Social Security Disability in Kentucky
When you need a lawyer you’re probably nearing your wit’s end. We have helped people going through this process for over 25 years. Here are some things you might need to know:
A qualified attorney provides a secondary source of contact on behalf of an applicant for disability benefits. The retention of an experienced attorney as an additional contact on behalf of an applicant for disability benefits is a smart decision with long-term benefits. Even if the Social Security Administration (SSA) is unable to reach an applicant at some point in time during the application process, a successful case yet may be developed by an experienced disability attorney.
Applying for Social Security Disability Can Be Complex
The grid rules are simply based on the fact that people have a more difficult time finding a job as they age and get older based on the fact that employers are less likely to offer entry-level employment to anyone who is 50 or older. This is typically termed by the SSA as making a “vocational adjustment.” Lower education and fewer job skills correlate to a greater difficulty in finding employment. The grid rules are an effort by policymakers to codify these vocational variables into formal reference materials for attorneys, claimants, examiners, and judges alike.
The SSA uses the grid rules to decide cases where the SSA has determined that a claimant is unable to perform the jobs done in the recent past. In this case, the grid rules may provide an avenue for the approval of disability benefits through a medical-vocational allowance. The grid rules are used to consider the aforementioned greater difficulty that older members of the workforce experience in seeking employment and transitioning to a new job, i.e., a vocational adjustment.
The grid rules assign a “Residual Functional Capacity” (RFC) level. Cross-referencing and applying an individual applicant’s RFC rating with age, education, skill level, and past work experience determines if a claimant is disabled and, thus, entitled to benefits. Social Security must establish that an applicant is unable to make adjustments necessary and required to perform some (any) type of substantial gainful activity. It is easier for a twenty-year-old applicant than a fifty-year-old applicant to make vocational adjustments.
For example, If an applicant is of an advanced age and has a severe impairment that limits him or her to no more than sedentary work, Social Security will find that the applicant has skills that are transferable to skilled or semiskilled sedentary work only if the sedentary work is so similar to previous work that very little, if any, vocational adjustment in terms of tools, work processes, work settings, or the industry would be necessary.
Working with an attorney ensures that all evidence in support of an application for disability is gathered, organized, filed with the SSA, and presented when otherwise required. We take great pride in our staff’s skills in building and presenting a case for disability benefits. Taking advantage of the legal services offered by the Sullivan Law Office may be seamless and involve as little friction as possible. The Sullivan Law Office provides assistance in ensuring that all applicants and recipients receive all of the benefits to which they are entitled in all types of disability cases. These include Social Security Disability, long-term disability, short-term disability, state retirement and workers’ compensation. Contact the Sullivan Law Office today. We offer free consultations, so you have absolutely nothing to lose! We look forward to hearing from you. Call 888-587-0228 or visit us online.
