Placer County SSDI Attorney
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How Do I Prove My Disability?
Placer County SSDI Lawyer
If you have suddenly developed a disability and are no longer able to hold gainful employment, you may be eligible for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) in Placer County. These benefits can help you adjust to a new lifestyle and are vital to supporting yourself when you can no longer work. Applying for these benefits is no easy task, as you must deal with a variety of legal complexities. To learn more, reach out to a Placer County SSDI attorney.
Gade & Parekh, LLP: SSDI Assistance in Placer County
Our Placer County law firm offers SSDI assistance for cities across California, including Roseville, Rocklin, Lincoln, Auburn, and Loomis. Our team of skilled lawyers share years of experience and comprehensive knowledge of social security law, allowing them to offer you vital support and assistance throughout the application process. Because so many initial SSDI applications are denied, working with an experienced lawyer is crucial.
How Can a Placer County SSDI Attorney Benefit You?
- Share Our Significant Knowledge: Most individuals applying for Social Security Disability Insurance are not overly familiar with how the Social Security Administration (SSA) works and the legal aspects that play into it. Because of this, many applicants make errors on their initial applications, which results in their requests being denied.
By accepting the assistance and services of a seasoned SSDI attorney, you gain access to a substantial wealth of knowledge regarding the Social Security Administration and its varying complexities. Our team has spent years filling out applications, representing clients in court, and resolving disputes that arise during the SSDI application process. An experienced SSDI lawyer can help you create the strongest application possible.
- Assist With Your Application: The legal team at Gade & Parekh, LLP is more than prepared to take on the responsibility of handling the application process on your behalf. Applying for SSDI benefits can be time-consuming, complicated, and overwhelming. By allowing your attorney to take care of it for you, you can then devote your time to focusing on your recovery and adjusting to life with your disability, which you may have neglected while focusing on applying for SSDI benefits.
We can handle gathering your medical records, researching your disability, and drafting the right forms at the right time. Once your application is ready to go, we can even submit it and notify you when we get a response. If your application runs into any problems, we can also work to find resolutions. A dedicated SSDI lawyer knows what the SSA is looking for on a benefits application and can help you to make yours effective.
- Review Your Unique Situation: Before your attorney can provide you with advice, support, or any help applying for benefits, they must first understand the full scope of your case. They will need to become familiar with your situation by reviewing your condition, any applications you may have already started to fill out, or any applications you have already sent out.
If you have received any letters of denial, make sure to let your attorney know before you begin a new application. They can look through it and try to determine why your application was denied. Then, together, you and your lawyer can start working on building an appeal. An appeal allows you to have another court look at your case again. This way, you don’t have to file a completely new application.
- Prepare You for the Hearing: Most applicants for SSDI benefits will need to go through a formal hearing with a judge before their application can be approved. During this hearing, a judge will look through your case and determine whether or not you deserve SSDI benefits based on your application, the strength of your case, and how detrimental your disability is to your ability to work.
Your lawyer will be present with you throughout the entire hearing process to give you legal advice, advocate on your behalf before the judge, and cross-examine any expert witnesses the SSA may have brought to poke holes in your case. The goal of the court is to determine whether there are some jobs you may still be able to perform despite your disability. If they can show that you can work some other job, you won’t qualify.
Before the hearing, your lawyer can also prepare you and coach you on what to expect. It may be quite an emotionally draining and stressful situation. Luckily, you have the opportunity to allow your lawyer to speak on your behalf. If you’d prefer for your attorney to state your case and speak with a judge, they can represent you throughout the entire hearing.
- Develop Theories for Your Benefit: Once your lawyer has reviewed your case, assessed your situation, and figured out the optimum way to help you obtain your SSDI benefits, they will start to identify which of three theories applies to your situation. These theories are used as grounds for why you deserve SSDI benefits. Each theory comes with its own criteria that you will need to fit in order to pursue it. Those theories include:
- Your disability is found on the Social Security disability listing page, and you meet the proper criteria.
- Your situation fits within the grid rules set forth by the SSA.
- Your disability fully prevents you from pursuing even basic, sedentary work.
Understanding Social Security Disability Listings
The Social Security Administration keeps a detailed list of disabilities, conditions, and impairments. Each impairment comes with certain criteria that an applicant must meet in order for that impairment to legally apply to them. In order to determine if your disability is still considered a disability under their restrictions, the SSA will match your condition to the criteria on the impairment list and decide whether you qualify for SSDI benefits under that impairment.
Additionally, your SSDI lawyer is going to look at this list and make the same determination. This helps you to build a strong case and get a better understanding of what the SSA is looking for. Your diagnosed condition has to count under the SSA’s established criteria for you to be considered for benefits. You may need to see a doctor to retrieve your medical records of your condition, and you may need to undergo certain tests to determine the level of your condition.
What Is the SSA Grid System?
If your diagnosed disability does not appear on the Social Security impairment listing page, that does not mean you can’t apply for benefits. There is another method that the SSA can use to determine how your disability has affected your ability to work. Instead of looking at the impairment list, the SSA will use a grid system to figure out exactly how you are disabled and whether or not you qualify for SSDI benefits.
The grid will take into account factors such as your age, your job skills, your level of education, your work experience, and your residential functional capacity (RFC) level. Your RFC level will determine how much physical activity is too much for you in your current condition.
If your condition is not based solely on a physical disability, then the grid system may not apply to you. The grid system is typically used for older applicants who may already have a limited range of work that they are able to perform. However, your SSDI attorney may still be able to use the grid system to prove definitively that you are unable to perform any physical activity without it negatively affecting your health.
What Is Sedentary Work and How Does It Impact Your Application?
If your condition is not on the list of impairments and cannot be applied to the grid system, your lawyer must then demonstrate that you do have a valid disability that is negatively impacting your ability to work and your life in general. They can argue that your disability is keeping you from performing even the most basic of jobs, including sedentary work. Sedentary work is work that has you sitting down for long periods of time and requires very little physical activity, if any.
In order to prove this, your lawyer has to gather evidence that demonstrates the severity of your condition. This evidence could include your own sworn testimony, your doctor’s sworn testimony, opinions from expert witnesses, or your medical records. If the SSA finds that the evidence supports your lawyer’s claim and you are indeed unable to do basic, sedentary work, you will likely have your SSDI benefits approved.
The Substantial Difference Between SSI Benefits & SSDI Benefits
The Social Security Administration is responsible for several kinds of programs that can help people who are in need of additional assistance. Different benefits are designed for different people and their varying needs. For example, SSDI benefits are different from Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. It is vital that you understand how these types of benefits differ from one another to ensure you apply for the right kind.
The biggest difference between SSDI benefits and SSI benefits is the age of those who can benefit. SSI benefits are based almost completely on the age of the applicant as well as whether they possess a disability or not. SSDI benefits are available to working people of any age who possess a disability that keeps them from working and meets the established criteria under the SSA guidelines.
SSDI benefits are funded by the federal government and are available to those who have been in the workforce for a substantial amount of time and have been paying into their Social Security during that time. If you become disabled and can no longer be in the workforce, you can then apply to access these benefits. The two most significant criteria you must meet to be eligible for SSDI benefits are:
- You Must Be Insured. The only way you get insured is to have a job long enough to be eligible for SSDI coverage. When you apply for SSDI benefits, there will be two tests you will need to pass in order to be considered. If you pass, then you are insured. If you don’t pass, you won’t qualify for benefits. The tests are these two questions:
- Have You Been Working Recently?
- How Long Have You Been Working?
- Your Disability Meets the Established Social Security Standards. To determine if your disability meets the SSA’s set standards, there will be five tests that they put into action.
Those tests will ask things like:
- Can You Work at a Level of Substantial Gainful Activity?
If your monthly earnings before taxes exceed the Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) level, you won’t be eligible for benefits. - Do You Have a Severe Condition?
The more severe your condition is, the better your chances of being eligible for SSDI benefits. However, the criteria for severity are quite harsh. Under SSA standards, your condition must inhibit your workplace performance for 12 consecutive months or result in your eventual death. - Is Your Condition Listed on the SSA Impairment List?
If the answer is yes, then you may be able to skip the fourth and fifth tests as you may be automatically eligible. Make sure you work with your lawyer to see if your condition is listed on the impairment list when you fill out your application. - Can You Perform the Same Work?
If your condition does not harm your work performance, you won’t be eligible. - Can You Perform Work Elsewhere?
If you are able to perform a different job, you won’t be eligible.
- Can You Work at a Level of Substantial Gainful Activity?
Contact Our Placer County SSDI Lawyers Today
It can be frustrating to face life after acquiring a disability. Applying for SSDI benefits can be frustrating, too, but Gade & Parekh, LLP, can help you throughout the entire process. Reach out to speak to a valued team member and learn how we can help you today. You deserve aid, assistance, and compassionate support as you transition with these new life changes.
