Migraine Headaches

    Can you get Social Security disability benefits for migraines. Certainly but it's not easy.

    Migraines are a common health problem mostly, but not entirely, in women. The thing is that most people who have migraines don't have them that often. Thank goodness. Most cases respond well to routine migraine medications or are infrequent enough to not be much of a problem with work.

    If you are one of those unfortunate individuals who has frequent migraines which don't respond to medications, it may be possible for you to be approved for Social Security disability benefits. If you're going to win, you need to be under the care of a neurologist. They're the ones who should be treating those with severe migraine problems, not family doctors. Evidence of advanced treatment regimens such as infusions is helpful. You definitely don't want evidence in your medical records of non-compliance, that is not taking prescribed medications or dropping out of treatment for a time. You need to be a model patient who still has a major problem. Few people fall into that unfortunate category but help is available for them.

If you're in NC and want help with your Social Security disability claim, call Hall & Rouse, P.C. at 1-866-425-5347

Work and Social Security Disability

 “Can I work while I wait for Social Security to make a decision?” 

Our clients have already been out of work for months, but the bills keep coming. Social Security told them it would be 120 days to get a decision but they are already on Day 121 since talking to the local SSA office, and the claim has not even been assigned to a disability examiner.

“Can I work while I wait for Social Security disability?” The general answer is No. The first step to reviewing a potential case is whether you have stopped working. There is an amount of work called Substantial Gainful Activity. If you continue to work at a job and earn over $1550 before taxes ($2590 if you are blind) then Social Security will not even look at your health. The claim will be denied because you are still able to work, despite your pain and discomfort. Social Security will not look at your medical records.

“What if I earn less than that?” Well, work is still evidence of your function. Social Security will take that into consideration as evidence when they decide the rest of the claim. It will make it harder—though not impossible—for you to prove that you meet the government’s definition of “disabled.”

“What if I find a job that I think I can do? Should I withdraw my application?” If you find a job that is less-demanding and think you can work, do not immediately withdraw your application. There is something called an Unsuccessful Work Attempt. If you return to work, to test it out, but you can’t keep working because your health interferes, happens many more times than I can count. Social Security will conclude that, if you returned to work after a significant break, and work lasted less than six months because of your health, then that return to work is wiped off the slate. Your claim will keep moving forward. Sometimes Social Security will find out about the return to work, pause medical development to check your hours and earnings, but eventually the claim will be put back into active case processing.

“What if I return to work before 12 months have passed?” Social Security requires your work absence to meet a minimum duration: 12 months. You do not have to actually be out of work 12 months before you file, but if you go back to work and keep working before 12 months have passed, it is a technical denial. You will not even be able to collect back pay on the months that you were out of work. If you are out for at least 12 months and then return, Social Security will be able to look at paying you a lump sum for the time you were out, and stop any future checks because of the return to work.

If you're in NC and want help with your Social Security disability claim, call Hall & Rouse, P.C. at 1-866-425-5347

Happy Thanksgiving

 

If you're in NC and want help with your Social Security disability claim, call Hall & Rouse, P.C. at 1-866-425-5347

13 Things to Expect at Your Disability Hearing

1. Dress like you normally dress. Do not be excessive. This is SSA’s look at a typical day in your life.

2. Bring a photo ID.

3. Get to the hearing office early. Allow for traffic and other unforeseen mishaps.

4. You will go through a security check with a metal detector. Leave any keychain pocket knives, cigarette lighters and, of course, weapons, at home.

5. You will sit in a waiting room until the judge is ready to begin.

6. The judge will have his court reporter, called a hearing monitor, come out to get you.

7. You will go to a private hearing room, often set up like a mini courtroom. The hearing is recorded (voices only; no video recording) by the hearing monitor. There is a microphone that does not make your voice louder, it is only used for the recording.

8. The judge will start by saying a procedural introductory paragraph.

9. The judge will ask you to state your name and other identifying information during the procedural opening.

10. After the procedural opening, the judge will ask you about the type of work you did in the past five years.

11. You will have a chance to talk about your daily activities, so the judge understands how your health and symptoms are impacting your function and your stamina, mental and physical.

12. After your testimony, the judge will call a labor market expert, called a vocational expert, to ask them questions and get feedback on how different limitations could hypothetically affect someone your age, without specifically trying to find work for you.

13. The hearing ends without a decision.

The decision comes in the mail after the judge has a chance to go back, review the file, and make a decision, and a decision writer is able to finalize the decision in writing so that it can be mailed. It could take a week, it could take many months. It just depends on their backlog.

If you are finally at the hearing level, this is your last chance for a fresh review of your application. The next appeal is only available if the judge made a substantial error. I recommend finding an experienced Social Security disability attorney to help you prepare your case. If you want an attorney and do not have one in mind, call us at 1-866-425-5347. We represent North Carolina residents in their claims for Social Security disability.

Bipolar Disorder

     Bipolar disorder leads to many Social Security disability claims. It's a common health problem and often a serious one.

    Not all people with bipolar disorder will get on Social Security disability benefit, nor should they. In most cases, bipolar disorder can be controlled with medication and therapy.  

    Certainly, there are many who suffer from bipolar who should be on disability benefits. It's one of the more common health problems that Social Security disability attorneys see.

    In bipolar cases Social Security is looking at these sort of factors:

• Is the patient in psychiatric care? Not just care from a primary care physician but from a psychiatrist.
• Is the patient taking the medications prescribed for them?
• Has the patent required inpatient treatment?
• How well is the patient getting on with their life? Can they get much housework done? Socialize? Take care of business affairs? 
• What happened in the past when the patient was working? What problems led to the patient being out of work?
  
• Does the patient also have a substance abuse problem? They're commonly associated with bipolar disorder and make the bipolar disorder worse. This makes a case harder to win.
  
• Does the patient have a panic disorder? They're also commonly associated with bipolar disorder. Is the panic disorder causing agoraphobia -- that is the fear of leaving the house without a security figure such as spouse, parent or child? Agoraphobia can certainly be disabling.
  

If you're in NC and want help with your Social Security disability claim, call Hall & Rouse, P.C. at 1-866-425-5347

Social Security Service Takes Another Hit

 

   Social Security has announced that it is mostly ending walk-in service at its field offices. This means in most cases that if you show up at a Social Security field office that you'll only be given an appointment to come back later -- usually more than a month later -- to transact your business with the agency.

    You can schedule an appointment with Social Security over the telephone or my opening a my Social Security online account. Contacting the agency by telephone can be extremely difficult. You may have a helpful person on the phone after a few minutes on hold or you may call repeatedly and being put on hold for 30 minutes or more until you get frustrated and hang up or until the system hangs up on you. Opening a my Social Security account isn't difficult if you've tech savvy. If you can read this blog, there's a good chance you can handle it. The problem is all those who need service from the agency who aren't even a little tech savvy.

    This is terrible for customer service. Social Security knows this. They believe they have no choice because they don't have the money to hire enough people to get the work done. This isn't because the Social Security trust funds have run out of money. The problem is that Congress won't let them spend enough money to get the work done.

If you're in NC and want help with your Social Security disability claim, call Hall & Rouse, P.C. at 1-866-425-5347

What is Social Security Disability?

“What Is Disability, Anyway?”

As a disability attorney, I frequently get this question from new clients. Officially, in Social Security, being a disabled adult has one definition:

“You must not be able to engage in any substantial gainful work activity because of a medically determinable physical or mental disability(ies) that is either expected to result in death or has lasted or is expected to last for a continuous period of at least 12 months.”

But what does this mean? It means that you are not working because of your health and probably will not be able to go back to any sort of work within a year. Social Security will get your medical records and look for objective medical findings, then look at job market numbers, and decide whether you could still hypothetically be a part of the national workforce.

You have the burden of proving that your health keeps you from doing your past work. Social Security has to prove that even if you cannot do your past work, your health, age, and employment outlook still leave a significant number of less-demanding jobs that you have the function to do, regardless of how much money those jobs pay and regardless, too, of whether you actually find that job and can get hired.

It is complicated. There are Social Security regulations being updated all the time. There are filing deadlines. There are rules for submitting evidence. Follow our blog for ongoing insight and, if you live in NC and need a lawyer to advocate for you, call our law firm or complete an online inquiry on our website, www.hall-rouse.com.

 

Asthma

     It's hard to get Social Security disability benefits period but particularly difficult if the primary impairment is asthma. There's a good reason for this. In almost all cases doctors can prescribe treatments, including medications, that bring things under control so that the patient can get back on with his or her life.

    Let me make it clear. Asthma can be a dangerous medical condition. I've seen an acute asthma attack and it's scary even if you're not the one having it. I can't imagine how terrifying it is to have such an attack. Untreated, an acute asthma attacks can be fatal.

    For the few asthma cases that might qualify, Social Security is looking at whether the patient is under medical treatment and whether the patient is taking the meds and the treatments they're supposed to be taking. They're looking at how often the patient has an acute asthma attack despite treatment.

    Children's asthma cases are particularly hard to win. Parents are scared to death by that first asthma attack but, again, the doctors do a great job of controlling pediatric asthma if the parents just do what they're supposed to do.

    Asthma can contribute to Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) but that's another matter.

If you're in NC and want help with your Social Security disability claim, call Hall & Rouse, P.C. at 1-866-425-5347

Disabled Adult Children

Social Security Disability and Financial Planning

 

Lawyers are not the only ones with clients facing Social Security Disability questions. Financial advisors get these questions, too. Let’s talk about the Wilson Family. James and Ann Wilson are your clients, seeking financial advice for their family. They are healthy and happily married; both now in their mid-60s— James, retired from a pharmaceutical plant, where he worked as a warehouse foreman. Ann, retired from teaching. They are lovely people. James and Ann have an adult daughter with special needs. She has never lived on her own and even with the best therapies, her function is equivalent to that of a 12 year old. James and Ann are now worried: how will their daughter survive once they are no longer there to provide for her? Can she file for Social Security Disability? 

 

If their disabled adult child has worked long enough (generally seven of the last 10 years) and at high enough earnings, then she can file a claim for Social Security disability insurance benefits— Think about situations where disabled adult children worked in a family-, friend-, or faith-based organization’s business, where they were hired due to prior affiliation rather than competitive employment standards. This claim will be filed under the adult child’s own Social Security number (which SSA sometimes calls the wage earner number). 

 

If she has not been able to work, then she will not have accumulated the work credits needed to file a claim for Social Security disability insurance benefits. The exception? If James and/or Ann receive Social Security retirement or disability, then their daughter will be able to file under the parent’s wage earner number. Whether she will ultimately receive benefits will hinge on proving the disability began before she turned 22. (For disabled adult children whose parent is deceased, if that parent worked long enough to qualify for Social Security, then the same exception applies and the adult child can file under the deceased parent’s wage earner number.) 

 

If neither of these situations is true then James and Ann’s daughter may be eligible to file a claim for Supplemental Security Income (often referred to as “SSI”). SSI is means-tested and considers the household’s income and resources. While at first glance, James and Ann appear to provide too many resources to their daughter, consider whether any exceptions apply. Among other things, Social Security will not count property essential to self–support; money saved in an Individual Development Account; health flexible spending accounts; dedicated accounts for disabled or blind children; the first $2,000 of compensation received per calendar year for participating in certain clinical trials; and certain trusts, i.e., special needs trusts and pooled trusts. (Note that money distributed under these trusts will not work against the disabled adult child’s means-tested eligibility to file; however, once the child is found disabled under the law, the money distributed from the trust may have the effect of lowering the amount of the monthly SSI payment.)

 

These are good things to know when advising James and Ann. For more detailed questions or help filing, it is good to talk to an experienced Social Security disability attorney. In North Carolina, my law firm is happy to assist with questions and filing. If you are outside of NC, feel free to reach out to me and I will point you in the right direction. 

 

Veterans Day 2024

 

 

If you're in NC and want help with your Social Security disability claim, call Hall & Rouse, P.C. at 1-866-425-5347