Applying for

social

security

disability

benefits

TRUSTED HELP,

PROVEN SUCCESS.

STEP 1

The first step the SSA takes

is to examine your work record.

If you are presently working,

their agents will calculate how

much your earnings have

averaged per month during the

last year. Currently, if you

earn over a certain threshold

of income a month, Social

Security considers you to be

engaged in Substantial Gainful

Activity (SGA) and does not

regard you as disabled.

Unfortunately, this is true

even if your injury or illness

has significantly lowered your

earning power.

STEP 2

The second step is an

evaluation of the severity of

your impairments. This is first

accomplished by examining

your medical records. In order

for the SSA to consider you

disabled, we must prove through

medical evidence that your

disability interferes with

routine work-related activities.

 In addition, a standard of

duration is applied. This means

that in order to be declared

fully disabled, medical

professionals must expect you

to be impaired for at least one

year or to expect that your

present condition will result in

your death. As you can see, the

government sets a high bar for

being classified as disabled.

STEP 3

If, having examined your

medical records, the SSA is

still uncertain about your state

of disability, your application

will be sent on to the Disability

Determination Services (DDS),

a state-level agency under the

Michigan Department of Health

Services. A claims examiner at

DDS will decide whether or not

you meet their standards for

disability.

STEP 4

In this step, your ability to

do the work you did previously

 is assessed. Social Security

will determine if your disability

gets in the way of your ability

to do the work you have done

for the past 5 years. If your

conditions cause you to be too

limited to perform your typical

work, you may be found

disabled under special Medical

-Vocational Rules depending on

your age, education, and

skill-set. However, even if your

conditions prohibit you from

working these jobs that you are

used to, SSA will still move on

to the fifth and final step.

STEP 5

The last step that the Social

Security Administration takes

in the disability evaluation

process is to figure out whether

you can do other types of work

available despite the

limitations you may have. In

order to assess your ability to

work, the agency will consider

several important pertinent

facts, such as: your age, your

level of education, your past

work experience, and whether

you have transferable skills for

other occupations. Most

disability applications come

down to this fifth and final step.

You will want to make sure that

your claim, from the beginning

once your application is filed,

contains sufficient information

about your work history and

background information so that

nothing is missed that could

improperly result in a denial

of benefits.

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We've helped clients in: Wayne

County, Oakland County, Macomb

County,Ingham County, Eaton

County, Genessee County, Isabella

County, Kent County, Kalamazoo

County, and Calhoun County,

as well as Toledo and Cleveland.