I have a good friend who works as a sales trainer. He teaches his students that "attitude is everything." In a sales context, if you exude confidence and believeability, you have much better chance at making a sale. Conversely, if you give off a "vibe" of defeatism and lack of confidence, your customers will sense your desperation and you will not be successful in sales.
The same ideas hold true in the Social Security disability world. Although you may have been waiting for years to appear before a judge, and you may know with every fiber of your being that you do not have the energy or endurance to work, you must present yourself as a fighter who wants to work and who hates the idea of pursuing disability benefits. Five days a week for 8 hours a day your judge has seen or thought about a claimant who wants that judge to obligate the federal government to pay monthly benefits.
Most disability cases turn on whether the judge finds you credible. You can greatly enhance your credibility by presenting yourself as an honest, hardworking person who has reluctantly given up a fulfilling, financially rewarding career or job.
In this episode, I describe my pre-hearing meeting with a client who has a chronic, debilitating condition. Only at the end of my meeting did I discover a line of questioning that will allow me to portray her as a reluctant claimant.
Filed under Hearing process, Preparing for your hearing by 
Show Notes:
1. understand the main issue in your case – reduce it to one or two sentences
Example: In 2004 I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. I continued to work until August of 2006 when I finally resigned because the symptoms and complications of my disease increased to the point where I could no longer get through a workday or a work week. Specifically, by August of 2006 I was no longer able to walk without a walker, my fatigue had increased to the point where I needed to lie down for 2 hours during the middle of the day.
2. learn about the judge and how he conducts hearings. Most want to do the right thing but they have very different styles
- judge who asks you to review fee contract
- judge who says nothing
- judge who challenges you – always finds something in the recordMore on 6 Rules to Prepare for Your Disability Hearing
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Here is a question received from a reader that touches on the issue of how to choose the correct "onset date" for disability when there have been multiple, unsuccessful job attempts:
I have a brother who is a professional businessman who has tried many times to maintain a job through a devastating illness. Over the past two years he has had a job for a few months unable to do the job and the company has let him go , he was able to collect unemployment , thought and hoped he could do another job, same thing happens, unable to complete days, lots of missed days, they let him go, he collects unemployment..repeat scenario three more times. I have convinced him to apply for social security disability (he should have done it some time ago) but what would you recommend for using the date of unable to work? Also, he has no more savings and unemployment runs out nest month..then nothing.. should he apply for SSI as well?
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I have previously related my opinion that part time work can hurt your chances at getting approved for disability benefits. A couple of recent cases confirms my reservations. In one case, I represented a woman with a long standing diagnosis of fibromyalgia. Her medical record was extremely comprehensive, and included reports from numerous doctors attesting to the myofascial pain and debilitating fatigue that is typical of this chronic pain condition. I had functional capacity forms from 2 of her treating doctors that strongly supported my contention that she did not have the capacity for competitive work at any level. In my opinion, this claimant was as deserving as any fibromyalgia patient that I have ever represented, yet the judge denied the claim because my client had published a web site about her ordeal, and used the web site to as a forum to support her fellow fibromyalgia patients.
I have seen several instances where web sites like the one I have described created problems for claimants. I have also seen situations where a claimant was denied for "riding along" with his son in a landscaping business, and for accompanying her son to his job at a video store.
Although I think that in most of these cases, the claimants were simply bored and wanted to get out of the house, judges get very uncomfortable with activities that look like work.
In this video, I talk about part time work and my thoughts about why and how it can negatively affect your case.
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In this episode, I answer two questions about timing.
Question 1 is from a reader named Gwen who asks: I was told I was approved by the disability of determination bureau on Aug 15 after i had appealed my first denial. I was told it now has gone to a review board in another state. What is this all about Please any info will be appreciated.
Question 2 is from a reader named Carolyn who inquires as follows: Won case May 6 when can I expect payment. How can I find out exactly when my first lump sum will come.
Social Security Listings – referenced in this episode
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This is the second half of my interview with Colorado Springs, Colorado Social Security disability attorney Tomasz Stasiuk. Today, Tomasz and I are focusing on the mistakes that we sometimes see and suggestions about how to best prepare for your disability hearing.
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This is part one of my interview with Colorado Springs, Colorado attorney Tomasz Stasiuk. Like me, Tomasz publishes a Social Security disability blog along with his firm website, and Tomasz encourages dialog with readers of his Internet publication. Social Security disability is different from other areas of law in that claimant's lawyers like Tomasz or myself cannot observe our colleagues when they try cases. This is done to protect the privacy of the claimants but I think it makes it more difficult for disability lawyers to improve our craft. Conversations like this one – between colleagues facing similar issues can help bridge this gap. I hope you enjoy part one of my conversation with Tomasz Stasiuk.
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I received the following email from a gentleman named Richard who graciously agreed to permit me to respond to his questions on this blog/podcast.
You have, what I believe to be be, the most informative, no BS, Attorney site I have seen in my 3 mo quest for information…enough of the "smoke up the…."….
I have MRI, X-ray, and medical records that show back problems. I have been seeing a liver specialist. for over a year due to liver disease (he has yet to find source), I have shingles pain flares, and migraine headaches. Depression dating back several years. I have SEVERE diarrhea, that leads to incontinence, and I take 9 diff. medications a day.
All this caused me to leave my career in law enforcement 2 years ago. To top it off, I attempted suicide 02/08…About 3 mos ago, I filed for SSD. My question is this….I have kept a "pain Journal" that I show my pain management doctor, for the last 6 mos. It shows how I feel on any given day, and what i can and can't do, in my own
words. Some days are good, some days are horrible. Should I send that to DDS?–Richard
Podcast notes and resources:
1. Social Security listings – the fastest way to win a disability case is to show that your condition meets a listing.
2. Functional capacity argument – identify specific problems that impact your work capacity
3. Mental health vs. physical medical problems – which makes for a stronger case?
4. Pain journals – when are they useful?
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Here is a question I received from a woman named Phyllis who sent me the following email:
IF YOU HAVE WORKED AS A PROFESSIONAL NURSE FOR PAST 25 YEARS AND CAN NO LONGER DO THE JOB AS A NURSE DUE TO DISABILITY, CAN SOCIAL SECURITY REQUIRE YOU TO WORK AS A NON-PROFESSIONAL WITH ALOT LESS PAY DOING SOMETHING TOTALLY DIFFERENT THAN WHAT YOUR WERE TRAINED TO DO ? IF THE ANSWER IS YES, DO THEY ASSIST YOU IN FINDING ADEQUATE EMPLOYMENT IN YOUR COMMUNITY WHERE YOU LIVE.
In the podcast, I make note of the following:
- In evaluating your case, Social Security is asking whether there is work out there that you could do, within Social Security's regulatory framework. If you are successful in proving that you cannot work, you win; if the judge concludes that you can work, you lose.
- Social Security cannot force you to take a job. Similarly, Social Security will not find you a job – they are not an employment agency.
- Social Security will ask whether you have transferrable skills from past work. If so, they will ask whether skills you may have obtained working could transfer to an easier job
- Generally, I approach most cases with the mindset that I need to prove that my client would not be a reliable, dependable worker in any job setting.
- You can read more at my Social Security disability blog about how Social Security classifies jobs based on exertional capacity and based on skill level.
Filed under Hearing process by
Jonathan Ginsberg
