government does not have data readily compiled about doctors in each state […]

When deciding if someone can work despite having severe physical or mental medical impairments, ordinarily the decision-maker should consider multiple sources of information, according to a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. Evidence from vocational testing, medical records and other sources may be necessary to adequately assess a person’s ability to sustain […]