Social Security

Every time you earn a paycheck you pay social security tax and part of it is used to buy social security disability insurance. You earn it, and if you become disabled and are no longer able to work you expect to receive social security disability benefits. However, the Social Security Administration denies over 60 percent of all initial applications for social security disability benefits. However, it is important not to give up as nearly two-thirds of people who appeal will eventually receive their disability benefits.

To be eligible for social security disability or supplemental security income (SSI), you must have a severe physical or mental impairment that is expected to prevent you from working for at least 12 months. You must also be under 65 and have worked and paid social security tax for five of the past ten years to qualify for social security disability. When evaluating your disability claim the Social Security Administration uses the following five-step sequential evaluation.

1. Are you working? If you are currently working and earning more than $1000 per month such work will be considered substantial gainful activity and your claim will be denied.
2. Do you have a severe physical or mental impairment? The Social Security Administration will consider your impairment severe if it significantly limits your physical or mental ability to perform basic work activities.
3. Does your condition meet a Social Security Listing? If your condition meets or equals an impairment listed in the Social Security Listing of Impairments you will be found disabled. The Listing of Impairments is a list of physical and mental conditions considered severe enough to prevent you from working.
4. Are you able to perform your past work? You must establish that you can no longer perform the jobs you had in last 15 years. When determining whether you can do your past jobs the Social Security Administration will compare your current limitations to the physical and mental demands of your past jobs.
5. Can you perform any other type of work? At this step in the process, the Social Security Administration will look at your current physical and mental limitations, age, education, and skills to determine whether you can do any other type of work.

The Social Security disability attorneys at Barron, Peck, Bennie & Schlemmer can help you file an appeal and guide you through the complicated disability process. The social security disability attorneys in our Cincinnati office have over 20 years of experience helping people at all levels of the process including the Initial Determination, Reconsideration, and at hearings before an Administrative Law Judge.

Our Cincinnati social security attorneys will give your case personal attention, gather the medical evidence, and represent you at your hearing. Some of the other work we will do on your case includes:

• Obtain medical records and reports from your doctor.
• Analyze your case under the Social Security regulations.
• Hire a vocational expert to evaluate your ability to work.
• Obtain documents from your social security file.
• Seek waiver of a time limit.
• Ask that a prior application for benefits be reopened.
• Prepare you to testify at your hearing.
• Cross-examine adverse witnesses at your hearing.
• Submit a written summary of the evidence and argument to the judge.
• Make sure the Social Security Administration calculates your benefits correctly.

The social security disability attorneys at Barron Peck Bennie & Schlemmer will represent you on a contingent fee basis, which means we are not entitled to attorney fees unless you are awarded disability benefits. If you have questions, about applying for social security disability, or need help filing an appeal, please contact us by phone or e-mail to schedule a free consultation with a social security disability attorney.