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Situations Regarding Social Security Disability
Posted by: Rubin Guttman
June 14, 2011

While being found disabled for purposes of social security disability generally requires a lengthy medical history consistent with the disability claimed, sometimes circumstances like the unavailability of medical care makes it very difficult to prove the case, especially when social security itself will not order a test or examination that would prove disability. In rare cases like that, it may be worthwhile for the claimant and his or her attorney to discuss privately paying for an MRI and examination by an Orthopedic Surgeon, or a Neurologist or some other examination of that sort. While this can be very costly it can also lead to success on a social security disability claim. That is why the partnership between a creative lawyer and a cooperative client can be so very important. There is no guarantee that a privately paid for MRI or other diagnostic test will result in winning your claim, but when the test shows objective evidence of a cause of disability, such as a herniated disk or other disability causing injury, it may make the difference between winning and losing.

A recent article in the New York Times highlighted the difficulty in winning Social Security cases in Queens, New York. According to the article, claimants win fewer than 60% of their Social Security cases. Fortunately, at Rubin Guttman and Associates, our win rate for our clients is much higher. And while past performance is no guarantee as to whether we will win on any particular case, our dedicated staff, medical knowledge, and thoroughness ensure that our clients claims have the greatest possible chance for success.

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Rules Regarding Social Security Disability
Posted by: Rubin Guttman
June 14, 2011

Generally speaking someone who earns over $1,000 a month is ineligible for social security disability because they are able to engage in "substantial gainful activity (SGA)." But there can be circumstances in which you may earn a lot more than $1,000 per month and still be eligible for social security disability (but not SSI) because you will have been found to be engaging in gainful but not "substantial" activity for social security purposes. This may be the case where you employer makes substantial accommodations for your disability allowing you to work where someone else might not. For example a compassionate employer might allow a Veteran to take off 3 days per week and still let you keep your job. If your hourly earning rate was significant you might earn far in excess of SGA levels but, according to one recent court decision be eligible for social security disability because your earnings were gainful but not substantial. The moral of this story is that even if you think you may not qualify for social security disability you should always let an experienced law firm evaluate your claim to see whether there is a basis for proceeding.

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