The statistics do not lie; out of every 1000 claims for Social Security disability benefits, 750 of them on average are denied. In the greatest majority of cases the denial is based on medical issues, in other words the Social Security Administration were not able to substantiate the claim with evidence that the medical condition claimed made it impossible for the applicant to work. Over and above the denials made for medical reasons there are also technical reasons for an application to be denied. In those cases where technical issues were the cause for denial the SSA determined that the applicant did not meet the criteria established to be granted benefits, the medical issues are not even visited. In either case, medical or technical the applicant would be wise to consult a disability law firm as there is a process for lodging an appeal which is available for those denied benefits.
Earning too much:
The SSA have established what is called the “substantial gainful activity” (SGA) threshold, if you are working and your current income exceeds this threshold then your application will be denied. For those able to see the SGA at the moment is $1,070 per month while the SGA for those considered blind is $1,800 monthly. In the opinion of the SSA, if you are earning more than the allowable SGA then you cannot be disabled. In cases such as this the disability law firm attorney may take the stance that you were getting help from other employees to perform your function or that you were being allowed to perform below standard or that you were given specialist apparatus that was more suitable for the task or environment.
Technical denials for a SSDI claim:
The most common reason given for denial for SSDI is that the applicant has not worked long enough to have paid the money into the system that is necessary to be covered under the program. The amount of time that you need to have worked to be eligible varies but as an example, if the applicant is 50 years old when claiming disability benefits, this applicant must have worked at a job that pays into the system for at least 7 years, five of which must have been in the last ten years.
It can be difficult to appeal a denial of benefits if the issue is work credits, if you don’t have enough of them an appeal will change this. However, a disability law firm working on your behalf can make a case if the SSA made an error in calculating income and assets which is frequently the case.
