The Social Security Administration will consider you disabled if your disability prevents you from participating in substantial gainful activities. It will also consider you disabled if that condition keeps you from performing work-related tasks, and if your condition lasts a year or ultimately leads to your demise. In measuring your disability against this definition, the Administration applies a 5-step sequential process to each application for Supplemental Security Income or Social Security Disability Insurance benefits.
The Social Security disability benefits lawyers at Marc Whitehead & Associates help individuals navigate the application process. They also help to overcome the Administration’s bureaucratic application challenges. Qualifying for benefits is difficult even when a disability is clear and obvious. A disability benefits attorney from our law firm can help you prepare and file your application in a manner that substantially increases your chance to get the largest benefits available.
What is the Social Security Administration’s sequential process for evaluating someone’s disability?
In every case, the Administration will ask:
- Are you working or able to work such that you will earn at least $1,350 per month?
- Is your disability so severe that you cannot lift objects, walk, sit or stand for a lengthy period, or perform simple cognitive tasks?
- Is the condition causing your disability on a regulatory list of medical conditions that qualify as approved disabilities under the Administration’s rules?
- To what extent does your disability keep you from doing the work tasks you performed before you became disabled?
- What other kinds of work tasks (if any) are you able to perform?
The Administration’s ultimate conclusion as to whether you are disabled will be based on how these questions are answered–and the medical files and records you provide in support of that application.
For a free legal consultation, call 800-562-9830
What is the Social Security Administration’s sequential process for evaluating someone’s disability?
In every case, the Administration will ask:
- Are you working or able to work such that you will earn at least $1,350 per month?
- Is your disability so severe that you cannot lift objects, walk, sit or stand for a lengthy period, or perform simple cognitive tasks?
- Is the condition causing your disability on a regulatory list of medical conditions that qualify as approved disabilities under the Administration’s rules?
- To what extent does your disability keep you from doing the work tasks you performed before you became disabled?
- What other kinds of work tasks (if any) are you able to perform?
The Administration’s ultimate conclusion as to whether you are disabled will be based on how these qu
Does the Administration apply exceptions for special situations?
When an applicant is disabled due to ALS, certain types of cancers, or a similar debilitating condition, the Administration will expedite and be more likely to approve it. It also applies different processes if a disability results from blindness or wounds received when the applicant was serving in the military. Benefits for families of persons with disabilities might also get preferential treatment.
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Call the Law Offices of Marc Whitehead & Associates
It may be obvious that your disability is preventing you from working and earning a living. However, if you do not communicate that message to the Social Security Administration in a way that responds to its processes and procedures, they can deny your application.
To minimize the likelihood of rejection, retain a Social Security disability benefits lawyer from the Law Offices of Marc Whitehead & Associates to help you complete and file your application. We represent clients throughout the United States from our offices in Houston and our satellite offices in Cypress, The Woodlands, El Paso, Dallas, San Antonio, and Temple. We will thoroughly analyze your circumstances and frame your application in a way that substantially improves your odds of success.
Call or text 800-562-9830 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form
