This means that if such public disability benefits are being paid, it is possible that the amount of a Social Security benefit could be reduced.

Private pension payments or private disability insurance payments will generally not effect entitlement to Social Security Disability and will not result in an offset.

Whether or not this medical condition will result in a favorable decision depends on many factors including the severity of the headaches along with the frequency and duration of the migraine.

The simple fact that a doctor has diagnosed someone with migraine headaches and prescribed medication does not mean that you will qualify for benefits. However, if the condition is severe it could be the basis for a favorable ruling.

In many cases, claimant’s with chronic or migraine headaches also have other medical conditions. The migraine headaches add to their overall disability which must be considered by the Administrative Law Judge when a decision is rendered.

Proving that a claimant is unreliable could be the difference between your claim being denied or approved.

The treating physician should be asked to give a statement outlining how many days a week or month the claimant would have to miss from work as a result of their disabling conditions.

If a doctor will offer an opinion that the claimant’s attendance record would likely be poor and that he or she would be an unreliable worker, a Judge may be able to infer that there is no work available for this person.

If you have a pending Social Security claim and need help assessing your chances of winning, please feel free to contact our firm.

• Early onset Alzheimer’s disease;
• Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis;
• Mixed dementia;
• Small cell lung cancer;

If your claim is based on one of the numerous medical conditions listed on the compassionate allowance list it is possible that your claim may be approved much faster than claims based on other types of medical conditions.

If you have questions about your Social Security claim, please feel free to contact our office.

While there are no guarantees, if you are unable to perform the type of work that you have done for the last 15 years and have reached the age of 55 there is a very good chance that you will receive a favorable decision.

If you have been denied benefits and have questions regarding your Social Security claim, feel free to contact our office.

You are classified as a “younger individual” when you are under the age of 50. In most cases, if the Judge believes you can do sedentary work you will lose your case. Sedentary work means that you can lift light objects up to 10lbs and carry small items such as files or light tools.

In addition to lifting up to 10lbs, if the Judge determines that you can stand or walk for a total of 2 hours during an 8-hour workday, you will probably be denied because you are able to perform light work.

There are additionally functional limitations which may allow a Judge to find you disabled because you cannot perform light work. These limitations include the fact that you may need to alternate, on a frequent basis, sitting, standing, and/or walking.

If you have additional limitations with reaching or handling, using your hands and fingers, you may also be deemed disabled by a Law Judge.

Use of a cane may also overcome a finding that you are able to do sedentary work since you are not able to use both hands while using a cane.

Medical evidence demonstrating an inability to understand or carry out a simple instruction could lead to a finding of disability. An inability to interact with a supervisor or co-workers could also lead to a finding of disability.

When a Judge finds, even with all of your limitations considered, there are some types of sedentary work that you are able to do the question becomes whether or not there are a “significant number” of occupations that you would still be able to perform.

If you are a younger individual with significant limitations and do not feel that you would be able to do a very light manual job, you may qualify for Social Security benefits.

It is always better to allow the Judge to control the course of the hearing as much as possible.  Many Judges focus on securing the essential testimony and information in an effective and efficient fashion.

Our experience has been making an opening statement when one is not needed serves only to delay the process that sometime frustrates the Law Judge.

When an opening statement is appropriate, our advice would be to keep as brief and simple as possible.

If you have a Social Security Disability hearing scheduled and would like to discuss possible representation by our firm, please feel free to contact our office.

Peripheral neuropathy can be extremely disabling.  At the hearing level, the Administrative Law Judge will want to see specific documentation from your physician in order to determine whether you meet Social Security’s disability criteria.

Your doctor should carefully document the existence of pain, parenthesis, urinary incontinence, muscle atrophy, chronic fatigue, and any other symptoms or signs being manifested by the patient.  Documenting the symptoms in and of itself is not sufficient to prove that a disability exists.

The doctor should specifically document how the neuropathy has affected the patient’s functional capacity.  That is, specifically, how far can the patient walk, how long can he or she sit or stand, and how much can he or she lift on a regular basis.

A medical source statement providing answers to these and many other crucial questions can be of great benefit to your claim.

If you have questions regarding your Social Security case, please feel free to contact our firm.

A very helpful tip that we often give out after we receive a date for their hearing is to have them keep a journal for two or three days.  The journal will document all of their activities from the time they get up in the morning until they go to bed at night.  The purpose of the journal is for them to write down the types of activities they are able to perform and the ones they have difficulty doing.

The reason for documenting this information is so that they will be able to give more useful testimony at the time of their hearing.  It is common for Law Judges to ask the claimant how they spend a typical day from the time they get up in the morning until the time they go to bed at night.

It sounds like an easy question to answer, but its not.  Many people assume that the Judge knows that they experience pain or have difficulties with simple daily activities.  However, the Judge does not know this.  In order to paint a picture for the Judge it is important that specific detailed testimony be given regarding the activities the claimant is able to do without a problem and those he or she struggles with.  An hour-by-hour journal is often a useful way to insure that you are not forgetting any important pieces of information at the time of your testimony.

If you would like to consult with our firm about possible representation for a Social Security hearing, we would be happy to speak with you.

Filing the appeal is relatively simple.  The Social Security Administration’s website provided step-by-step assistance for those interested in appealing their claims.  This process can be done online.

At our firm, we routinely assist claimants with filing appeals and prepare their claims for the hearing process.  Preparing a Social Security claim for a hearing is time consuming and requires constant follow-up, securing medical relevant medical reports and forms, as well as preparing the witness to give testimony at the time of the hearing.

If you have been denied for benefits or would like help with your appeal, feel free to contact our office.