Jonathan Ginsberg

Do I Need a Lawyer to Start my Disability Claim with Social Security?

By Jonathan Ginsberg on February 13, 2013

Most lawyers will tell you that as a rule, the sooner you retain counsel to assist you with a legal matter, the better. Certainly this is true if you have been charged with a crime and I believe it is also true for workers’ compensation claims as well as personal injury matters.

In Social Security disability, however, there is no real benefit to hiring lawyer prior to actually filing your claim. In fact, most people hire disability lawyers after their claims are denied (about 4 or 5 months after the claim was filed) or even after their first appeal – called reconsideration – comes back denied, which can be a full year into the claim.

Why Most People Wait to Hire a Lawyer

As a practical matter there is not all that much a lawyer can do to win your case prior to your administrative law judge hearing. When you first file your claim, a Social Security claims representative, called an adjudicator, requests medical records and presents those records to an in-house medical or mental health consultant.

Social Security does not encourage outside contributions to this information gathering process and if you or your lawyer do submit information it might have the effect of slowing down the claims processing. [Read more…] about Do I Need a Lawyer to Start my Disability Claim with Social Security?

If I Win my Case, When Do I Become Eligible for Medicare?

By Jonathan Ginsberg on February 11, 2013

For many of my clients, Social Security disability income benefits are a lifesaver. The $1,500 to $2,000 per month typical in SSDI cases plus a $20,000 to $30,000 lump sum can mean the difference between living with dignity and not.

However, monthly income benefits are not the only result of a favorable disability decision. SSDI claimants also become eligible for Medicare, although this eligibility is not immediate. There is a 24 month waiting period from the first date you become eligible to receive SSDI payments and the date you become eligible for Medicare.

Here are a couple of examples that might help you better understand the 24 month waiting period: [Read more…] about If I Win my Case, When Do I Become Eligible for Medicare?

How Does Social Security View Failed Back Syndrome?

By Jonathan Ginsberg on January 12, 2013

Back surgeries do not always result in a complete cure of your pain and limitation of movement. Sometimes you are left with a manageable level of residual pain and sometimes, your surgery leaves you no better off than you were before. If your back surgery was not successful in resolving your complaints of pain and your doctors are telling you that you have developed arthritis in your back (sometimes called osteophytes) and that you are not a candidate for a second surgery, you may have failed back syndrome.

As discussed here, back pain cases are probably the most common medical issue seen by Social Security judges, so in order to win, your case needs to stand out. Presenting evidence that you have a failed back greatly improves your chances.

Disability claimants with failed backs often get approved quickly by Social Security. If you have been referred to a pain management physician and are receiving narcotic pain medications for chronic, intractable pain, it is unlikely that you have the capacity to perform reliably at a job. While failed back claimants should be approved early, too many of these cases slip through the cracks and they end up in my office where I have to present these cases to an adminitrative law judge at a hearing. If you find yourself in this situation, please call me at 770-393-4985.

In the video below I discuss more about failed back syndrome and how I approach failed back cases.

What Evidence is Needed to Win a Decision based on the Grid Rules?

By Jonathan Ginsberg on December 2, 2012

I recently received this question from someone who saw my video about the grid rules and asked an interesting question about what evidence he would need to prevail in a grid rule argument claim:

Here is my situation: I am 55, with no skills, and less than a high school education (and no GED). I have only done part time work in the past 15 years, and the last work I did was unskilled work at the medium level. I have several problems:

I have traumatic brain injury, but there is no supporting medical evidence, tests or other proof

I have a hip and back injury

I have chest pains

If the grid rules say I quality for SSI based on my age, education, work history and skill level, will I still have to present medical evidence to prove that I have some or all of my health problems?

Here are my thoughts: the grid rules do require proof of a physical impairment that causes some reduction in your exertional capacity. In other words, to meet one of the grid rules, you will need evidence to prove that your functional capacity has been reduced to sedentary or light work. So you cannot simply walk into a hearing room and ask for disability based on your age, education and status as an unskilled worker. You will have to present some medical evidence (ideally from a treating physician) that explains why your exertional capacity is now light or sedentary. This would involve presenting medical records and test results (such as an MRI report and evaluation or a CT report and evaluation).