Category: Civil Law Insights & Resources

Awareness of mental illness has come a long way, but it can still be tough to prove it’s a disabling condition, at least according to Social Security criteria. In our practice, we often hear statements like, “My neighbor’s son got disability just because he said he was depressed (or is bipolar, or has anxiety).” While Social Security […]

This is one of the most common questions clients ask. And many times, the answer is yes. A majority of applicants are denied Social Security Disability on their first try. Some are approved after their first appeal (known as the reconsideration stage). But a far greater number are awarded benefits after they appeal a second […]

When you’re trying to get disability benefits from Social Security, there’s a lot of terms and jargon that can be very confusing. But tops on the list of things that confound clients is the difference between the terms “re-apply” and “appeal.” If your application for benefits is denied and you start over from scratch by […]

Chronic kidney disease may be more common than you think. According to the National Kidney Foundation, 1 in 3 Americans run the risk of enduring kidney problems for a variety of reasons: diabetes, hypertension or family history among them. More than 26 million people already suffer from it, but many of us don’t realize it […]

People hire attorneys or representatives to help with Social Security Disability claims because they want help with the process, and we’re glad to provide that! But there are some things that clients (or claimants who choose to handle the process on their own), can do to relieve the stress of applying and to make things run […]

“I worked for 20 years! Why don’t I qualify for disability?” We often hear from clients outraged because they spent many years in the workforce, but don’t meet the Social Security guidelines to have their conditions considered in disability claims. We also hear complaints because they know of someone who did not work nearly as long, but […]

One of the things we frequently hear from clients frustrated by the Social Security Disability system is that alcoholics are so easily awarded benefits based solely on their drinking problem. In fact, this has not been true for years. The criteria related to alcoholism changed in 1996, after Congress required SSA to remove alcoholism (along […]