SSA

There are two types of partially favorable decisions. One is for a closed period of disability. The other is for an alternative disability onset date. A closed period of disability means the Administrative Law Judge finds that you are disabled for only a certain period of time. You will be paid benefits for this period, but you will not receive any ongoing benefits. A closed period is beneficial for claimants whose conditions have medically improved to resume working.  A Judge may also award a claimant benefits for a closed period of disability if something in their medical evidence refers to medical improvement. An alternate onset partially favorable decision indicates the Administrative Law Judge does find you disabled but does not think you were disabled as early as you originally alleged. The onset date of your disability will be related to evidence or fact(s) in your record, for example: when you stopped working, were diagnosed with a condition, or received medical treatment. In both cases after the decision is issued, the next step is the payment process. It takes up to 120 days from the date of the decision to receive the Notice of Award. The Notice of Award describes what backpay you will receive, as well as the attorney’s fees that your attorney is authorized to receive for his work on you case. It may take up to 90 days from the date of the award letter to receive your backpay. In the case of an alternate onset date decision, the Notice of Award will also indicate what your monthly ongoing benefits will be and when you can expect to receive them. If you are awarded for a closed period or alternate onset date and disagree with the decision, you do have the option to appeal; but there are some risks. Appeals go to the SSA Appeals Council. The Appeals Council could rule in your favor, but they can also put the whole issue of disability back on the table and potentially reverse the Administrative Law Judge’s favorable decision. At Greeman Toomey, we typically do not file appeals of these decisions or recommend that our client’s appeal. If you are awarded a closed period of disability and believe that you are still disabled, it may be in your best interest to forgo the appeal and instead file a new claim. If you choose not to appeal the Administrative Law Judge’s decision, it will be finalized. As a result, when you file a new claim there will be no risk of Social Security reversing the prior decision. If you have received a Notice of Decision – Partially Favorable and have any questions, please do not act until you contact our office at (612) 332-3252.

When a Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) claim is filed and Social Security confirms that the applicant meets the technical requirements for at least one of the disability programs, Social Security will send the file to a state agency for disability determination purposes. The agency that determines whether an applicant is disabled is known as Disability Determination Services (DDS). This agency considers a number of different factors in determining if an applicant is disabled. One tool DDS sometimes uses in determining disability is a Consultative Exam (CE). A CE can be either a physical or mental health examination performed by medical professionals, often times a medical doctor, psychiatrist or psychologist. This type of exam is scheduled when DDS concludes that there’s not enough medical evidence available about an applicant to determine whether or not the applicant is disabled. The exam is provided at no cost to the applicant, but it is the applicant’s responsibility to provide their own transportation to a CE. If you attend a CE you want to make sure you provide the medical professional conducting the exam with all the necessary information about your disabilities. You MUST inform the medical professional of ALL problems, both mental and physical, you are dealing with associated with your disabilities and how those disabilities limit your ability to work. Make sure to bring all of your prescribed medications, in their prescribed containers, to the CE and it’s especially important that you are on time or even a little early for your CE. At completion of the exam the medical professional will issue a report and send the findings to DDS, it could take several weeks before this report is sent to DDS. This report, along with an applicant’s medical records, past work experience, detailed information about how impairments impact an applicant’s ability to manage daily activities and the opinions of the applicant’s own medical treating sources are all considered in determining disability. It is important to know that when a CE is ordered YOU MUST ATTEND. It is very important for an applicant to show-up on time for the CE and to cooperate with the medical professional. Failure to attend an ordered CE will certainly result in the DENIAL of a Social Security disability claim. Keep in mind, the medical professional conducting the CE is not your own doctor, but an INDEPENDENT MEDICAL SOURCE THAT HAS HIS OR HER FEES PAID BY SOCIAL SECURITY. Your behavior and actions will be observed by this medical professional from the moment you arrive at your CE appointment until the minute you leave. For more information about CEs visit: http://www.socialsecurity.gov/OP_Home/hallex/I-02/I-2-5-20.html

Sometimes a family can receive Disability Insurance Benefits (DIB) beyond the impaired person’s benefits. The unmarried children of a successful claimant can receive children’s benefits or auxiliary benefits.” There are three types of unmarried children who qualify for auxiliary benefits under 20 C.F.R. § 404.350: a child under the age of 18, an adult child who is disabled prior to age 22, and a child who is a full time student and is under 19. Eligible children include natural children, legally adopted children, and certain stepchildren, grandchildren, and equitably adopted children per 20 C.F.R. § 404.354. These auxiliary benefits are available when DIB payments are available – five months from the date of disability. Auxiliary benefits are subject to back payments in the same fashion as DIB back payments; you can receive back payments for benefits up to 12 months prior to the date o f the parent’s application for benefits per POMS GN 00204.030. Thus, even if the child does not meet the requirements to be an auxiliary beneficiary when benefits are awarded, the child can receive back payments to which they would have been entitled. At Greeman Toomey, we always remind and encourage our clients to file for auxiliary benefits when they are eligible so that our clients’ families receive all of the support to which they are entitled.

There are two portions to the Social Security Disability Initial Application. The first portion is called the Adult Disability Report (ADR) and the second portion is the Benefit Application. The ADR asks questions regarding your medical conditions, medical treatment, work background and education level. It is important to have a list prepared of all of your physical and mental health conditions that limit your ability to work. It is also helpful to prepare a list of the hospitals and clinics where you have been treated for these conditions. Social Security is most interested in your recent medical treatment. At Greeman Toomey, we ask our clients to prepare a list of places where they have received treatment in the past 12 months. We need the name and contact information of the facility, dates of treatment, and the name of the doctor that treated you. The ADR will also ask if you have had any medical tests performed at these facilities, and if you are being prescribed any medications. There may be other places that have additional medical records. These include public welfare offices, prisons or jails, other attorney’s offices, vocational rehabilitation centers, workers compensation, etc. If any of these sources are applicable to you, please collect the relevant contact information. The ADR asks for information regarding the applicant’s work background. The report asks about the jobs held in the past 15 years, or the five most recent jobs. Please prepare a list of your past employment. For each job, the reports asks for your job title, the type of business, start/end date, hours worked per week, and rate of pay. The ADR does not ask for much detail regarding each job, but you will later receive a Work History Report from the SSA Disability Determination Services office. The final questions on the ADR ask about your education history. Specifically, the highest level of schooling you’ve completed, along with any job or vocational training. Dates of completion for each level of education will also be requested. The ADR also asks if you have ever attended special education classes. The Benefit Application is typically the easier portion to complete and requires less advanced preparation. It goes into detail regarding your personal information. It asks what city and state you were born in, in addition to information about your children and spouses. The Benefit Application also asks about earnings in the current and previous year. This includes the names of employers and any self-employment income. Your case manager will be contacting you to complete the initial application either over the phone or in our office. To make the appointment go smoothly please prepare the required information. If you have any questions please do no hesitate to call our office at (612) 332-3252 or toll-free at (877) 332-3252.