Even though there are rules to follow, the SSA is full of human beings interpreting the rules.\u00a0 We all know that people are subjective.\u00a0 One person at the SSA looking at your claim might feel differently than the next person.\u00a0 One person\u2019s claim might get the seal of approval quickly and without much scrutiny, while yours ends up on the desk of a SSA employee who is very critical.\u00a0 Each judge has a different ratio of approved clams to denied claims.\u00a0 This is why it\u2019s so important to have a lawyer at your hearing.\u00a0 One who is there to make sure the rules are followed, and to present the best evidence possible to satisfy these rules.<\/p>\n
Sometimes people are denied simply because they don\u2019t fit in the system.\u00a0 Unfortunately, if you haven\u2019t worked much in your lifetime, and you have a spouse who works,\u00a0you might\u00a0be left out in the cold.\u00a0\u00a0Think of a homemaker with a working husband. If your neighbor receives benefits but has never worked, they probably receive Supplemental Social Security Income (SSI) benefits.\u00a0 In order to qualify, a person must not only be disabled under the rules, but also must meet specific rules for income and assets.\u00a0 The other type of benefits called Social Security Disability benefits (SSD) are based on a lifetime earnings record and your ability to prove that you became disabled within a specific time frame.\u00a0 Generally this is about 5 years after you stopped working.<\/p>\n
The good news is the SSA does have strict guidelines about certain lifestyle choices of claimants. For instance,\u00a0\u201cA person\u2019s claim will be denied if their substance abuse problem contributes to or causes a\u00a0disability\u201d.<\/em>\u00a0 Of course, even this is subject to interpretation within an individual claim.\u00a0 But generally, no one in this day and age is getting benefits because they were injured while under the influence.<\/p>\n Applying for disability benefits can be a very frustrating process, especially when you know of someone who already gets benefits but seems to have few health problems.\u00a0 Even though it might seem like you should get approved right away,\u00a0you might have to fight for\u00a0your benefits.\u00a0Having an attorney on your side to navigate this sometimes crazy system might just make the difference between getting approved and denied.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Even though there are rules to follow, the SSA is full of human beings interpreting the rules.\u00a0 We all know that people are subjective.\u00a0 One person at the SSA looking at your claim might feel differently than the next person.\u00a0 One person\u2019s claim might get the seal of approval quickly and without much scrutiny, while […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_angie_page":false,"page_builder":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[32,18,52],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13797","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-case","category-financial","category-social-security"],"yoast_head":"\n