Social Security Disability Claim Rejection Not Uncommon
Are you unable to be gainfully employed due to a disability? Has the Social Security Administration denied your application for Disability Payment? Startlingly, only 26.8 percent of disability applications are approved in Florida, making the arduous application process seem even more dismal. If you find yourself amid the crowd of rejected applicants and feel wrongly dismissed by the Social Security Administration, you want an experience Tampa lawyer on your side as you get ready to file an appeal.
What Constitutes a Disability?
Disability refers to your inability to work. It means that not only are you unable to do the work you previously did; you will be unable to do other work, as well. In addition, the disability must be expected to last for a year or more, or to result in death.
The SSA expedites certain claims under the heading of “Compassionate Allowances” based on particular diagnoses, such as ALS. “Quick Disability Determination” is another fast-lane screener that helps to approve high-probability claims. For all other claims, you must qualify based on limitations, which may fit into two categories:
- Exertional Limitations: Limits related to sitting, standing, lifting or carrying.
- Non-exertional Limitations: Limits related to reaching, bending, hearing, seeing, smelling, concentrating, remembering or interacting in a work environment.
Why Was My Case Denied?
Determining one’s “functional limitations” can be tricky. It is a judgment of what a person is no longer able to do. SSDI examiners attempt to assess whether or not an individual is able to continue doing the work to which he is accustomed, or is able to be otherwise gainfully employed doing something else.
Disability examiners use rigorous criteria to determine SSDI eligibility. If your documentation falls short in even one category, it can be cause for rejection. Common issues with applications include:
- Incomplete medical history: In addition to listing the location of medical sites, include contact information for every individual doctor seen as a result of the disability. Treatments throughout the course of the disability must be included, even treatments that have occurred within the past 90 days.
- Lack of documentation regarding the impact of the disability on daily life: While part of this will be described in your medical records, including a detailed narrative documenting precisely how the disability affects you on a daily basis is a crucial component of your application.
- Incomplete work history: In addition to names and locations of former employers, be sure to provide contact information of supervisors who are familiar with the impacts of your disability on your work performance. It is necessary to provide accurate dates of employment, and is even more critical that you include your job titles and duties, skills, and exertion requirements in detail so that the examiner has a clear picture of what you are no longer capable of doing.
Reach Out to Our Lawyers for Help
Our knowledgeable and effective Tampa lawyers at Barbas, Nuñez, Sanders, Butler & Hovsepian will manage the avalanche of forms and paperwork that the SSA requires until your claim receives the attention it deserves. Call today to consult with our aggressive Social Security Disability team.
