Things You Should Know About Social Security Disability

Posted on June 11, 2010 by Greenberg & Bederman

Things You Should Know About Social Security Disability Insurance

As personal injury lawyers, we can tell you from firsthand experience that bad things can happen to perfectly innocent people. We help people who have been severely injured due to no fault of their own on a daily basis. We help them deal with insurance companies. We help them deal with bill collectors. We help them deal with the legal process. And we do this simply because if we don’t, their chances of receiving fair treatment are very much diminished.

Our government came to a similar realization. There are simply too many variables in human life for all of our citizens to go without some sort of basic protection in the event that things go wrong. People get sick or injured on a daily basis, and they get sick or injured in such a way that keeps them from working or otherwise supporting themselves. To keep these injury victims from falling through the cracks, our government established the Social Security Administration.

Most people know that Social Security is a government backed program that provides supplemental income to all Americans once they get to retirement age. They are less aware that Social Security provides coverage to people of all ages who suffer disabling injuries and are as such are unable to provide for themselves. Many people are also unaware that these benefits can also extend to their immediate families.

If you find yourself unable to work for a year or more due to a medical disability, you may be eligible to receive Social Security Disability payments. These benefits are paid up until the point where you are able to work again (if that is possible.) You can apply for SSDI benefits is if your injury is permanent and has lasted for at least one year.

In order to qualify, you  have to meet the Social Security Administration’s definition of “disabled.” In broad terms, what this means is the following:

  • You have an injury or illness that prevents you from doing the work that you used to do. In other words, if you used to have a job that required heavy physical labor and you severely injure yourself in a car accident, it is unlikely that you will be able to continue to work at your same job.
  •  You can’t do other work because of your condition. Making a career change happens to many people at some point in their lives, but with severe injuries or debilitating illnesses a career switch simply isn’t an option. If you have an injury where simply sitting upright causes you pain, there aren’t many employment positions available.
  •  Your disability is expected to last at least a year or to result in your death. It is important to realize that SSDI is generally for people who have been severely injured or are severely ill. Injuries that result in permanent impairment or injuries that will take extensive and lengthy recovery periods are generally the types that are considered for SSDI benefits.

If your condition meets these general criteria, then it falls to the Social Security Administration to determine whether or not you are actually disabled. They do this by asking five questions.

1.       Are you currently working? The idea here is that you can’t really be considered disabled if you are holding down a job and earning more than $1000 a month.  If you are currently working and making more than that, then as far as the SSA is concerned, you aren’t disabled.

2.       Is your condition Severe? In other words, does your condition directly affect your ability to work? Can you not work specifically because of your injury or illness?

3.       Is your condition on the list of disabling conditions? The Social Security Administration has a list of conditions which will automatically qualify you for SSDI. You can find that list here. If your condition is not on the automatically disabling list, that doesn’t mean you should give up. It just means that they take a longer time considering whether or not you will qualify.

4.       Can you go back to your old job or go back to similar work? If you get into a car accident, but are still able to do the job that you had before you were injured, then you will not qualify for SSDI. This has become more and more common in recent years, as a great deal of the work is more automated and less based on manual labor.

5.       Can you do any other type of work? The key here is that they want disabled to mean “severely disabled.” If your injury has you completely bed-ridden or has left you with brain injuries, then there is a high amount of probability that you would not be able to transfer your skills over to any other job, or really do any other job for that matter.

These are the basic qualifications for Social Security Disability benefits, but what has not been mentioned so far is that the process for applying for these benefits can be very long and quite complicated. There are rejections and appeals, many of which are decided by a presiding administrative law judge. This is not like waiting in line at the DMV to get a driver’s license. It’s more complicated than that.

This is why having experienced legal representation to assist you with your application is so important. It could be the difference between being provided with crucially needed income for you and your family and being left with nothing at all. With serious injuries, or a questionable disability problem, such as mental illness, the stakes are too high to attempt to do without legal counsel.

Greenberg and Bederman is a D.C. based law firm that helpsinjury victims get through the injury process, and that includes helping them with the applications forSocial Security Disability benefits. We serve clients in Silver Spring, Maryland and Baltimore, and have helped hundreds of people all over Maryland, Virginia and Washington, DC. If you or a loved one needs assistance in getting through the SSDI process, contact our social security lawyer Audrey Faust, for a free social security legal consultation.
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Should I Get A Job?

Posted on March 3, 2008 by Dory Sutker


I just got off the phone with a client who informed me that, due to dire financial straits, she is going to get a job. Then she asked , " how will that affect my case" ? The question is common ( I get asked it several times a week) and it seems simple enough.

But, the answer is a little complicated. First, social security (SSA) defines disability as being unable to work. So, if one is working, it’s difficult, if not impossible, to prove one cannot work. Having said that, not all work counts as work. So, when is work not work? Unfortunately, there isn’t a black and white answer to that. But, there are some guidelines. In 2008, if you gross $940.00 or more per month(gross, not take home pay), it is considered substantial gainful activity. If you perform this job for 3 months or less and have to stop due to an impairment, it is usually considered an unsuccessful work attempt. If you do this job for 3-6 months and have to stop due to your impairments, it will probably be counted as an unsuccessful work attempt. But, beware, if you are deliberately keeping the hours down so your earnings will be under the $940 limit, then SSA may find that you are working. Or if you stop working due to reasons other than your impairment, SSA may consider the work to be substantial gainful activity. There are more regulations regarding this issue so, if you are considering a return to work, you should discuss the matter with your attorney.

If you are really able to work, you are almost always better off working. And, if there was a period of, at least, 12 months where you were unable to work, you can request a closed period of disability. That means you can get benefits for the period of time when you were unable to work.

The most important thing to remember is let your attorney know if you are planning on going back to work. That way you can make an informed decision.

To learn more about social security issues please see social security disability law and click on the social security tab.  To learn more about our social security disability lawyers, click onsocial security disability lawyers maryland and read our bios on Dory Sutker or Suja Varghese.

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