MENTAL DISORDERS & DISABILITY BENEFITS

Social Security will consider mental impairments or illnesses on an equal basis with physical impairments when it comes to awarding disability benefits.  Any number of psychological impairments may qualify.  A few of the more common ones include bipolar disorder, anxiety, depression, panic disorder, schizophrenia, retardation or delayed development, obsession-compulsive disorders, and many more.

Social Security is required to use the same sequential process to evaluate mental or psychological disorders.  Very briefly - and without explanations - here is an outline of the five-step sequential process.

1. Is the claimant now working (earning at least $1,010 per month before taxes)?
2. Does the claimant have a severe and medically determinable impairment?
3. Does the claimant meet a listing?  If not, what is his/her residual functional capacity?
4. Can the claimant perform any of his/her past relevant work (work done in the past 15 yrs.)?
5. Is there any other work that a claimant of that age, education, skill level, work experience and residual functional capacity can do?

Those are the five important elements of any Social Security disability case.  Keep in mind that the state agency which makes the initial determination about disability often interprets data in an unfavorable manner resulting in a 75 percent denial rate (which varies state by state).  Therefore, most claims are not won at the first stage but many can be won at the second stage - which is an appeal involving a hearing before a US administrative law judge. 

Are disability cases involving mental impairments more difficult to win than cases involving physical impairments?  My experience is that they are not.  The evidence will obviously be different but the principles remain the same.  One of the clues is to have a good "trail" of medical evidence and treatment by a physician, preferrably a psychiatrist.

Try to obtain a Medical Source Statement form from your doctor as early in the claim process as possible.  Social Security will not attempt to get this form from your doctor.  It is up to the claimant or representative to get the statement.  In mental health cases, Form HA-1151 can be used for this purpose.

The Forsythe Firm  is experienced in Social Security disability cases involving psychological illness.  There is no fee for our service unless you win your claim AND collect back benefits. Reach us at (256) 799-0297.

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VOCATIONAL EVIDENCE IN A DISABILITY CASE

Vocational evidence in a Social Security disability case is to be ignored or minimized at your own peril.  I think sometimes so much emphasis is placed on medical evidence that the vocational evidence is neglected.  Here are examples of what is meant by "vocational evidence."

• What is your level of education and training?
• What kind of work have you done for the last 15 years?
• How was the past work categorized:  skilled, semi-skilled or unskilled?
• What is your exertional level:  sedentary, light, medium, heavy or very heavy?
• What kind of jobs, if any, are you still able to perform?

Those things are important because of the very definition of the word disability used by Social Security.  Under Social Security law, you are disabled if you have a serious medically determinable impairment that keep you from working, or is expected to keep you from working, for 12 months or more--or is expected to end in death.

In a nutshell, if Social Security finds that you are able to perform any of your past relevant work, you are not disabled.  Further, if it finds that you can perform "any other work" available in the national or local economy, you are not disabled.  Therefore, vocational evidence has equal importance with medical evidence.

Medical evidence is used to determine that you have one or more serious impairments.  Vocational evidence must be used to show that the impairment(s) prevent you from working. If an individual has a high school education or more, with vocational skills that can be transferred to other skilled or semi-skilled work, disability will be harder to prove.  On the other hand, if an individual has a limited education (7th grade or less), has no past relevant work--or only unskilled work, the benchmark for a finding of disability will be lower.  The medical + vocational evidence must come together to = disability.  Failure to properly develop this formula is one reason so many Social Security disability claims fail.

Learn how a Disability Advocate may be able to help you with Social Security here.

                            

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WHAT HAPPENS AT A SOCIAL SECURITY HEARING?

A Social Security disability hearing occurs when your claim has been denied at the initial level. The first decision will be made by a state agency contracted by Social Security - usually called the Disability Determination Service or DDS. In Alabama, this agency is located in Birmingham. If your claim is denied there, as 70 percent are, you have 60 days to ask for a hearing. It is at the hearing level that more disability claims get approved than at any other stage in the process.  (In other words, the hearing has the best odds of any step in the Social Security system).  Hearings are informal face-to-face proceedings before a US administrative law judge (ALJ). They are held in small conference-like rooms, typically with the following persons present:

• the administrative law judge (ALJ)
• the claimant
• the claimant's attorney or representative
• a Social Security employee who makes a recording of the proceeding
• a vocational expert, called by Social Security to give job related testimony

The ALJ will place the claimant and vocational expert (VE) under oath. He/She will state the pertinent issues in the case. The judge will then question the claimant or may let the representative question the claimant first. The gist of this questioning is to determine why the claimant is not able to work. Some questions commonly asked by the ALJ include:

• Describe what you did at your past job(s).
• Can you drive a car? How did you get here today?
• Why haven't you seen a doctor more often for your condition?
• How do you spend your day?
• What are your limitations on (bending, lifting, carrying, standing, sitting, remembering...)

After a round of questioning, the ALJ will turn to the vocational expert (VE) for testimony. The judge will offer 1 to 3 hypothetical questions, using residual functional limitations that seem to define the claimant's condition. Considering the claimant's residual functional capacity, age, education and past experience, can he do any of his past relevant work? If the VE responds "Yes," the representative must object or the hearing ends unfavorably. If the claimant CAN do any of his or her past relevant work, there is no disability. If the VE says, no, the claimant cannot do any of his past relevant work, the judge will move on to the final step.

Considering the RFC given at the above step, is there any other work in the national economy which exists in significant numbers that the claimant can do? If the VE says, "No, there is no other work that the claimant could perform," then a finding of disabled should occur. However, if the VE finds some jobs that the claimant could perform, that is a negative finding. Then, the representative must cross examine the VE to refute or weaken the testimony. This is a critical area where the representative earns his or her pay.

Unlike what you see on the TV commercials, judges do not usually announce their decision at the end of the hearing.  You will be notified by mail of the judge's decision in 3 to 6 weeks.

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SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY - A CHANGING ENVIRONMENT

The past 18 months have brought a rapid change in the Social Security disability environment. Award rates among US administrative law judges have fallen dramatically since the last quarter of fiscal year 2010. Judges that once averaged 60 percent favorable decisions may now average 40 percent or less. That is a drastic change. The result is very simple - it is now more difficult to get Social Security disability benefits. If a case is borderline it is probably going to be denied, whereas a year ago the same case might well have been awarded. What's to blame to this downturn in Social Security disability awards? Everyone has a theory, so here is mine.

First, I think there is a psychological impact of being told day in and day out that the Social Security trust funds are going broke. The latest projection now gives the disability trust fund only until 2016 before it starts paying out more than it brings in. In other words, by 2016 the reserves will have been used up. Most experts say that if nothing is done before 2016, disability benefits would have to be reduced to about 79 percent of the present level.

Second, the media have been exaggerating and sometimes misinforming the public on Social Security disability and stating that it is a large federal give-away program or that persons are getting disability benefits when they are able to work. Some of the items I have read come close to saying that Social Security judges are rubber stamping benefits and giving them to nearly everyone who applies. Of course, that is rubbish, since award rates are drastically down, both at the initial application level and at the hearing level.

Third, it's an election year and the Congress is facing budget deficits across the spectrum and looking to cut costs anywhere it can. Rest assured that pressure is being placed on US administrative law judges to hold back the rising cost of Social Security's disability program.

If you are recently disabled and will depend on Social Security for your financial survival, get help with your claim, especially if you are denied.  If you appeal within 60 days (very important) you still have a good cance of winning your benefits, perhaps with back pay included.

This link will direct you to a Social Security disability advocate for more information.

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