Indiana Social Security Disability Lawyer Blog

A common question that many Indiana disability applicants have may be: why does the Social Security Administration care about my work history? Sometimes at an Administrative Law Judge hearing in order to receive Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits, the judge and the job expert must find that you cannot return to any past work along with meeting other standards. It is important that in describing your past work history that you are very thorough. The more information that you give to your attorney, the judge, and the court in general, may increase your chances at winning your social security disability claim. When the court uses the phrase "past work" they are talking about any job that you have held for at least three months in the past 15 years. Any job older than the 15 year period is irrelevant because the person is likely to have lost the skill for the job or the technology they used is now outdated.

After looking at your current abilities and disabilities the court will determine a RFC (residual functional capacity). This is a rating on how much work and what kind of work you can do. You may not be able to work construction, but a retail job may not be out of the question. This is why it is important to give an accurate past work history. The more details you give, the better the court can compare your prior skills to your current RFC. Social Security Disability Attorney Scott D. Lewis often finds Indiana disability claimants have a difficult time remembering past work details. It may be helpful if Indiana Social Security Disability claimants make notes prior to the hearing in an Indiana courtroom to help them adequately describe prior employment.

Continue reading "Why Does The Social Security Administration Care About My Past Employment?" »

It is important when trying to obtain your Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits to let the Social Security Administration (SSA) know all of your impairments or disabling conditions.

Indianapolis lawyer Scott D. Lewis finds when interviewing his clients they often leave out some of their disabilities when attempting to receive Social Security disability benefits. You should not leave it up to the SSA to inquire what your disabling conditions might be. It may be beneficial to make a list of the severe and non-severe conditions that you experience. It is important to remember the Social Security Administration may also consider non-severe conditions in combination with severe conditions when deciding whether you will receive Social Security disability benefits.

Indiana claimants should always remember the question at hand is whether you can perform your past relevant job(s) or other jobs that exist in the national economy. So, while you may consider the fact you have asthma as a minor problem, it may keep you from performing jobs around dust or fumes. Another example could be an individual suffering from anxiety cannot perform jobs requiring the individual to interact with the general public. While you may consider your back impairment the primary reason you cannot work, it is important that you let your Social Security disability attorney know that you have other medical issues that have an effect on your activities of daily living and your ability to hold down a job.

Other conditions many individuals may not consider can include but are not limited to:

• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS)
• Depression
• Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
• Diabetes
• Hepatitis
• Arthritis
• Learning Disorders
• Visual Impairments
• Hearing Loss

Remember, just saying you have asthma is probably not enough. Seeing a medical professional on a regular basis and seeking treatment for your condition(s) may also be very important in obtaining Social Security disability benefits. There may come a time when a claimant will need to appeal their disability claim and need the advice of an experienced disability benefits attorney.  If you require the assistance of a Social Security disability lawyer, contact the law office of Scott D. Lewis for a free consultation at (317) 423-8888.

What is the Indiana Disability Determination Bureau?  Indiana Social Security disability claimants are often confused by what the Disability Determination  Bureau (DDB) does for the Social Security Administration (SSA).  The DDB is also known as the Disability Determination Services (DDS) in some states.  DDB is a state-level agency is 100% federally funded whose duty is to determine disability eligibility among claimants.  The DDB's determinations are made based on the SSA's rules and regulations. 

When a claimant has a question regarding the status of their claim, it is best for the claimant to contact the DDB because the DDB examiners evaluate and process the claims.  This should not be confused with the claims representative that works for the Social Security Administration.  Claims reps do not examine or evaluate the disability claims.  Many times, a claimant or the claimant's attorney may be contacted by the DDB to answer some additional questions to assist in processing the claim.  Additional information may include:

• Activities of daily living such as how you perform yard work, prepare meals, shopping, and if you care for pets
• Personal hygiene
• Drug and/or alcohol use
• Additional physician information
• Where you live or who you live with

Claimants usually have 10 days to respond to the DDB's questions.  A claimant may ask the DDB for an extension to answer these questions.  The DDB is where all claims are reviewed and resolved in the initial claim level and the reconsideration level.  It's typical that most of the claims reviewed by the DDB are denied at these levels.  If a claimant appeals the DDB's decision, the claim will be heard in front of an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ).  The ALJ will decide whether the claimant qualifies for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits.

Scott D. Lewis, who is a practicing Indianapolis lawyer, finds that even though additional information is supplied to the Disability Determination Bureau, the claim is still denied.  However, Attorney Scott Lewis still beleives that it is important to furnish the additional information that the DDB requests and hopes that you may be one of the lucky few who are approved during this stage.

If you have been denied Social Security disability benefits, call Indianapolis Lawyer Scott D. Lewis for a free consulation regarding your claim at (317) 423-8888.  Scott Lewis will fight for what you deserve!

As a Social Security disability claimant reaches the final step of the Social Security Administration's (SSA) evaluation process, the SSA considers the claimant's ability to perform other work which differs from past work. This is called transferability of skills. The SSA defines "transferable skills" as skills that can be used in other jobs when the skilled or semi-skilled work activities the claimant did in past work can be used to meet the requirements of skilled or semi-skilled work activities of other jobs or kinds of work. This greatly depends on the similarity of work activities among different jobs.

Indiana disability claimants may wonder how the SSA determines this transferability of skills. It is likely that the SSA will determine a transferability of skills if the jobs have:

The SSA may not always determine a transferability of skills even though the above factors are met. Therefore, the SSA has different degrees of transferability that they consider. These degrees of transferability range from very close similarities to remote and incidental similarities among jobs. So, even though the three requirements may be met, when skills have been acquired in such an isolated vocational setting that they are not readily usable in other industries, jobs, and work settings or are so specialized, the SSA may consider these skills as not transferable.

If you are a claimant that is 55 years old or older and you have a severe impairment(s) that limits you to light work or sedentary work, the SSA may find that you cannot make an adjustment to other work unless you have skills that you can transfer to other skilled or semi-skilled work. On the other hand, the SSA may find that you have skills that are transferable to skilled or semi-skilled sedentary work only if the sedentary work is so similar to your previous work that you would need to make very little, if any, vocational adjustment in terms of tools, work processes, work settings, or the industry.

At a hearing, the testimony of a vocational expert may be used regarding the acquired skills and the jobs to which they would transfer.

Generally, it is to a claimant's advantage to have past relevant work classified at the lowest skill level as possible. In other words, the higher the degree of skill, the more probable it is that the acquired skills can be transferred to other occupations. In addition, the older the claimant, the more difficult it is to find transferability. The lower the residual functional capacity, the more difficult it is to find transferability. Skills are not gained by doing unskilled jobs. A skill may give a person a special advantage over unskilled workers in the labor market. A person has no special advantage if he or she is skilled or semi-skilled but can qualify only for unskilled jobs because his or her skills cannot be used to any significant degree in other jobs.

At the Law Office Scott D. Lewis, we understand that transferability of skills can be confusing to a claimant.  For more clarification concerning the above topic or to discuss your Social Security claim, contact Indianapolis Social Security Disability Attorney Scott D. Lewis for a free consultation at (317) 423-8888.