FAQs

No. Unfortunately, your doctor’s diagnosis alone is not sufficient to qualify for benefits. The Social Security Administration has a very rigid definition of disability. You must be unable to perform any substantial work because of your disabling injury or illness and your medical condition must be expected to last a year or longer or be a terminal condition.You may be directed to see a doctor for a medical examination arranged by the Social Security Administration. This doctor will submit an evaluation of your disability and whether you are still able to do substantial work.

To qualify for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits, you also must have a substantial employment history and contributed to Social Security.

Many people who collect disability benefits are turned down initially.If you have received a SSDI denial letter, your first step should be to contact an experienced Denver disability lawyer for a free evaluation of your disability claim.A knowledgeable SSD attorney at The Wilhite Law Firm can help you file an appeal and pursue your disability benefits to obtain the financial assistance you need.

There are four levels of the appeals process. If you have received a denial letter recently, you have 60 days from the date you received the letter to file a written request for an appeal. It can be confusing if you are unfamiliar with the appeals process. Our disability appeals attorneys will review your claim and develop a strategy to try to overturn the denial, based on many years of experience handling many claims.

The first level in the appeals process if your Social Security disability application is denied is to request a reconsideration of your application by Disability Determination Services. Disability Determination Services is a state agency in Colorado that reviews applications for Social Security Disability Insurance benefits and Supplemental Security Income assistance, the two primary disability programs.

A reconsideration involves a review of your entire file and the medical evidence of your disability by someone who did not take part in the initial decision. The reviewer will also consider any new evidence or information that you have about medical tests and treatments since you previously submitted information. The average time to do a disability application reconsideration is approximately 160 days, according to the Social Security Administration.

You may appeal the reconsideration decision by requesting a hearing before an administrative law judge. The judge’s office will send you notification of the time and place of the hearing. You will be expected to present evidence supporting your claim for benefits and follow the rules of civil procedure. It is helpful to have an experienced disability lawyer represent you at the appeals hearing. An experienced Denver SSD attorney can help you prepare for the hearing and help you understand the kind of questions the administrative law judge will likely ask. An attorney can help you gather new medical information and arrange for medical experts and other witnesses to testify on your behalf. After the hearing, the administrative law judge will make a decision based on all the evidence.

If you disagree with the judge’s decision, you may ask the Social Security Appeals Council to review the decision. The council may deny the request for a review if it believes that the judge made the correct decision. You may file a lawsuit in federal court if you disagree with the Appeals Council’s decision.

Whether an applicant can perform substantial gainful work is one of the Social Security Administration’s criteria for determining eligibility for disability benefits. Can you do any type of work, even if you cannot do your former job? Gainful work is any work done for pay or with the intention of profit. Work is considered substantial by the Social Security Administration if it entails significant physical activity, mental activity or some combination of both physical and mental activities. If a doctor determines that you can still do substantial gainful work, then you will not be eligible for disability benefits. Both part-time work and full-time work may be considered substantial gainful activity.

If you qualify for Social Security Disability Insurance, there is a five-month waiting period before your disability benefits will begin. You will receive payment starting in the sixth full month after the date you are determined entitled to benefits. The amount of your Social Security Disability Insurance check will be based on your lifetime average earnings covered by Social Security.

Certain very serious medical conditions by definition meet Social Security’s definition of disability. If you or your loved one has been diagnosed with any of the approximately 200 most serious conditions, such as certain types of incurable cancer, you may obtain a compassionate allowance and have your disability claim application expedited. It may be processed in a few weeks, so disability payments can start. The 200 conditions that qualify for compassionate allowances include acute leukemia, inoperable bladder cancer, inoperable breast cancer, ALS/Parkinsonian Dementia Complex, esophageal cancer and liver cancer.

Yes, certain members of your family who become disabled may be entitled to disability benefits based on your work history. They include:

• your spouse if he or she is 62 or older
• your spouse at any age if he or she is taking are of child who is disabled or younger than 16
• your unmarried child who is younger than 18, or younger than 19 if still in high school
• your unmarried adult child if he or she had a qualifying disability that started before the age of 22

The Social Security Administration’s Disabled Adult Child (DAC) assistance program allows qualifying applicants to collect disability benefits based on their parents’ work history and contributions to the Social Security system. The federal government has strict rules for qualifying for disabled adult child benefits. For example, to be eligible for DAC assistance, the adult child must be unmarried, at least 18 years old and have a medically diagnosable disability that began before age 22. The disability may be either a physical condition or a mental impairment. In some cases, you may already be collecting disability benefits as a disabled adult based on your own work history. But you may be entitled to larger monthly disability payments if you qualify under the adult disabled child programs based on your parents’ employment record and payment of Social Security taxes. It is worth considering.