What are The GRID Rules? The grid rules, formally called Medical-Vocational Guidelines, are a streamlined disability determination process and typically apply to individuals age 50 and over with physical limitations. In some cases, the grid rules are easy to explain and the facts easy to spot. In other cases, particularly when an individual is under… Read more »
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I Received A Notice of Overpayment, What Can I Do?
A Notice of Overpayment may be issued by the Social Security Administration (SSA) to Social Security Disability or Supplemental Security Income recipients when SSA realizes that they have paid you too much. Overpayments normally occur when SSA is not informed of a change in your financial situation. For example, you return to work or continue… Read more »
Income Requirements for SSI
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a financial needs based program. For this reason the Social Security Administration has set rules in place to determine who meets the non-medical requirements of SSI, whether or not medical disability is proven. There are no work requirement rules for SSI as there is with Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI),… Read more »
Classifying the Physical Demands of Occupations: Part III – Stooping
This is the third installment in the blog series titled “Classifying the Physical Demands of Occupations.” When evaluating a claim for Social Security disability benefits and/or Supplemental Security Income the Social Security Administration (SSA) must classify the physical demands of your past relevant work and potentially the physical demands of other jobs that exist in… Read more »
Disabled Widow’s and Widower’s Benefits
We often discuss on this blog what sort of Social Security benefits a disabled worker can receive. As we mentioned in our Date Last Insured and Quarters of Coverage Credits article, you can only receive Disability Insurance Benefits (DIB) if you have worked long enough a recently enough in relation to your disability. So, if… Read more »
So you went to a Consultative Examiner and the CE does not think you're disabled…Now what?!
Often times when Disability Determining Services (the people responsible for making the determination as to whether you are disabled under Social Security’s rules on the first stages of a claim) or when an Administrative Law Judge feels that the medical records don’t say enough about a person’s conditions, they order a consultative examination. This is… Read more »
Public Health Announcement: Meningitis Outbreak Linked to Lumbar Injections
Please be aware that the Center for Disease Control has indicated that there is a multi-state meningitis outbreak caused from contaminated steroid injections. If you received lumbar epidural steroid injections of the drug methylprednisolone acetate, you should talk to your doctor about any potential risks. If you have received a potentially contaminated lumbar epidural steroid… Read more »
If I Can Work, Should I Work? Will That Impact My Social Security Disability Case?
The quick answer to the first question is of course a resounding YES! If an individual has the ability to work, he/she should absolutely do so. The Social Security disability system is in place to assist individuals who have been prevented from working, or could be expected to be prevented from working, for at least… Read more »
What is a Representative Payee? And do I need one?
A representative payee’s job is to help recipients of SSD or SSI benefits who may not be able to manage their benefits in their best interests. Typically a representative payee is a friend or family member of the beneficiary, but if a friend or family member is not available there are services that can assist…. Read more »
All Disabilities Matter in SSDI or SSI Case
As a case manager at Greeman Toomey Law Office I talk to many of our clients who are interested in pursuing a Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) case based on one debilitating condition. Although one specific disability may be perceived to be the reason you are unable to work it… Read more »
