To get disability benefits, you must focus on why you are not able to work, not why you can't get a job.
The regulations say that if you are able to work you are not disabled, regardless of whether you can get a job or not.
You must have a medical impairment that prevents working.
One of the first questions a judge will ask at your disability hearing is: "Why did you stop working in 2016?" I hold my breath, because the answer to this question can kill a disability claim in its tracks. Here are some actual answers to the question, "Why did you stop working?"
- I moved and didn't have transportation so I coudn't get to my job. (Not a medical disability).
- The plant closed down and I was just never able to find another job, even though I looked for a year. (Not a medical disability).
- There was a big layoff and about 75 people lost their jobs. I was one of them. (Not a medical disability).
- About that time my wife got really sick and there was nobody to take care of her, so I quit work to care for her until she got better. (Not a medical disability on the part of the claimant).
- I got sick and had to have my gallbladder taken out. While I was recovering, my employer hired somebody to take my job. When I got well, my job was gone." (Not a qualifying medical disability because gallbladder surgery doesn't keep a person out of work for 12 consecutive months, which is required for Social Security disability; also, Social Security would say, "Find another job.").
- I quit because I needed a job with flexible hours so I could be at home when my kids got home from school. I only have a 9th grade education and everywhere I applied told me I needed a high school diploma to work there." (Again, not even close to a medical disability).
One of the things I hear a lot is this one: "My job involved driving using heavy equipment and driving commercial vehicles. My diabetes got so had that I couldn't pass the medical exam for my commercial driver's license. On top of that, my boss told me that I was a liability to the company and he just couldn't afford to keep me on. In fact, several places where I applied for work have told me the same thing. I'm too much of a liability and they won't hire me."
This is getting closer to a medical disability, but it isn't quite there yet. Being a liability or failing to get a license is not, in and of itself, a disabling condition. There are other jobs that don't require operating heavy equipment or driving. If the claimant is able to perform one of the other jobs (with any employer) he is not disabled. Notwithstanding, severe diabetes may be disabling. However, we will need to prove that with medical records. Again, the standard will be that the symptoms of diabetes are so severe that the claimant can't do any work that exists in the national economy. This generally will include not being able to do simple, unskilled sedentary work like parking garage attendant, small products assembler, or hand packager.
There are many individuals who are not working for one reason or another. They are not covered by Social Security unless there is a severe medical impairments which prevents their ability to work. Further, Social Security will require objective medical evidence in black and white to prove this.
If you are considering a Social Security disability claim, think in terms of
Why I'm medically unable to work
vs.
Why I can't get a job
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