Important to almost every disability applicant is the knowledge and experience that a qualified disability attorney may provide to help obtain approval of an application for disability benefits. Otherwise, any lack of understanding of the rules and regulations involved with a disability application may cause a denial of benefits. Better to know all of your options and proceed accordingly!
Eligibility for disability benefits is determined by the SSA under an impairment or medical condition listed in the “Bluebook,” a manual used especially by Social Security for the purpose of measuring whether an applicant’s condition merits the receipt of benefits. If the SSA finds that an applicant’s severe impairment doesn’t match a Blue Book listing, it must continue the process of reaching a final determination rather than concluding it. In this situation, Social Security may still grant eligibility for disability benefits based on a “medical-vocational allowance.”
To establish eligibility under a medical vocational allowance, the SSA reviews an applicant’s medical records to establish how a disability impairs his or her ability to perform everyday activities and job functions. If the SSA determines an applicant is unable to maintain gainful employment as a result of a medical condition, it may then approve an applicant for SSD benefits under a medical vocational allowance.
The typical medical documentation of an applicant contains a large amount of information. What are the effects of a condition? Do these effects limit the subject in his or her everyday activities and job functions? Hopefully, these questions are answered as the functional limitations contained in medical records are significant, if not crucial, in the determination of a claim and establishing whether a medical vocational allowance applies for the purposes of establishing SSD eligibility.
Most applicants approved for benefits don’t perfectly match a listed impairment and their cases typically require the use of a medical expert to perform an independent evaluation of their medical records. In this situation, evidence of the applicant’s limited ability to perform life’s most basic actions, as well as work functions, is a primary component of the medical consultant’s determination of whether the claimant’s specific symptoms and other medical evidence meet the general impairment requirements for benefit eligibility.
Common functional limitations are those circumstances that restrict the applicant from doing certain actions. Poor eyesight may include a doctor’s recommendation that the applicant doesn’t drive or operate heavy machinery; poor hearing may include a doctor’s finding that the applicant has the inability to distinguish words due to background noise on the job; a ruptured disc may include a doctor’s recommendation that the applicant lift no more than 20 pounds on the job.
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.
