Mistake #1 – Claimant’s do not let SSA know ALL of their medical impairments.  This happens all the time with an initial application.  Most often what happens is that the claimant lists the medical impairments that are the most severe, but they leave out any less severe or what they consider non-disabled impairments.  It is important for any claimant to list ALL of their medical impairments no matter how minor they are because many minor impairments in combination with one another can be disabling.  Additionally, it does no harm to list these minor impairments and SSA will in no way penalize you for merely alleging them.

Mistake #2 – Claimants do not list ALL of their medical providers.  When you apply for disability you need to make sure to list every single doctor and hospital or medical facility you have been to at least one year prior to the time you are alleging you became disabled.  Many individuals fail to list ALL their providers and instead only list the ones they are currently seeing.  Other individuals forget to list any hospitals or urgent care facilities they have been to.  Furthermore, other individuals fail to list any out of state providers they may have been to.  The best thing you can do is to be over inclusive and list every single medical provider, past and current, that you have seen going back as far as 1 year prior to when you stopped working or when you became disabled.

Mistake #3 – Claimants fill out function reports and/or third party function reports incorrectly.  These reports are forms that SSA routinely sends to claimant’s after they initially apply.  It is important to complete these forms in a timely manner, but more importantly you must be sure to let SSA know how your medical impairments affect your ability or inability to work.  It is also important to make sure to not exaggerate your symptoms but you also do not want to minimize your symptoms.  Overall, these forms can be very important later on in the later stages of a disability claim and an attorney can help you make sure they are completed accurately.

Mistake #4 – Claimant’s do not appeal a disability denial.  This is probably the biggest and most common mistake we see being made.  Unfortunately, when you do not appeal a denied claim within the 60 day time limit you lose your rights to appeal and you must start over from the beginning.  Not appealing can create a vicious circle where a claimant keeps re-applying, starting from square one each and every time and thus will continue to be denied each and every time.  A claimant’s best chance for winning their disability claim is at the hearing stage, and the only way to get to the hearing stage is to appeal a denied claim, not just once, but twice.  Not appealing is pretty much a sure fire way to never win your disability benefits.

These 4 common mistakes are probably the most common ones made and we as social security disability attorneys see them all the time.  However, once we get involved with a claim, these mistakes are never made.  If you are thinking about applying for social security disability benefits or if you have already been denied, you may want to talk to a local disability attorney to prevent yourself from making these common mistakes yourself.

If a prospective client agree’s to hire our firm to represent them, then we have them sign a standard contingency fee agreement which entitles the attorney to 25% of the claimant’s back benefits which is also commonly referred to as “retroactive benefits” or “lump sum benefits.”  It is important to understand that ONLY the back benefits are subject to the 25% attorney’s fee and any ongoing or recurring monthly benefits to the claimant are always 100% to the claimant.  There is also a cap in place of $6000 in the event the 25% of back benefits is more than $6000.  This means the most our attorney’s can collect is $6000, except for a few rare circumstances in which event the fee is still 25% of the back benefits but there is no cap in place.  The only other charges a client is responsible for are for things like costs our firm incurs for payment of medical records, reports, and other doctors fees for any forms generated on behalf of the client.  However, again, this is only the case if we are successful in getting the client their benefits.

In the event we are unsuccessful in getting social security disability benefits granted to our client, there will be no charge for our services no matter how much work, time, and effort we put into the claim.  In fact, even if our firm pays for medical records, reports and other various charges related to the client’s claim, the client does not have to re-pay us for those charges in the event we are unsuccessful with their claim.

If you are thinking about filing for social security disability and have put off talking to an attorney because you do not have the money to pay an attorney you may want to reconsider.  The most important thing to remember is that there is no upfront fee and it is always free to simply call and talk to our attorney’s about your claim.

With this in mind, there are some things that a claimant can do to supplement their record in order to put forth the strongest possible claim.

• Treat as often as possible – This is especially true if you have health insurance or Medicaid.  The more often your doctor sees you, the more documentation there is to support your claim.  The length of time and frequency in which a doctor treats you is a factor that Social Security uses in assigning weight to the evidence in your file.  Even if you have a condition which cannot likely be remedied with treatment, it is still a good idea to periodically get examined by a physician.  For example, a claimant with severe back problems that has been told there is nothing other than surgery that can be done, would still benefit from an updated check-up from a physician.  Even if the physician can offer no new treatment, the claimant has added updated medical evidence to their file which details the same or similar complaints that their previous records showed.  This is especially important if you have not received any medical treatment in a long time.

• Be open and honest with your doctor – This sounds obvious, but many claimants don’t do it.  This is especially true with mental health symptoms.  Many claimants leave out depression, anxiety, and other mental health ailments when discussing their health problems with their physicians.  Even if a condition is not your primary reason for seeking disability, it can still add to your chances of receiving disability and is therefore important.  It is important to know that your physicians often note much more in their records than what you verbally tell them.  For example, your physician will often note your appearance, your ability to walk (gait), your ability to get on/off the exam table, your mood, and many other observations from your visit.  Additionally, physicians will generally note any complaints that you make while at your visit.  Knowing this, it is a good idea to let your physicians know of all medical problems you are having, rather than just the one(s) they are seeing you for.  For example, if you are seeing an orthopedic specialist and you suffer from severe depression, you should include your mental health ailments in your list of complaints to that doctor, even though they don’t treat it.  The doctor will still note the complaints, even if they don’t treat it, and this helps to create consistency in your record and can add value to a claim.  The flip-side of this is that you never want to make up or exaggerate symptoms or ailments.  Doctors are generally very good at noticing when this is happening, and the worst thing that you can have in your records is a physician questioning your credibility.

• Determine if your doctor supports your disability – This is a tricky area.  Many doctors are supportive of their patient’s claims for disability.  However, there are some doctors who dislike the concept of disability benefits and who will go out of their way to hurt a claim.  In most cases, you can quickly tell your doctor’s views on the subject.  An innocent question, such as “I was thinking of applying for disability benefits, do you think I have a good case?” can provide a lot of insight into whether your doctor will be helpful with your claim.  Some doctors will tell you that they think you have a good claim and that they will be happy to help you in any way they can.  That type of doctor is invaluable to a claim.  Our firm often provides specifically tailored questionnaires for these doctors to complete regarding your impairment.  Other doctors will tell you that they think you have a decent claim but that they don’t do anything with disability claims.  These types of doctors generally don’t help or hurt your claim.  Finally, there are doctors who will either tell you that they don’t think you are disabled or that they flat-out don’t believe in Social Security Disability.  These doctors can be very dangerous to a claim and will need to be handled carefully.  In some case, it is in the claimant’s best interest to seek a new doctor.

Whether you have yet to apply or are at the hearing level, you always need to be aware of the weight that your medical records have on your claim.  At Bridgman & Serbin, we frequently work with our clients to help them get the most out of their medical records.  If you would like to learn more about how to strengthen your claim, please contact us.

Keep in mind that a diary of events is not by itself going to get anyone approved for disability benefits, because you still need to have sufficient evidence consisting of medical records that agree with your diary of events and the frequency of your medical impairment.  In fact, it is even better if you can get your doctor to note in your medical file what you have kept in your diary of medical events.

Some other impairments that we see where keeping a diary of events is helpful is asthma attacks, panic or anxiety attacks, headaches/migraines, frequent chest pain, heart palpitations, dizzy spells, sickle cell anemia pain crises, IBS or irritable bowel syndrome or crohns disease, epilepsy or seizures either grand mal or petit mal, and any other medical impairment which occurs on a somewhat regular and frequent basis.

If you have applied for social security disability or are thinking about applying for social security disability and you have a medical impairment that has frequent and regular exacerbation’s you may want to consider keeping a detailed diary as explained above.  More importantly, if you have any questions about keeping a medical diary feel free to contact one of our Social Security Disability Attorney’s in Charlotte, NC and we would be glad to help in any way we can.

To begin with, the hearing office is not at your county courthouse, instead most are located in some type of professional business park or commercial building.  Most have free parking and are fairly easy to get to if you have directions.  Once you get to the hearing office you will be required to present some form of identification and go through a brief security check before you are allowed to enter.  Once you check in with the receptionist you will wait for your hearing to be held at the designated time that was given to you.  Most of the time hearings occur on time especially if they are scheduled first thing in the morning, so be sure to arrive on time or better yet at least 30 minutes early.

The actual hearing room is a relatively small room about the size of a large living room and has one or two tables with several chairs and a bench for the judge (ALJ).  Most of the time the only people present at your hearing are the ALJ, the ALJ’s assistant, you (the claimant), your attorney if you have one, and possibly an expert or two (vocational expert or medical expert).  You may be allowed to have a witness attend as well.  The hearings are recorded for appeal purposes only and the general public is not allowed to attend your hearing so everything is confidential.

Hearings typically last anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour, with few exceptions lasting less than 30 minutes or more than 1 hour.  Also, most of the time a decision is NOT made on the day of your hearing, instead the ALJ will write up a formal decision and mail it to all interested parties typically within 1-3 months after your hearing.

During your actual hearing, most of the time is spent asking simple questions about your disability and how you are unable to work because of your medical impairments.  Most importantly are the questions from the judge about how your medical impairments affect your ability to function in a work environment.  The ALJ may also ask you things such as;  your past work activity, your education background, your medications, your doctors, what hobbies you have, what kinds of things you do all day, who you live with, and more functional specific questions like how far you can walk, how long you can sit or stand, and how many pounds can you lift and carry.  These are just several examples of what you could potentially be asked at your hearing.

The most important thing about your hearing is that you try to convey to the ALJ exactly what prevents you from being able to work and why you cannot functionally perform any type of work activity on a regular basis.  This can be difficult sometimes and it is helpful if you have someone on your side who has been through this process many times before and knows what questions to ask and more importantly which questions not to ask.

If you have a social security disability hearing pending it would probably be a good idea to speak to an attorney who can help you prepare for your hearing to give you the best chance at a favorable outcome.  If you have any questions about your hearing or what to do at your hearing do not hesitate to contact one of our Charlotte, NC social security disability attorney’s, we would be happy to assist you in any way we can.

The main exception or rule is that you can work to a certain extent or amount and still be able to apply for social security disability.  That amount this year is $1010 per month in gross wages, or before taxes.  So, if you are working and you earn less than $1010 per month before taxes then technically you can still apply for social security disability and have your claim move forward.  However, even if you earn less than that amount and your claim can move forward it may have a negative affect on your claim.  What I usually tell prospective client’s is that if you were to earn $1009.99 then technically your claim can move forward, but it will be highly scrutinized if and when you get to the hearing stage and most Judges are going to really question your ability to work if you earned even close to the threshold amount.  Working and earning money can also have an effect on how much you would get paid if you are eventually approved for disability because one type of disability benefit (SSI) is dependent on how much you earn and any earnings could reduce your benefit amount dollar for dollar for that time period.

If that wasn’t confusing enough, there are even other exceptions to this exception.  There are rules in place that will allow your claim to move forward even if you earn more than the threshold amount of $1010 per month.  One is called an “unsuccessful work attempt” and the other is called “income related work expenses.”  These rules are used in specific circumstances and may allow an individual to keep their disability claim moving forward even though they may have earned over the threshold amount for a certain time period.  These same rules may also allow an individual to claim an earlier onset date which may result in a larger lump sum benefit if they are eventually approved for disability.  The specifics of these rules are far too complicated to explain in a short blog and require analysis on a case by case basis.

The best thing to do if you are currently working and thinking about applying for social security disability or if you have a current disability claim pending and want to consider working part time, you may want to speak with an attorney first before making that decision.  If you have any questions about how your work activity may affect your social security disability claim, please feel free to contact one of our Charlotte, NC attorney’s at Bridgman and Serbin and take a look at our website at www.CharlotteDisability.com.

Heart or cardiac impairments can sometimes be difficult to evaluate in terms of winning a social security disability claim.  Most of the time if someone is unable to work because of a heart or cardiac impairment it usually means it is very severe.  In other words it is very likely it is severe enough that it limits or precludes them from being able to perform most types of work related activity.  Even if a heart condition is very severe, you still have to prove you are entitled to social security disability benefits by showing objective medical records and testing.  These can include tests such as an Echocardiogram, Stress Testing, Exercise Testing, Catheterizations, EKG’s, ultrasounds and other heart related lab and diagnostic testing.  Additionally, you must be able to prove that you suffer from very severe symptoms which cause marked limitations.  These symptoms can include just about anything, but some of the most common heart related symptoms include chest pain, shortness of breath, dyspnea, difficulty breathing, heart palpitations, dizzy spells, fainting, passing out, fatigue, swelling of the extremities, and many others.  It also helps your chances of winning your social security disability claim if you can show you need multiple medical interventions or hospitalizations and/or a significant number of medications to help control your heart condition.

All of these factors listed above are important to your social security disability claim. unfortunately, a lot of this information can be difficult to analyze and present to the Social Security Administration if you are unfamiliar with them.  If you have a heart or cardiac impairment and are thinking about applying for social security disability, it is probably wise to speak with an attorney who is experienced in handling these types of claims.  In Charlotte, North Carolina and throughout North and South Carolina we have helped many individuals suffering from a heart impairment with their social security disability claims.  Please feel free to give one of our attorney’s a call for a free consultation if you have any questions.

Multiple Sclerosis is a neurological disease that affects the central nervous system and can be extremely debilitating.  There is no known cause for Multiple Sclerosis and unfortunately, no known “cure” as well, however, there are many different therapies which are mostly designed to slow the progression of the disease and target some of the symptoms.  There are many signs and symptoms of MS including muscle weakness, spasticity, decreased sensation, pain, and vision and speech disturbances among many others.  These symptoms are what affects an individuals function which are key in proving disability.

Individuals who have been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and are unable to work because of this disease should consider applying for social security disability.  There are specific criteria that the Social Security Administration looks for when evaluating your claim.  First, they will look to see if you were formally diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.  This typically includes some type of imaging (MRI) where a doctor, most likely a neurologist who is specially trained with MS, is able to see the damaged areas of the brain or any abnormalities which are typical in patients with MS.  Additionally, this has to be corroborated with a patient’s history, physical symptoms, and other laboratory findings in order to rule out other causes of a positive MRI.  Next, and just as important to your case, the Social Security Administration will look at your ability, or more accurately, your inability to function due to the symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis.  The most important symptom that our law firm has found in these cases is “muscle weakness” and/or “fatigue”.  Fatigue and muscle weakness are two of the most common symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis and are also two of the most debilitating.  If a social security disability claimant can show that they have reproducible fatigue and/or muscle weakness due to Multiple Sclerosis, then they have a much better chance of being successful with their social security disability claim.

Proving this may sound very simplistic, however, unfortunately it is not.  Many cases can be denied due to the difficulty of proving the particular degree of symptoms as well as consistent symptoms, especially at the initial and reconsideration stages of a social security disability claim.  It is important to remember that there is a right way and a wrong way to describe your particular symptoms to SSA or to the Administrative Law Judge if you have a social security disability hearing.  The short answer is you do not want to exaggerate your symptoms, but you also do not want to minimize your symptoms.  Anyone who has been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and is considering applying for social security disability benefits, or has already been denied with their disability claim should consider talking to an Attorney who is well versed in this type of law and who has an understanding of this type of disease.

There are several ways to obtain a treating doctor’s medical opinion. For example, your Charlotte disability lawyer could:

• Take the doctor’s deposition. [A deposition is similar to an interview. Your Charlotte disability lawyer will question the doctor; the doctor will answer under oath, just as if he were testifying in court; and the entire proceeding will be transcribed, word for word.]
• Send the doctor written questions, to be answered in writing.
• Ask the doctor to prepare a written report on specific topics.
• Ask the doctor to complete a pre-printed medical opinion form relative to your impairment. [You can see an example of a medical opinion form, in a fibromyalgia case, here.]
• Subpoena the doctor to testify at your hearing before the administrative law judge.

Even though live testimony may be the most compelling and effective way to ensure that the treating doctor addresses all the issues in your case, treating doctors rarely testify at Social Security disability hearings. The reason for this is simple: doctors are busy, and their time is expensive. Thus, in most cases, the doctor’s opinion will be presented in written form. In any event, regardless of how the doctor’s opinion is obtained or the format in which it is presented, the Social Security decision-maker must consider the opinion and, in appropriate cases, give it controlling weight.

An experienced Charlotte disability lawyer can help you gather and present the evidence in support of your disability claim, including medical opinion evidence. If you are not currently represented, and you would like to talk with us, please use the Free Case Evaluation form on this page to tell us about your situation, or call or email us directly.

Assuming that your doctor is an “acceptable source,” then the Social Security decision-maker will consider both the nature of your relationship with your doctor and the quality of the opinion presented in determining the weight to be given to your doctor’s opinion. Relevant factors include:

• The length of time you have treated with the doctor;
• The number of time you have seen the doctor;
• Whether the doctor is able to provide details of your impairment over a prolonged and continuous period of time;
• Whether the doctor is a specialist and, if so, whether the doctor’s specialized knowledge and experience are relevant to treating your impairment;
• The clinical work (examinations and tests) performed and ordered by the doctor;
• Whether and to what degree the doctor’s opinion is supported by the medical evidence in the case, particularly the clinical and diagnostic evidence;
• Whether the doctor’s opinion is consistent with the other evidence in your case; and
• The quality of the doctor’s written opinion – a detailed, well-reasoned, and well supported opinion is valuable and will  be given due weight; by comparison, a conclusory statement of opinion (e.g., “It is my opinion the claimant is disabled.”), without more, will be given little to no weight.

An experienced Charlotte disability attorney can work with you and your doctors to obtain valuable medical opinion evidence. If you would like to talk with us about your case, you can reach us by phone or email, or by submitting the Free Case Evaluation form on this page.