Calling the Social Security Administration (“SSA”) office is unlikely to help you understand whether or not you qualify for Social Security Disability. This is because when you call the SSA office you will be speaking with a service representative, who is not qualified to make a determination regarding a person’s disability. That is a decision […]

The Social Security Administration requires that you have earned enough “work credits” in the past  in order to be eligible to apply  for Social Security Disability benefits. What are work credits? When you work and pay Social Security taxes, you earn up to a maximum of four “credits” for each such year. The amount of earnings it […]

Most people have heard the old adage that ” everyone gets denied at first” when applying for Government Disability—more correctly called Social Security Disability (SSD.) This is not actually correct. The actual nationwide denial rate is around 65% for the first application… meaning you have a 35% chance of winning the case by simply filing an […]

Did you know? Applying for and receiving Social Security Disability Benefits, ( when one is UNDER retirement age and unable to work for at least 12 months,) bestows perks from the Government that many people don’t know about. These include (if you win): *Wage Freeze: If there is a period of time you are not […]

Winning. It’s the focus of professional athletes, and lawyers, too. Winning the case is paramount. So what goes into winning a Social Security Disability (SSD) case? After all, the Government can deny your case, and you could end up with nothing. My experience is that, especially when you get to the “hearing level” which means […]

I’m a sports nut- like many people I know. I follow all four major pro sports and have read literally hundreds of sports books and publications in my lifetime. I’ve been to and watched countless games. What many people don’t know, interestingly, is that almost all pro sports injuries in the U.S. are covered by […]

I often get the question, what types of conditions would qualify me for Social Security Disability? The answer is: there are hundreds of conditions, from common to unusual. Disabilities can be purely physical or psychological. They can result from accidents (including work-related accidents), or they can arise as an unexpected diagnosis or steadily worsening condition. […]

Section 10 of the Workers’ Compensation law in New York State says, among other things,  that there shall be no liability for compensation “when the injury has been solely occasioned by intoxication from alcohol or a controlled substance………” It has long been the law that if someone gets injured on the job SOLELY because they […]

New York ODAR Offices Source: disabilityjudges.com The Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (ODAR) conducts Social Security Disability (SSD) hearings and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) hearings in 10 different offices in New York. Currently, in New York, the average wait time for a SSI or SSD hearing is 12.2 months. The average case processing time […]

It’s a standard question: How long will it take for me to be approved for Social Security Disability Benefits? (SSDB) As with so many other things, the answer is: it varies. In truth, it can take from one month to up to two years or more! Let’s look at this a little closer. First of […]