Why You Probably Can't Get Temporary Disability Benefits From Social Security

    The definition of disability in the Social Security Act requires that the person have been or be expected to be disabled for at least 12 months. A condition that is expected to be fatal in less than 12 months is also enough.

    If you're disabled for at least 12 months, I'm sorry to say it, but, you're not likely to ever improve enough to get back to work. Sometimes it happens. Let's say you were in an automobile accident and have several bad fractures requiring staged surgeries that take more than 12 months. This happens but not often.

    Probably, there ought to be some sort of temporary disability benefit but in most states there isn't any. 

    We'll be happy to talk with you about your situation but understand that the 12 month duration requirement is a hard barrier for most trauma cases.

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 New Year!

If you're in NC and want help with your Social Security disability claim, call Hall & Rouse, P.C. at 1-866-425-5347 but not on New Year's Day because we're closed!

Can I Be Found Disabled Because Of A Bad Knee?

    You sure can be found disabled due to a bad knee. In fact, that's a fairly common reason to have a disability claim approved. 

This person had knee replacement surgery

    If a knee is your problem, your case is likely to be much stronger if you're 50 or older. Social Security makes it less difficult the older you get and age 50 is a big dividing line. But, remember, first you have to prove that you can't do any of the jobs you've done in the last five years. If you've worked in an office, it may be difficult to prove disability due to a bad knee since standing and walking wouldn't have been so important in your line of work.

    As with any Social Security disability case, you really need to be in medical treatment to have the evidence you need to win. For a knee case, you really should have seen an orthopedic surgeon recently.

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

Merry Christmas!

If you're in NC and want help with your Social Security disability claim, call Hall & Rouse, P.C. at 1-866-425-5347 (but not on Christmas Day because we're closed)

Do I Have To Hire A Lawyer To Get Social Security Disability? And What Does This Have To Do With Marshmallows?

    No, you don't have to hire a lawyer to get Social Security disability benefits. You can proceed all the way though the process on your own. However, you probably should hire a lawyer.

    There are many pitfalls for the unrepresented claimant. There are technical ones such as understanding what sort of arguments to make in support of your disability claim. Claimants usually have little idea what disability even means to Social Security. There are practical ones such as not knowing the best ways to get in touch with Social Security and how best to prevent unnecessary delay. One important pitfall that isn't often discussed is simply discouragement. The process at Social Security takes a long time. It's hard to contact Social Security. It's hard to understand what's going on. You have to keep filing appeals and filling out forms. You're sick and your patience has already worn thin before even contacting Social Security. The danger is that you'll just give up because you just can't deal with them any further. An attorney can lower your stress level and try to give you enough encouragement to keep moving forward.

    Social Security is less of an enemy that you may think but it's more of a bear to deal with that you can imagine. I have likened the agency to the 100 foot tall Sta-Puft Marshmallow Man in the Ghostbusters movies. It's not intentionally mean but it leaves behind it a trail of devastation. If you punch it, your arm just sinks into the marshmallow without effect. We're not ghostbusters but we can help you deal with that marshmallow man.

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

Foot Problems And Social Security Disability

     Can you get on Social Security disability benefits for problems with your foot or feet? The answer is that it's very possible. 

    Age makes a lot of difference in cases involving foot problems. Things become less difficult, not easy but less difficult, after a person turns 50. If you're 50 or older and you haven't done sedentary work and you have significant foot problems your case is fairly easy to present to Social Security. A finding that you're limited to sedentary work will probably win your case.

    As with almost every other type of health problem, treatment matters. Have you been seeing a podiatrist or orthopedic surgeon about the foot problem? Are you still seeing that doctor? Has your problem required surgery? Is diabetes a complicating factor?

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

Non-Disability Appeals -- Presumption Of Death

    I'm writing about the work that lawyers can do to help those with Social Security cases other than disability cases. Today, I'll write about a type of case that comes up, although not often.

    Let's say you're a married woman with two minor children. One day your husband doesn't return from work. You try anxiously to find out what's happened. Eventually, you call the police. They can't find him. There's no reason that you can think of that would explain his absence. After seven years, you wonder if he can be presumed dead so you and the kids can get benefits on his account. Guess what, maybe you can! If you apply, Social Security will first check to see whether there are any earnings showing up on the departed husband's Social Security account after the disappearance. If not, Social Security will assume he's dead and pay you unless there's some reason to believe his absence is intentional. Herein lies the possibility of dispute. Was there marital discord, financial problems, criminal problems, etc? Maybe they think they have enough evidence to deny you. Maybe you say otherwise. You can appeal these cases. We're here to help.

    I should add that there's another type of case where benefits can be paid without a death certificate and a seven year absence. Let's say the husband goes out on a boat fishing with a friend. They don't return. The Coast Guard eventually finds the boat but the men who were on it never wash up. You don't have to wait seven years in this kind of case. Where there's a ready explanation for the disappearance, Social Security can pay benefits without delay. However, there's still the possibility of dispute if someone thinks that the drowning was faked and the disappearance was intentional.

     By the way, in the last presumed death case I had, Social Security finally agreed that they could presume the man in question was dead. A few months later he shows up alive! We notified Social Security. They ended the benefits but quickly waived the overpayment. If I were one of that man's children I think I would have extremely mixed emotions about the father's reappearance.

    The people who implement benefits at Social Security are called benefits authorizers. They sometimes joke that they have been given the power of resurrection for the work they do when a person presumed dead eventually turns out to be alive and they have to change the person's status in Social Security records from dead to alive. 

    To explain the picture above, it's not just Social Security that has laws dealing with disappearances. Each state has its own laws to deal with estates and remarriages and such issues when someone disappears. These are called Enoch Arden laws since they were inspired by a long poem by that name written by Alfred Lord Tennyson.

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

Non-Disability Social Security Appeals -- Overpayments

    The vast majority of the work that this law firm does is on Social Security disability claims but that's not all we do. We're Social Security and we help with all kinds of Social Security appeals.

    The most common type of non-disability case we work on is overpayments. The agency sends you notice that you've been overpaid by $30,000. They tell you that they'll start withholding money from your monthly check so they can get their money back. You think you haven't been overpaid or that the amount should be less or that you shouldn't have to repay it because it wasn't your fault. Yes, we help with that.

    The problem is the attorney fee. Usually we get a portion of your back Social Security disability benefits as our fee but there aren't any back benefits in overpayment cases. Getting you out from under a $30,000 debt can be a big deal for you so it may be worth hiring an attorney but we'll have to charge you upfront and that's a deal breaker for many people. We're sorry about that but we have to make a living.

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

New Social Security Commissioner Nominated

    From USA Today:

President-elect Donald Trump said he's nominating financial services CEO Frank Bisignano to serve as commissioner of the Social Security Administration. ...

Bisignano currently leads the financial services and payments giant Fiserv, one of the largest financial software companies in the country.

He’s previously held executive leadership positions at major banks including JP Morgan Chase and Citigroup.  ...

 

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

Many Other Conditions Can Be The Basis For A Successful Social Security Disability Claim

     I have been writing about some of the more common disabling conditions. There's no way I can do an exhaustive list. At least, I don't have the energy to try!

   It doesn't mean you can't be approved for Social Security disability just because you don't see a mention of your disabling health problem here. Give us a call. Unless it's a truly rare disorder, we've probably heard of it. Syringomyelia, spasmodic torticollis, or ankylosing spondylitis, for example? Sure, I know about them.

    The main thing is that you should get and stay in medical treatment, probably by a specialist, and be a cooperative patient. Take your meds and show up for your appointments. It helps if your doctor is willing to be helpful with the Social Security disability claim but it's not essential.

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