P.O. Box 928, Abita Springs, LA 70420
Phone: (504) 909-4151 FAX: (985) 892-9847
Electronic mail: Disability Claims
Nan White-Price
Why should I use a claimant representative to document disability?
Disability is defined by the Social Security Administration as the inability to perform any kind of work available in the national economy for a period of 12 or more months.
That definition is broad enough that only the most profoundly disabled people can be routinely determined to be disabled by Social Security's standards.
Compounding the difficulty of being found disabled, given the above definition, the Social Security Administration itself reviews the disability application.
Fortunately, there is a three-step procedure one may follow when trying to demonstrate disability. The table below summarizes this three step procedure.
The Three-Step Procedure to a Fair Evaluation of Disability
STEPS | PROCEDURE | REVIEWED BY | LIKELY OUTCOME |
Step 1 | Application | Social
Security | Denial |
Step 2 | Reconsideration |
Social Security | Denial |
Step 3 | Court Hearing | Administrative Law Judge* | Dependent upon evidence** |
* An Administrative Law Judge is a federally appointed judge appointed to his or her position based on proven abilities
** The outcome is not only dependent upon the evidence, but upon how logically and compellingly the evidence is presented.
There is considerable empirical evidence to document that the greatest chance of being judged disabled occurs at the third step and it occurs most often when the claimant is assisted by a claimant representative. There is scant reason to risk a third denial if one can be ably supported by an experienced and knowledgeable representative
Webmaster: bontemp1@bellsouth.net