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Social Security Disability Judges ask many questions at the disability hearing.

This may cause you to think that if you do certain activities then you will lose your case.

For instance, going to church does not mean that you can perform full time work. But tell the Judge if you cannot stand for all the music because of health problems.

Doing light house work does not mean that you are not disabled.

Make sure you tell the Judge if you need breaks to rest or because of pain.

Driving a car does not keep you from winning your case.

Using a computer or reading is not forbidden. Of course you should let the judge know if you have problems concentrating while reading or you have to take breaks using the computer because your hands hurt or your back hurts.

Taking care of your children or pets is not going to hurt your case. Certainly, you should explain to the Judge if others help care your your children or pets.

Limited exercise is not the kiss of death. Once again explain your limitations in anything you do.

Every activity should be viewed through the lens of how much can I do and how am I limited when I do it.

Remember the work day is six to eight hours long and must be repeated four to five days of the week.

Thanks to Attorney Charles Hall for these ideas.

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

Social Security Disability is tricky because it focuses on things that seem to have little if any impact on whether you are able to work today.

You must be very careful with seemingly innocent questions asked on forms early in the disability process, and later on at the hearing.

A good example of this is your past relevant work.

This means work you have performed in the last 15 years.

If you are under 50 years of age, then your past relevant work does not really matter.

The reason is that you must prove that you can do no work at all, past relevant work or any kind of work.

Once you hit 50 years of age, past relevant work becomes very important.

For instance, if you are 50 years of age and worked as a janitor for the past 15 years and can only work a sit down job now, then you are considered disabled.

However, if you are 50 years of age and worked as a secretary in the past 15 years and are limited to a sit down job now, then you are not disabled.

It is puzzling if you are new to the Social Security Disability process.

Both people are limited to sit down jobs, but only one is disabled.

Your past work can knock you out of disability.

What you must do is show that you can no longer perform your past work maybe because of loss of concentration due to pain or depression or because your hands are injured.

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

Nursing jobs are some of the toughest, most physical jobs around.

Whether you are a Certified Nurse Assistant, Registered Nurse, or LPN there are lots of injuries that can result from your job duties.

The lifting, moving, and assisting certainly lead to back strains, herniated discs or other spinal injuries.

Many nurses also injure their shoulders and arms because of the stress and strain of working with patients and certain medical equipment.

I have also seen examples of repetitive duties that have led to carpal tunnel syndrome.

Exposure to infections and diseases are also a dangerous part of the job.

Over time you may have developed injuries that you recovered from or developed into a nagging injury.

In Illinois, this should not prevent you from claiming that you have aggravated a pre-existing injury.

Another defense that insurance companies like to use is that some of your outside of work activity caused your condition.

This might be something like exercise classes, or working around the house or yard.

The best thing to do if you are injured at work is to notify your supervisor as soon as possible, fill out an accident report, and make sure you go to the doctor right away, and tell the doctor how you were hurt on the job.

Questions about your work injury? Feel free to contact Illinois Workers’ Compensation Attorney Dirk May at 309-827-4371.

Social Security Disability really is a complex set of laws, rules and procedures.

Most of it is just not that intuitive.

In other words, you cannot look at it on the surface and think that it makes sense.

You may agree after I give you this very important tip for Social Security Disability cases.

Your ability to use your hands may mean the difference in winning or losing your disability case.

The reason is that many Vocational experts will testify that if you can only use your hands for handling and fingering items occasionally, then there are very few jobs available for you.

You might think that if I can still walk and stand and sit then there is some job available.

However, your options are very limited if you cannot use your hands very much.

With this in mind if you have problems with your hands, then make sure you tell your doctor. Explain your hand pain and numbness and how it limits your using a computer, and dressing, and using utensils and cups and glasses.

The other thing you should do is have xrays of your hands if you have arthritis or some other condition that may show up in an xray.

You may also want to have a nerve test done of your hands to show damage.

Another possibility is a physical capacity test of your hands.

Anything objective to support the problems you have with your hands will be important.

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

Watch out for insurance companies that say you are not covered because your injury could have happened to any member of the public and you were not doing anything work related that increased your risk.

An example of this is you twist your knee and injure it while getting out of your car in the parking lot at work.

The facts of the case are very important in Workers’ Compensation cases.

If you injure your knee because of a defect in the parking lot, then you should be entitled to Workers’ Compensation.

If you injure your knee while your hands are full of medical supplies for work and you are bringing them in from your car, then you are entitled to compensation.

If you injure your knee while hurrying to a meeting, then you should recover.

If you are traveling for your job and twist your knee while getting out of car in a client’s parking lot, then you should win your case.

If you injure your knee while getting out of the car and cannot explain why it happened, then you may have a problem winning your case.

Do not let an insurance company make up the law.

You should find out how the Workers’ Compensation Law applies to the facts of your case.