Social Security Disability – Ocala Disability Attorney

Archive for the ‘Social Security Disability’ Category

Mental Disorders and the Ability to Work

Wednesday, April 18th, 2012

Ocala Social Security disability claimants frequently name mental disorders as a reason why they cannot work. Not only are mental disorders mentioned as a primary disability, many physical impairment cases include hidden psychological issues. This is because chronic physical impairments often can take a psychological toll.

Can you still do unskilled work?

Even if you suffer from a mental disorder, chances are that you will be denied Social Security disability benefits if you are able to perform unskilled work, unless you also have physical impairments. This is because the Social Security Administration can point to many jobs that require only unskilled work.

However, if you have a marked impairment in any of the abilities required for unskilled work you may be awarded disability benefits, even without a physical impairment.

What is unskilled work?

Unskilled work is defined by the Social Security Administration as work that needs little or no judgment to do simple duties that can be learned on the job in a short period of time. For example, one category of jobs that are considered unskilled is machine tending. These types of jobs require the worker to feed materials into a machine or remove materials from a machine. A person can usually learn to perform this job in 30 days or less. It requires little specific vocational preparation or judgment.

What mental abilities are required for unskilled work?

The mental activities that are generally required when performing competitive, paid, unskilled work include the following:

Responding appropriately to supervision, co-workers, and work pressures in a work setting.
Managing changes in a routine work setting.
Comprehending, remembering and carrying out simple instructions.
The ability to make simple work-related decisions.

A substantial loss of ability to perform any one of these basic work-related activities on a sustained basis (i.e., 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, or an equivalent work schedule), will substantially erode the unskilled sedentary occupational base and justify a finding that you are disabled.

If you have a mental disorder and are applying for Social Security disability benefits, contact Ocala disability attorney Claudeth J. Henry for a free evaluation of your claim.

Posted in CJ Henry Law Firm Blog, Mental Disorder, Social Security Disability | No Comments »

Finding a Good Lawyer for your Ocala Social Security Disability Case

Monday, April 16th, 2012

One of the most important decisions you will make in the Social Security disability process is to hire an experienced and qualified Ocala disability attorney to represent you. Government statistics show that Social Security claimants who have disability lawyers are more likely to be approved for benefits than those who do not. Why is hiring a competent disability attorney so important?

Disability attorneys know exactly what information the Social Security Administration requires to make a decision in your favor and they know how to get it.
Disability attorneys are often able to develop the evidence more thoroughly than Social Security staffers who must process a large number of applications with significant time constraints.
Disability attorneys know how to prepare their clients in order to improve their effectiveness and credibility as witnesses.

What kind of attorney should you hire to handle your Ocala Social Security disability claim?

A skilled and experienced Ocala Social Security disability can help you navigate the thousands of pages of Social Security disability law, which changes frequently. To help you through this process, you will need a disability lawyer who specializes in Social Security disability law and is current on the latest developments that may affect your disability case.

It is essential that your lawyer meet with you in person before you hire him or her. The most important trait you should look for in an Ocala disability lawyer is a willingness to listen to your story carefully enough to learn and understand the key facts about your medical history and work problems. This information is important for your lawyer to prepare a plan to win your Ocala disability case.

If you would like to discuss your disability case with a qualified Ocala Social Security attorney who will take the time to listen, contact Claudeth J. Henry today. Your initial consultation is free.

Posted in CJ Henry Law Firm Blog, Disability Claims, Social Security Disability | No Comments »

Chronic Pain as a Basis for Social Security Disability Benefits: Part 1—Objective Evidence

Wednesday, March 14th, 2012

Chronic pain can be defined in a number of different ways. It can be continuous, irregular, or intense. It can be pain that cannot be eliminated by standard medical treatment, pain that persists after an injury or illness has resolved, or pain for which no origin can be determined.

Many Florida Social Security disability clients suffer from chronic pain. However, claimants suffering from chronic pain sometimes have trouble convincing the Social Security Administration that their pain prevents them from working because pain tends to be subjective and difficult to measure. Thus, the Social Security Administration will look at the credibility of the claimant’s description of his or her pain in order to determine if Social Security disability benefits will be awarded.

In order to assist in its decision-making process, the Social Security Administration will evaluate the extent to which your pain prevents you from working with the following questions:

Do you have objective evidence that demonstrates a “medically determinable impairment” that could reasonably be the origin of your pain? Stated another way, your medical records and doctors’ reports must illustrate an underlying physical or mental impairment that could reasonably be expected to cause the pain.
If you are able to demonstrate a “medically determinable impairment,” how intense and persistent is your pain and how does it limit your ability to perform basic work activities?

Your credibility in describing the intensity and persistence of your pain can be crucial to the success of your case. In order to determine your credibility, the Social Security Administration will look to see whether your statements describing your pain are consistent with the medical evidence and other evidence presented in your case.

Objective Evidence of a “Medically Determinable Impairment”

Your chronic pain must be related to a “medically determinable impairment.” The impairment must be an anatomical, physiological, or psychological abnormality that can be shown through objective evidence consisting of medically acceptable clinical and laboratory diagnostic techniques.

Without this objective evidence, mere statements that you suffer from pain are not enough to prove you are disabled. No matter how genuine your complaints of pain are, the Social Security Administration requires medical signs and laboratory findings that show the existence of a medical impairment that is consistent with your subjective evidence of chronic pain before awarding Social Security disability benefits.

Contact dedicated Florida Social Security disability lawyer Claudeth Henry to discuss establishing a claim based on chronic pain or for a free initial consultation.

Posted in Chronic Pain, CJ Henry Law Firm Blog, Claims, Disability Claims, Social Security Disability | No Comments »

Are you 55 or older? Proving you are disabled is a little easier

Tuesday, March 13th, 2012

Most applicants for Florida Social Security disability benefits must show that they can no longer perform work they had previously done and that they cannot do any other work. In determining whether an applicant can perform any other work, the applicant’s age is an important consideration for the Social Security Administration. In fact, the Social Security guidelines are less stringent for claimants 55 and older.

Medical-Vocational Guidelines for applicants 55 or older

The Medical-Vocational Guidelines are rules utilized by the Social Security Administration to determine what other work you can do. These rules are favorable to those over 55 years of age because they recognize that if you are older and your medical condition limits your level of exertion, it will be more difficult for you to adjust to a new job.

Indeed, the Guidelines presume that you are unable to adapt to other work if you are 55 or older and are limited to unskilled light work. An experienced Ocala Social Security disability attorney can use these presumptions to help you win your Florida disability case.

Past relevant work

You must establish that you cannot do your “past relevant work” before the Medical-Vocational Guidelines will be applied to your Florida disability case.

The Social Security Administration defines past relevant work as work you have done within the past 15 years, that was substantial gainful activity, and that lasted long enough for you to learn to do it. If the Social Security Administration finds that you have the residual functional capacity to do your past relevant work, your Florida Social Security disability claim will be denied. Once the determination is made that you can perform your past relevant work, you will not benefit from the favorable age presumptions set forth in the Medical-Vocational Guidelines.

Proving that a claimant cannot perform past relevant work is an important way that a disability attorney can help a claimant over 55 obtain his or her disability benefits. A knowledgeable Ocala Social Security disability attorney can help you reap the benefits of the favorable age presumptions set forth in the Medical-Vocational Guidelines if you are 55 and older.

Should you file for early retirement benefits instead of disability?

It is common for individuals who become disabled near the age of 62 to file for early retirement benefits rather than disability benefits. However, because the Social Security Administration penalizes early retirees with reduced benefits, early retirement in this situation can often be a mistake. In order to avoid a reduction in benefits, claimants should obtain disability benefits until they reach full retirement age.

If you would like to meet with an experienced Ocala Social Security disability attorney to discuss how your age affects your claim for disability benefits, contact dedicated Ocala disability lawyer Claudeth J. Henry at (352) 304-5300. Your initial consultation is free.

Posted in Appeal, CJ Henry Law Firm Blog, Disability Claims, Eligibility, Social Security Disability | No Comments »

How the judge analyzes whether you can do past relevant work

Tuesday, March 13th, 2012

Whether you are capable of performing your “past relevant work” may be an issue in your Social Security disability case. If the answer is yes, you will not be disabled. In general, “past relevant work,” includes all jobs you did during the past 15 years for long enough to learn how to do them (generally 30 days).

When your ability to do former jobs is an issue, the administrative law judge will be interested in the answer to these three questions:

What are the physical and mental demands of your former work as you actually performed it?
What are the physical and mental demands of your former work as generally required by employers throughout the national economy?
Can you meet the demands of your former work, either as you actually performed it or as it is generally performed in the national economy?

Demands of former work as you performed it

Your testimony about how you did your former jobs is usually sufficient to answer this question. Social Security regulations state that a claimant’s statements are generally sufficient for determining the skill level and demands of the claimant’s past work.

However, the administrative law judge may ask a vocational expert to be present at your hearing. In that case, the judge will probably ask the expert to describe your past relevant work. The regulations provide that evidence from a vocational expert may be helpful in supplementing or evaluating your description of past work.

Demands of former work as required in national economy

If it appears you are unable to do any past job as you actually performed it, the administrative law judge will want to know whether your employer required you to exert yourself or perform duties in excess of the requirements of most other employers. In other words, the administrative law judge will want to know what employers typically require of employees in your former position.

The answer to this question will come from a vocational expert. A vocational expert may offer relevant evidence within his or her expertise or knowledge concerning the physical and mental demands of your past relevant work, either as you actually performed it or as generally performed in the national economy.

You will be found not disabled if you retain the capacity to perform the job as ordinarily required by employers throughout the national economy, even if you cannot do the job as your formerly performed it.

When a disability case involves questions about your ability to do a former job and a vocation expert will be testifying, it’s important to have a disability lawyer by your side. An experienced Ocala disability lawyer will know how to cross-examine the expert who testifies that you are capable of doing a past job. For a free evaluation of your disability case, contact Ocala disability lawyer CJ Henry at (352) 304-5300.

Posted in Appeal, CJ Henry Law Firm Blog, Social Security Disability | No Comments »

Chronic Pain as a Basis for Social Security Disability Benefits: Part 2– Intensity and Persistence

Tuesday, March 13th, 2012

If you have a medically determinable impairment, that is — your medical records and doctors’ reports illustrate an underlying physical or mental impairment that could reasonably be expected to cause your pain, the Social Security Administration next evaluates the intensity and persistence of your pain to determine how it limits your ability to perform basic work activities. The Social Security Administration will consider all evidence that has been presented including, but not limited to, your medical history and findings and statements from you, your treating physicians, or other persons, regarding how you are affected by your pain. The Social Security Administration will also consider medical opinions of doctors who have treated or examined you.

In addition to objective medical evidence, the Social Security Administration also considers the following in evaluating your pain:

Your daily activities;
The location, duration, frequency, and intensity of your pain or other symptoms;
Factors that may cause or exacerbate your pain;
Medications you take or have taken to treat your pain, including the type of medication, the dosage, the effectiveness and any side effects;
Treatments, other than medication, you receive or have received for your pain;
Steps, other than treatment, you have taken to relieve your pain (e.g., lying down, standing for 15 to 20 minutes every hour, sleeping on a board, etc.); and
Other factors relating to your functional limitations and restrictions that are due to your pain.

Due to the subjectivity of pain and the resulting difficulty in measuring it, the Social Security Administration is required to consider any limitations that are reported by you, your treating or examining doctors, or other persons that are consistent with objective medical evidence and other evidence presented in your case.

For some Florida Social Security disability claimants, their pain may be even more severe than the objective medical evidence suggests. There are several medical conditions, such as back pain and arthritis, in which the objective medical evidence may not support the symptoms. Simply because the intensity and persistence of your pain are more severe than the objective medical evidence may demonstrate, the Social Security Administration will not necessarily reject them. Rather, the Social Security Administration must consider the integrity of your statements based on a consideration of the complete case record.

Contact experienced Ocala Social Security disability lawyer Claudeth Henry at (352) 304-5300 to discuss establishing a claim based on chronic pain or to discuss your claim for Social Security disability benefits.

Posted in Benefits, Chronic Pain, CJ Henry Law Firm Blog, Claims, Disability Claims, Social Security Disability | No Comments »

The details really matter in your Florida Social Security disability hearing testimony

Monday, March 12th, 2012

The success of your Florida Social Security disability case may depend on how good a job your Ocala disability attorney does in preparing you to testify. Your Ocala disability attorney must prepare you to describe details about how your impairment affects your daily activities. The details you provide in your testimony can often what tips the decision in your favor.

At your hearing, the administrative law judge will ask you about your activities. If you testify that you can perform a wide range of activities (walking, shopping, laundry, gardening, cooking and cleaning, going on vacations, etc.), the judge may find that you are not disabled because you are able to do too much.

Even though it may initially appear that you are able to do too much, your Ocala disability attorney can still win the case for you if he or she can elicit testimony establishing that you cannot sustain any of these activities for a full work week. That is, in order to be capable of holding any job, even a sedentary one, you must be capable of sustained work on a regular and continuing basis. A regular and continuing basis generally is defined as eight hours a day, five days a week.

You should never try to hide facts from the judge. For example, if you walk one to two miles twice a week, you should be able to explain why this activity does not prove you can work by providing additional details to the judge. The walks may be prescribed as rehabilitative therapy or you may only be able to walk 15 minutes before you must stop and rest.

The expertise of an Ocala Social Security disability lawyer is invaluable in preparing you to testify about your impairments and your inability to perform sustained work, and can be the difference between winning and losing your Florida disability case. To evaluate the facts specific to your case, contact dedicated Ocala Social Security disability lawyer Claudeth J. Henry for an initial consultation. Simply fill out the form on this page or call (352) 304-5300.

Posted in Appeal, CJ Henry Law Firm Blog, Claims, Disability Claims, Social Security Disability | No Comments »

Proving you cannot do sedentary work: Visual, environmental, and other limitations

Friday, March 9th, 2012

If you are not yet 50 years old, you will very likely need to convince the Social Security Administration that you can’t do most sedentary jobs in order to obtain benefits. Limitations in your ability to stand, walk, sit, and use your hands and fingers, as discussed in the preceding posts, may establish that you cannot do sedentary work. Other limitations that can be important in proving your inability to perform sedentary work include visual limitations, environmental restrictions, and various other medical conditions.

Visual limitations

Working with small objects is required in most sedentary unskilled occupations. The number of sedentary jobs you can do will be significantly reduced if you have a visual limitation that prevents you from seeing small objects. Similarly, the sedentary jobs you can do will be substantially reduced if you are unable to avoid ordinary hazards in the workplace, such as boxes on the floor, open doors, or approaching people or vehicles.

Environmental restrictions

An “environmental restriction” is an impairment-caused need to avoid an environmental condition in the workplace, such as extreme cold or heat. Restrictions to avoid exposure to noise, dust and other respiratory irritants, and odors, if extreme, may significantly limit your ability to do a full range of sedentary work.

Other medical conditions

Your ability to perform sedentary work may be affected by other medical conditions, such as the following:

Dizziness
Headaches
Pain
Seizures
Inability to hold the head in flexed forward position
Skin conditions
Medical treatment including its frequency, duration, and disruption to routine
Medication side effects
Bladder or bowel problems that require frequent rest room use
Need to maintain a colostomy or ileostomy

An Ocala disability lawyer can review your medical records, identify all the limitations that may affect your ability to work, and determine how to best present the evidence to the Social Security Administration. For a free evaluation of your claim, contact experienced Ocala Social Security disability attorney Claudeth J. Henry. You may fill out the form on this page or call (352) 304-5300, whichever you prefer.

Posted in CJ Henry Law Firm Blog, Claims, Social Security Disability | No Comments »

Proving you cannot do sedentary work: Mental limitations

Wednesday, March 7th, 2012

Social Security disability claimants under the age of 50 typically must prove that they are incapable of performing most sedentary jobs. Mental and emotional problems, either alone or in conjunction with physical limitations, may severely restrict the sedentary jobs a claimant is capable of handling.

Sedentary jobs are the least physically strenuous types of work. But they still require some ability to sit, stand, lift, carry, and manipulate objects. As discussed in previous posts, significant limitations in these areas may lead to a finding of disabled.

In addition to physical abilities, all jobs, even sedentary jobs required certain mental abilities. To be capable of performing any competitive, paid work, an individual must be able to:

Respond appropriately to supervisors, co-workers, and work pressures in a work setting.
Manage changes in a routine work setting.
Comprehend, remember, and carry out simple instructions.
Make simple work-related decisions.

A substantial loss of any of these abilities will seriously limit the number of unskilled sedentary jobs a person can do and justify a finding of disability.

If a claimant has some problems in any of these areas, but the problems do not amount to a substantial loss of the ability to perform these basic work activities, the claimant may or may not be disabled. The administrative law judge or other decision maker will assess the claimant’s remaining capacities and make a judgment as to their effects on his or her ability to hold down a job.

Ocala disability lawyer CJ Henry can work with your doctor to identify all the physical and mental limitations that may affect your ability to perform a sedentary job. She will help you gather the evidence and present it persuasively to the Social Security Administration. Contact experienced Ocala Social Security disability attorney Claudeth J. Henry for a free evaluation of your claim.

Posted in CJ Henry Law Firm Blog, Depression, Mental Disorder, Social Security Disability | No Comments »

Claimants Under 50: Manipulative Limitations

Sunday, February 26th, 2012

To qualify for Social Security disability benefits if you are under the age of 50, you will likely need to prove you cannot perform most sedentary jobs. Sedentary work is the physically easiest type of work recognized by the Social Security Administration. Even so, sedentary jobs require the ability to sit for extended periods and do some walking and standing. As discussed in the previous post, sitting, walking, and standing limitations can significantly reduce the number of sedentary jobs you can perform.

Sedentary jobs also typically require a certain capacity to manipulate objects with the hands and fingers. Proof that you lack the requisite dexterity can help to establish that there are few sedentary jobs that you can perform.

Specifically, most unskilled sedentary jobs require bilateral manual dexterity, in other words, good use of both hands and fingers. To accomplish fine movements of small objects, you need use of the fingers to pick or pinch.

Most unskilled sedentary jobs also require good use of the hands and fingers for repetitive hand-finger actions. Any significant limitation of your ability to handle and work with small objects with both hands will significantly limit the number of unskilled sedentary jobs you can do.

Likewise, the ability to reach and handle is required in almost all jobs. Reaching is extending the hands and arms in any direction and handling means seizing, holding, grasping, turning or otherwise working primarily with the whole hand or hands. Significant limitations in your ability to reaching or handling, therefore, may eliminate a large number of occupations you could otherwise perform.

An Ocala disability lawyer can help assess your manipulative limitations and their impact on your ability to work. Contact experienced Ocala Social Security disability attorney Claudeth J. Henry for a free evaluation of your claim. Fill out the form on this page or phone (352) 304-5300 if you prefer.

Posted in Appeal, Chronic Pain, CJ Henry Law Firm Blog, Disability Claims, Social Security Disability | No Comments »

Speak with a Representative Today! Call 352.304.5300

Our Book

CJH Law Blog

Archive for the ‘Social Security Disability’ Category

Free Case Evaluation

Practice Areas

CJ Henry Law Firm, PLLC