WHY YOUR NEIGHBOR GOT DISABILITY BENEFITS BUT YOU DIDN'T

 We have all heard the stories.  My neighbor was approved for SSDI benefits and gets a check in his mailbox every month.  I applied around the same time and was denied.  I am more disabled than my neighbor!  Why wasn't I approved?  This perplexes almost everyone who has lost a claim.

There could be a million reasons.  Some of them make sense, some of them don't.  

Let's look at some of the things that may have affected your denied claim.

• What is your age?  What is your neighbor's age.  If you are  under 50 and your neighbor is 50 or older, you are playing with two very different sets of rules.  So, age is my first question. 

• What is your medical impairment?  What is your neighbor's  impairment?  Some impairments are much more likely to be approved than others.  Cancer, heart failure, COPD, etc. are much more likely to be paid than fibromyalgia, anxiety or  back trouble.

• Who was the judge?  Judges pay rates (averages) are not the same--not even close.  Judge Alpha in Room 1 may pay 14 percent of her claims, while Judge Beta in Room 2  may  pay 70 percent. And we don't pick the judge. I don't think this inequity is right, but nobody asked me.  You see how luck figures into it?    

• Did your doctor get involved?  Did you get your doctors get involved?  Did you ask your physician to complete a Medical Source Statement which states your degree of limitation concerning work related  activities?  If not, it may have hurt your chances. 

My point is:  there are literally dozens of factors that help determine how a claim is decided.  Each case has dozens of variables:  different age, education, past work history, medical record, witnesses, transferable skills--not to mention the difference in judges. Then, there's how well the claimant testified at the hearing.  

The important point, I think is:  How to respond to a denied claim.  In most cases, the best thing is to appeal within the allowed 60 day time limit.  A recent study suggests that about 50 percent (yes, one half) of denied claims can be approved on appeal.  So, get yourself a lawyer or Social Security advocate-specialist--and appeal the daylights out of your denial.  It will probably pay off.

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The Forsythe Firm   7027 Old Madison Pike   Huntsville, AL

CALL US for a free consultation:  (256) 799-0297

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