Social Security Disability

Should You Apply for Social Security Disability?

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Social Security Disability involves a complicated application process.

There is also usually a long waiting period before you are accepted.

The odds of being approved are not great.

All this to say that you should make sure that you truly cannot work a job before you apply for disability.

Monthly disability payments may range from $400 to $2500 depending on your earnings history.

So Social Security does not pay you a tremendous amount of money, however if you cannot work it is a wonderful safety net.

The other advantage of Social Security Disability is that eventually you will be entitled to Medicare.

The SSDI program has the added feature of allowing you to work part-time with a monthly earnings limit that changes every year.

This allows you to earn some money in addition to your disability payment.

The whole process may take up to 2 to 3 years, therefore you should make sure that your health definitely prevents you from working.

Many people work until they absolutely cannot continue and then file.

Before you stop working you should ask your doctors for the proper testing to document your conditions such as xrays, MRIs, nerve testing, or breathing tests.

This will provide objective evidence of your condition and support your claim.

Questions about winning your disability claim? Feel free to contact Illinois Social Security Disability Attorney Dirk May at 309-827-4371.

New rules go into effect for Social Security disability claims | Fox 59

Dirk May Illinois Social Security Disability Attorney, Illinois Social Security Disability Lawyer, In the news, Law, Social Security, Social Security Disability, Supplemental Security Income ,

WASHINGTON D.C. — It may soon be harder to file a disability claim with the Social Security Administration.New regulations, which went into effect on Monday, are eliminating the so-called “treating-physician rule.”Until now, the rule required benefits adjudicators to give significant weight to a physician’s report supporting an applicant’s claim for benefits.

Source: New rules go into effect for Social Security disability claims | Fox 59

Click above to read.

The truth is that Administrative Law Judges have been ignoring the treating physician’s opinion for years. The rule will just embolden this behavior. How is it possible to give weight to a doctor who is paid from SSA, has never seen the claimant and only relies on the medical records.

Social Security Disability and Headaches

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Severe headaches and migraines are devastating.

They disrupt everyday activities and if severe enough may cause you to lose your job.

If you are seeking Social Security Disability you must prove you are not able to work full time.

Proving your case starts with seeing a specialists such as a neurologist.

The neurologist must diagnose your headaches and note the severity and frequency of the headaches.

You should also keep a daily log that describes your headaches. Show this log to your doctor and keep a copy for your disability records.

It will be helpful for your doctor to provide an opinion regarding how much work you will miss in a month and how long you will be unable to perform most activities while suffering from the headaches.

MRIs will usually be part of your diagnostic treatment. They are typically used to rule out serious problems such as a brain tumor. Therefore, a clean MRI does not rule out migraines.

A case for disability can be won on the basis of migraines, but the neurologist must be willing to help you document and develop your case.

Questions about headaches and migraines and your disability case? Feel free to contact Illinois Social Security Disability Attorney Dirk May at 309-827-4371.

Make Sure to Coordinate Your Work Comp Settlement and Social Security Claim

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Social Security law requires that your disability payments be offset or reduced to take into account any Workers’ Compensation settlement.

This makes it very important for your Workers’ Compensation lawyer to be aware of your filing for Social Security Disability benefits.

The best situation is to use the same lawyer for both the work injury claim and the Social Security Disability claim, however if that is not possible then make sure that your Workers’ Comp lawyer talks with your Social Security attorney.

Your work comp lawyer must make sure to put special spread language approved through SSA to reduce any offset as much as allowed pursuant to SSA rules.

I have seen several Work Comp settlements that have not used this special language and the disabled workers suffers greatly as a result.

These injured workers have had their Social Security disability benefits cut off for several years.

The result is that it would have better for the injured worker to never have taken any money for the Work Comp settlement.

Make sure that you do not sign any work comp settlement contracts without having them reviewed carefully by and experienced Social Security Disability attorney.

Do you have a work comp injury and are you disabled? Feel free to contact me, Dirk May, an experienced Social Security Disability and Illinois Workers’ Compensation Attorney at 309-827-4371.

When Should You File for Social Security Disability?

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If you can no longer work, then you should file for Social Security Disability benefits right away.

There are several reasons for filing immediately.

First, the process takes a very long time.

It can take from six months to over two and one-half years to get a final decision. This includes multiple appeals and a hearing before the administrative law judge.

Second, you can lose benefits if you delay.

Social Security rules only allow you to go back 12 months from the application date to recover back benefits.

For instance, if you were found disabled 24 months before your application date then you lose 12 months of back benefits.

Third, you want to get your Medicare started.

Medicare is available 30 months after your disability onset date is determined.

If you cannot work there is no reason to delay.

File your Social Security Disability as soon as possible.

Need to help with the application process? Feel free to contact Illinois Social Security Disability Attorney Dirk May at 309-827-4371.