Resources

If you are applying or have applied for Florida Social Security disability benefits, you will probably have to testify at a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ).  You may be quite anxious, but you needn’t be.  If your hire me as your Ocala Social Security lawyer, I will meet with you before your hearing to provide you with the practical guidance and emotional support that you need. When we meet to prepare for your hearing, we will talk about your impairment and the issues in your disability claim and get you ready to testify. One of my main goals during our meeting is to relieve any worries you may have. You will be a better witness if you are…Read More

Separating mental impairments resulting from addiction from mental impairments not caused by addiction It is particularly helpful to have an experienced disability lawyer assist you with your Florida Social Security disability claim when documented substance use disorders and mental impairments are involved. As an experienced Ocala disability lawyer, I know that these are some of the most complicated and difficult disability claims because it is extremely difficult to differentiate between mental limitations resulting from substance use versus mental limitations resulting from other causes. If you have mental impairments that would diminish sufficiently to allow you to work if you stopped using drugs or alcohol, you will not be disabled. Because of this, the Social Security Administration suggests that the most…Read More

The Social Security Administration will need to determine your mental residual functional capacity or RFC if you have a mental disorder. This involves an evaluation of the extent to which your mental impairment affects your ability to perform work- related activities, including your ability to retain information, concentrate, interact with others and adjust to change. A mental RFC assesses whether you have the capacity for skilled, semiskilled, unskilled, or below unskilled work. Many jobs require only unskilled work. Unskilled work involves uncomplicated tasks that can be learned on the job in a short period of time, usually 30 days or less, and that require little or no judgment on the part of the worker. An example of an unskilled job…Read More

To qualify for Florida Social Security disability benefits, you will probably need to prove to the Social Security Administration that you cannot do “past relevant work” (i.e., the easiest job you had in the past 15 years), and cannot adapt to other jobs in light of your age, education, and experience. The first step in determining whether you are capable of adapting to other jobs is to determine your residual functional capacity or RFC.  Your RFC is the most exertion you are capable of despite your impairment.  As we explained in an earlier post, your RFC is expressed in terms of whether you are limited to medium work, light work, or sedentary work. Medical Vocational Guidelines After the Social Security…Read More

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…Read More

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…Read More

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…Read More

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,…Read More

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…Read More

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…Read More