If you have a severe medical condition, injury, or illness that prevents you from being able to work to support yourself, you might be entitled to Social Security disability benefits. A Social Security disability lawyer in Country Club, FL can evaluate your situation and answer your questions about getting disability compensation.
You can call the Law Offices of Anidjar& Levine at 1-800-747-3733 today for a free consultation with a member of our team. There is no obligation. We will take care of your legal issues so that you can focus on your wellness.
Parties That Can File a Social Security Disability Claim
There are two types of Social Security disability programs for which you might be eligible: Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI).
SSDI is available to workers who paid into the Social Security system for long enough and are now unable to continue working
SSI is available to disabled parties who have low income and limited assets.
Obtaining Social Security Disability Benefits – Medical Requirements
There are several ways to obtain Social Security disability benefits:
Significant Impairments Found in the SSA Listing of Impairments
The Blue Book, which is hundreds of pages long, contains the criteria the SSA uses to evaluate disability claims. The Blue Book uses highly technical medical terminology. It lists a multitude of medical conditions and gives the requirements for each condition to be severe enough to qualify for benefits. The Blue Book covers every major body part and every major body system, with the standards for each one.
If you can meet the criteria for one of these listings, you may qualify for benefits.
Medical Conditions with No SSA Listing
Let us say that you have a severe medical condition that prevents you from being able to work. Although it is not listed in the Blue Book, it is just as significant as a similar disease, illness, or injury that is in the Blue Book.
We will need to show your medical testing results and convince the SSA that your meets the severity of a listing.
Medical Conditions with No Listing That Do Not Meet the Equal Severity Test
If your medical situation does not fall within one of the two previous categories, you may be able to obtain benefits through a residual functional capacity test. A residual functional capacity test determines what tasks you are still able to do given your condition.
What Happens After the Medical Severity Evaluation
Your medical condition is only the first step of the Social Security disability benefits evaluation process. If your medical condition satisfies the SSA, you will also have to satisfy these factors.
SSDI Qualifications
- Your income does not exceed the earnings limit for Social Security disability benefits. For 2019, the cap is $1,220 a month, unless you are blind, in which case the limit is $2,040 a month. The SSA does not count everything as income. We can explain this and answer your questions when we talk to you.
- You cannot work at your current or previous job, or at any other type of employment, even if your employer makes reasonable modifications to your work environment.
- You would not be able to maintain employment even if you received additional job-training or education.
- You have worked long enough to earn the required number of work credits.
SSI Qualifications
You must have a very low income and limited assets to qualify for SSI. For 2019, the income limit is $771.
Work Credits Demystified
Many people go through their entire lifetimes without having to learn about work credits. If you are applying for Social Security disability benefits, however, work credits are of vital importance to you.
You earn a work credit for every three-month period (quarter) that you work at a job that pays into the Social Security system. Your employer withholds money from your paycheck and sends it to the government for Social Security and Medicare. Because you pay into the system, you earn the right to reap the benefits of the system when you qualify.
The number of work credits you must accumulate to be eligible for Social Security disability benefits will depend on your age at the time you became disabled. A younger person needs fewer work credits, because they have had less time to build up their credits.
How a Lawyer Can Help You with Your Social Security Disability Claim
The SSA does not require you to have a lawyer help you with your application for disability benefits, but it would be a wise decision to do so. The medical requirements are highly technical, and most people do not understand the medical jargon of the Blue Book.
Also, having to go through appeals just to get the benefits you deserve can be frustrating. Many people give up if they do not have a lawyer looking out for them. The SSA has thousands of employees working for them. To even the playing field, you should have a Social Security disability lawyer in Country Club, FL helping you with your claim.
Call Today to Get Help from a Social Security Disability Lawyer in Country Club, FL: 1-800-747-3733
If you have a severe medical condition, you should be able to focus on your health, and not the stress of having to fight the government to get the benefits for which you qualify. The Social Security disability benefit team at the Law Offices of Anidjar&Levine can take care of the legal matters for you, so that you can focus on other things.
We can collect the medical and vocational evidence to prove your claim to the SSA. We work tirelessly to get our disability clients the benefits they have earned. We can also help you file a personal injury claim if your disability stemmed from an incident caused by another party’s negligence, such as a car accident . Call us today at 1-800-747-3733 to line up your consultation with a social security disability lawyer in Country Club, FL. There is no obligation.
We Can Help.
