A gentleman named Mike writes in with a question about recommended medical treatment.  Mike has been diagnosed with severe depression and he reports that the psychotropic medications prescribed to him have not worked well.  His treating psychiatrist is now recommending electroconvulsive shock treatment (ECT), but Mike does not want to undergo this treatment because of possible side effects and risks.

If Mike refuses this treatment, or if any claimant refuses to undergo treatment recommended by a treating doctor, will Social Security consider that as non-compliance?  Will refusal to agree to treatment hurt one's case?  In the following video, I try to answer this question.

Episode Notes:  Link to grid rules

I have always believed that work history helps establish credibility.  Yesterday our judge said as much and approved a case with consistent, but not overwhelming medical records.

What happens at your Social Security Disability hearing? What should you wear?  Who will be in the hearing room?  In this 10 minute video, Jonathan demystifies the Social Security disability hearing process.

In this episode, I discuss the role of the vocational witness.  In many hearing offices, Social Security judges regularly call vocational witnesses to testify in hearings.  You need to understand who these witnesses are, why they are testifying at your hearing and their purpose for testifying.

The issue in any Social Security disability hearing has to do with your capacity to perform "substantial activity," which is Social Security terminology for work or work-like activity.  The judge's job is to evaluate the evidence and to evaluate your credibility as a witness.  However, the judge does not have any special training in job placement, the physical and mental requirements of various jobs or the number of jobs that exist in a local or regional economy.  Therefore, the judge will turn to the vocational witness to better understand the vocational impact of your medical condition.

Technorati Tags: vocational witness, adminstrative law judge, social security disability, dictionary of occupational titles

If you allege depression, anxiety or any other mental  health problem, there is a good chance that your Social Security claims rep will send you out for a consultative evaluation by a psychologist on a panel maintained by your local Social Security office.  In this episode, I explain what to expect and I discuss why this type of consultative evaluation can be so important to your case.

Show Notes:

1)  MY HUSBAND HAS SIGNED UP FOR SSI DISABILITY 7 MONTHS AGO. AND HAS NO HEARD FROM THEM HE DID CALL AND ASKED ABOUT WHAT WAS GOING ON, AND WAS TOLD THEY ARE STILL INVESTIAGTING CLAIM.WE ARE ABOUT TO BE KICKED TO THE STREET FOR NOT HAVING MONEY TO PAY RENT…… HOW CAN WE GET THIS MOVING FASTER?
–Maryann

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2)  f on SS Disability, can I have outside income without losing benefits?  I raise race horses and would like to run one of the babies. If this horse makes money do I loose benefits? Or if I sell one of the horses will that affect benefits.
–Darrell

3)   on 2/21 07 i had a hearing before a judge,m i have chronic fatigue syndrome, and depression…the judge said to me in the beginning of the hearing that i dont appear honest, and im not convincing, how will that affect my changes.
–Gee

Technorati Tags: Social Security delays, earning money while on SSDI, Social Security judge, hearing testimony

Show Notes:

1) dear Jonathan, i was finally able to go before the ALJ yesterday, my lawyer was 25 mins late and had no clue about the case ,we did not get together to discuss my case anytime before hand, needless to say i was trying to get across that i was having problems concentrating, what is this lawyers problem?, i was advised of nothing..i am late deafend hearing loss, have balance problems ,dizziness, and lack of concentration, i was ranting and raving like a fool, in there, trying to explain this concetration problem. Is there any hope of getting a favorable judgement. my dr still needs to do more test on me. i am also being treated for depression should i just forget about it , i cannot work. There wes one job that was there for me and nothing more. do i just need to forget about it?
–Denise

2) dear jonathan–i have a question about my hearing. The vocational ex. testified that with the judges prsumptions, no work available. how often does that result in an unfavorable decision and why? Thank you, and bless you for helping us on this site!
–Jill

Technorati Tags: Social Security disability hearing, vocational witness, hypothetical question, unfavorable decision, Social Security disability claim

Show Notes:

1) I have a lawyer and I'm waiting for my ALJ hearing ( 1 1/2 to 2 years, I was told at the SS office) Due to financial issues, I was unable to continue treatment with the doctor that first diagnosed me with lupus, firbomyalgia and MCTD, and I now go to a charity clinic. My lawyer says that the date of onset of my disease, which my original doctor diagnosed, does not matter, but the illness coupled with the date I stopped working does. I am working now, going from part time to half time within 6 months, because of the pain my condition causes, even though it is a sedentary job. Is my lawyer correct, that it doesn't matter when I was diagnosed?

Also, he says that working part time will not affect my disability case unless I make more than 800 dollars a month. I live in Indiana.

2) I have been denied disability because my wife has a retirement fund from her state retirement. Does her money count when I am disabled and unable to work?

Technorati Tags: part time work and Social Security Disability, onset date, alleged onset date, ssi offset

In this episode, I address the question - what should a Social Security client expect from his attorney. With disability cases taking up to three years start to finish, you should feel confident that your lawyer has a plan for managing your case during this long period of time. Very few consumer law cases take more than a few months - you need to know that your lawyer is capable of managing your case over an extended period of time. My guest this episode is attorney Ron Miller. Ron is the managing partner of the Disability Law Group based in California. Ron's firm is a multi-state firm in that he and his lawyers travel throughout the country to represent claimants in many other States. Having known Ron for several years, I often wondered how he and his staff managed to keep so much information organized and to prepare so well for disability hearings. Today, you will get a glimpse into how Ron approaches this issue. When I approached Ron about appearing on ssdRadio and asked if he had a specific topic in mind, he immediately expressed his desire to talk about the level of service that an attorney ought to provide to his clients. This is the first part of my interview with Ron - I'll post the remainder of our discussion in a later show. I hope you enjoy learning about top notch client service from a lawyer who works to provide this level of service every day.

Technorati Tags: social security disability, delays in ssdi cases, attorney ron miller, disability law group california, jonathan ginsberg

In this episode I answer two listener questions. The first question has to do with eligibility for Title II benefits. Terrilyn writes to say that her SSDI statement shows that she does not have 20 credit hours of work and that she last worked in 1995. Is there any way that she would be eligible for SSDI. The answer is "yes" and I explain how. The second question is from Christy and she writes to say that she has been diagnosed with MS, and that she applied and was turned down several years ago. She has been trying to work since then with limited success and now her condition has worsened. Should she apply again and what issues might she face.

Technorati Tags: credit hours for SSDI benefits, reapply for benefits, MS and SSDI