Solano County SSDI Attorney
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How Do I Prove My Disability?
Solano County SSDI Lawyer
When you are dealing with a life-changing disability and are unable to hold down any form of gainful employment, you may be able to apply for Social Security disability insurance, also known as SSDI. SSDI benefits are extremely impactful for those who are facing significant life changes and need aid. However, applying for these benefits can be quite challenging on your own. Luckily, a Solano County SSDI attorney can support you throughout the entire process.
How Can a Solano County SSDI Attorney Help You?
Our Solano County law firm provides SSDI assistance for residents of Vacaville, Fairfield, Vallejo, Suisun City, Benicia, Dixon, and more. Our team can carefully explain how the SSDI application process works and provide you with the help you need to file a strong application. Many initial SSDI applications are denied largely because of errors, many of which occur only because applicants don’t understand what the Social Security Administration (SSA) is asking for.
There is a decent chance that if you are applying for SSDI benefits, you are already dealing with significant health and lifestyle changes that are affecting your mental and physical health. It may be difficult for you to accept these changes, and the last thing you need right now is to face an overwhelming amount of paperwork and legal questions.
Bringing these concerns to an experienced SSDI attorney can greatly help your cause, as they can provide you with a wealth of assistance while helping to decrease your stress level. A few significant ways that an SSDI attorney can help your case include:
Assistance With Your Application: The SSDI benefits application can be stressful, time-consuming, and awfully confusing for people who are having to consider things about their life they may never have thought about before. Our valued legal team at Gade & Parekh, LLP is more than willing to take over the application drafting process for you.
Our team can conduct the proper research, gather medical records, and ensure that all the deadlines are met, allowing you to focus primarily on your recovery and adapting to your disability or condition. Knowing how to fill out an application and knowing which information the SSA focuses on is paramount to drafting an effective application. If any problems do arise, our team can help you find a resolution.
Share Our Wealth of Knowledge: Applying for Social Security disability insurance is far from easy, and understanding the exact legalities of the process is challenging. Thankfully, our team shares extensive insight on SSDI laws. We know how the SSA operates and the specific criteria they look for. Our SSDI lawyers can apply that knowledge to your case to ensure you receive the benefits you deserve.
Review Your Case: First and foremost, before your SSDI lawyer is able to provide you with the necessary skills and knowledge to develop your application, they need to become familiar with your case. Your lawyer looks at details such as the extent of your disability, whether you’re able to work, whether you’ve filed previous applications, and more.
If you have already been denied by the SSA and were given a denial letter, your lawyer can review it and assess why your benefits were denied. Afterward, you and your lawyer can start developing a strong appeal to help you fight for the benefits you need.
Prepare You for Hearings: Most applicants will not receive their benefits until they attend a formal hearing. During that hearing, a judge will look through your application, ask you to explain why you are unable to work, and make a decision regarding your SSDI benefits. During this process, your SSDI lawyer can prepare you before your hearing and represent your needs once it begins.
Your SSDI hearing will have a similar feel to a courtroom trial. This is because the SSA’s goal is to determine if you are, in fact, able to work and whether or not you actually deserve SSDI benefits. Oppositely, your lawyer’s goal is to argue that you do need and deserve these benefits. While this hearing may feel similar to a trial, it’s important to understand that you are just there to prove your disability and move forward.
Assess Which Criteria You Meet: Once your lawyer has thoroughly reviewed your case, they need to determine the most effective way to argue for SSDI benefits. In order to do this, your lawyer has to determine how exactly you will qualify for benefits under SSA guidelines by applying one of three possible theories to your case. They will then use one of these theories to argue during the hearing.
Each of these three theories is a valid, legal reason that you could be seeking SSDI benefits under SSA guidelines. They are:
- You fit one of the disabilities listed under the Social Security disability listings.
- You fit under the grid system established by the SSA.
- Your disability is unlisted, but it prevents you from doing even the most basic, sedentary work.
Social Security Disability Listings
The Social Security Administration keeps a comprehensive list of the various impairments and conditions that are automatically considered a qualifying condition. This list details a wide range of disabilities as well as specific criteria that an applicant must meet in order to have their disability considered valid for receiving SSDI benefits.
When you apply for SSDI benefits, you will have to explain your condition in detail. The SSA will then look for it on this list, match the criteria of your disability to one of the conditions on the list, and use that to determine whether or not your condition qualifies. If you have a condition but do not meet certain criteria, the SSA may attempt to disqualify you from receiving benefits. However, your lawyer can help present a strong case as to why you are impaired.
Your SSDI lawyer can also look at this list and attempt to make the same determination that the SSA will. This way, they can better prepare their argument for your hearing. In order for your lawyer to fully understand your condition, you may need to produce your medical records or see a doctor if you have not yet been diagnosed. You may also need to undergo certain medical tests to determine the level of your condition as well.
Understanding the Social Security Grid System
In the event that your specific disability is not listed on the Social Security disability listings page, there is an alternative route that the SSA can take. They will use a highly detailed grid system to determine the extent of your disability and how it may affect your ability to hold gainful employment. The grid will take into account aspects such as:
- Age
- Job skills
- Education level
- Work experience
- Residential functional capacity (RFC) level
It is entirely possible that your SSDI attorney uses the SSA’s grid system to prove just how much your disability affects your daily health and how it impedes your ability to continue working. Typically, the grid system is used to assess physical disabilities. If your condition isn’t physical, the grid system will likely not work for you. It is also largely used for applicants of advanced age who already possess a limited range of work they can participate in.
How Sedentary Work Impacts Your Benefits
One of the most important things you must prove during the SSDI application process is that your disability completely prohibits you from working in any way, including any kind of sedentary work. Generally, sedentary work is work that requires you to stay seated for prolonged periods of time. If you and your lawyer believe you cannot perform sedentary work, you need to gather evidence that demonstrates this claim.
Evidence proving your medical condition can come from medical professionals, your own sworn testimony, expert witness opinions, your past medical records, or even the testimony of your doctor. If you and your lawyer are able to prove that your disability completely prohibits you from any kind of steady, paying work, there is a decent chance that the SSA will approve your application.
The Major Difference Between SSI and SSDI Benefits
Despite SSDI benefits being largely connected to the Social Security Administration, they are not the same thing as traditional Social Security benefits or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. Understanding the differences between SSDI benefits and SSI benefits is vital to making an informed decision on which kind of benefit is right for you. After all, you don’t want to put a great deal of effort into applying for the wrong kind of disability benefits.
The biggest difference between SSDI benefits and SSI benefits is who exactly is allowed to benefit from them. SSI benefits are based almost completely on the age of the applicant, as well as whether or not they possess a disability. SSDI benefits are available to anyone who has a disability and is unable to work, regardless of their age. However, you can only get SSDI benefits approved by meeting the strict criteria established by the SSA.
SSDI benefits are federal funds that are available to those who have worked for some time and paid into Social Security during that time. Having a disability that then impacts the applicant’s ability to work opens their opportunity to apply for SSDI benefits. The two most important criteria you have to meet for these benefits are:
- You Must Be Insured. When you apply for SSDI benefits, the SSA will look to see if you have been in the workforce long enough to qualify for them. To do this, they will have you take two different tests that assess your work history. If you end up passing these tests, this means that you are insured. If you don’t pass these tests, you won’t be able to qualify for SSDI benefits. These tests asses:
- How long you have been working
- If you have worked recently
- Your Disability Meets the Social Security Standards Necessary for Coverage. There will be five tests you must take in order to determine whether your disability is considered valid by the SSA’s established standards. You may not need to pass them all, but you will need to pass some of them for the SSA to even consider your application.Those tests include:
- Are You Able to Work at a Level of Substantial Gainful Activity?
If your monthly wages before taxes are higher than the Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) level, you are not considered to have a valid disability and are not eligible for benefits. - Do You Have a Severe Condition?
If your disability is particularly severe, you stand a better chance of qualifying for SSDI benefits. Under the criteria set by the SSA, your condition must severely inhibit your workplace performance for at least 12 consecutive months or ultimately result in your death. If your condition does not meet these requirements, your benefits will likely be denied. - Is Your Condition on the SSA’s List of Impairments?
If your condition appears on the list of impairments, you may automatically be considered eligible. This allows you to skip the last two tests. If you’re unsure whether your condition appears in this listing, talk to a lawyer who can help you better assess your unique condition. - Can You Still Perform the Same Work?
If your condition does not impede your work performance, you most likely will not be eligible for benefits. - Can You Perform Other Work?
If you are able to do a different job, even if it is not the same job you had before, you may not be eligible for benefits. This will be largely dependent on your unique disability.
- Are You Able to Work at a Level of Substantial Gainful Activity?
Reach Out to a Trusted Solano County SSDI Firm Today
Coping with the new normal that comes with a disability can be overwhelming and terrifying. The last thing you should be worrying about on top of that is filling out the proper paperwork to receive benefits. At Gade & Parekh, LLP, we can help you apply for those benefits and make sure you understand the process throughout. Contact us to schedule a consultation as soon as you can.
