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 […]

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 […]

Do you know someone who has been injured or become seriously ill and has been unable to work? Which of these should they apply for? Sick time pay —–Vacation pay——-Workers’ Comp——- Social Security Disability —–Short-term Disability—– Long -term Disability—— Unemployment ??? Imagine your Holidays with no income coming in. Seriously ill and injured people can […]

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. […]

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 […]

Many of my clients who are injured on the job in New York State are disabled and stay out of work longer than 12 months. In such an instance, can the injured worker ALSO receive Social Security Disability Benefits? In many cases, the answer is YES. If the Workers Compensation (WC) claimant (injured worker) is […]

Age Matters: Social Security Disability Favors Older (50+ years old) Workers   Does age matter when filing a Social Security Disability claim? Yes it does. Here are the four categories that the Social Security Administration (SSA) uses when evaluating age:   “Younger Individual”— Ages 18 to 49;   “Closely Approaching Advanced Age”— 50-54;   “Advanced […]