Posted on April 19, 2010 in Social Security Disability

Georgia attorney Jonathan Ginsberg wrote an excellent post entitled Bipolar Disorder and Social Security Disability-Strategies for Winning on his blog that I would like to share with my readers as another source for bipolar disorder information. In addition to my recent post discussing the Social Security Administration's Listing Requirements for obtaining Social Security disability benefits when you have bipolar disorder, this article points to other online resources you can go to for more information and gives examples of winning disability limitations. Jonathan was nice enough to allow me to post his article below:

Bipolar disorder has long been recognized by the Social Security Administration as a legitimate basis for the payment of disability benefits. If you are a disability claimant who has been diagnosed with bi-polar disorder symptoms, there are two ways you should apply for benefits - and when you apply, you can and should use both arguments.

The “12.04 Listing Argument”

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 Posted on April 01, 2010 in Social Security Disability

For the sixth Best Social Security Disability Blogs of the month, there was a lot of competition in the month of March to make it to the Top 6. My favorite March blogs were:

Social Security Hearings Backlog Falls to Lowest Level Since 2005 -Texas lawyer Bob Kraft on his P.I.S.S.D Blog

Is a GAF Score of 65 Too High? -Maine lawyer Gordon Gates on Social Security Disability Lawyer Blog

Social Security Disability Applicants’ Access to Professional Representation Act of 2010 Signed Into Law -Delaware lawyer Steven Butler on Delaware Disability Blog

Disability Onset Date in Subsequent Applications -Illinois lawyer Aaron Rifkind on Illinois Social Security Blog

My SSI benefits stopped because I was in a hospital! Why? -Colorado lawyer Tomasz Stasiuk on the Social Security Insider Blog

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 Posted on March 28, 2010 in Social Security Disability Medical Conditions

Bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive illness, refers to a specific category of mood disorders where there may have been either a single episode of mania or a long standing history of both manic and depressive episodes. According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), it is estimated that bipolar disorder affects approximately one in forty-five adults and over five million Americans. Bipolar disorder is a rapidly growing condition and is marked by abnormally elevated and depressed states that often interferes with the person's everyday functioning and must be treated by mood stabilizing medications. The most popular long-term treatment for bipolar disorder is lithium carbonate. Despite numerous mood stabilizing medications, if you have bipolar disorder and it prevents you from working at a regular job, you may be entitled to Social Security disability benefits.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) has a Listing of Impairments that must be met for someone to be considered disabled. Although meeting a listing can improve your disability claim, its worth noting that failing to meet the criteria under the listing does not necessarily result in the denial of your bipolar disorder disability claim. The Listing of Impairments contains different criteria for various diseases and disorders and can be very different depending on whether you are a child or adult.

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 Posted on March 19, 2010 in Social Security Disability

I wanted to send out a quick note that Social Security Blog has changed its name to Illinois Social Security Blog. Since we are an Illinois law firm, we feel this relatively minor change more accurately aligns with our mission statement, which can be found at socialsecuritydefenders.com. As always, feel free to email us with any of your disability questions or comments. Stay tuned for our next blog post on receiving Social Security disability benefits if you are bi-polar.

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 Posted on March 14, 2010 in Social Security Disability

I recently read a very good article in the January edition of the National Organization of Social Security Claimants' Representatives (NOSSCR) Forum written by Peter Young that I think applies to many of my readers. The issue discussed in the article is when the alleged onset date should be in subsequent applications. In other words, if a claimant has been denied Social Security disability benefits previously and wishes to apply again, when should he or she allege disability. Since this is an issue that occurs over and over with my clients, I wanted to share most of the article with you below:

Question: What do you advise clients to allege as the alleged onset date in a subsequent application after an unfavorable determination? (A) Same as the previous application now on appeal? Or (B) The day after the unfavorable determination now on appeal?

Answer: As a basic rule, keep the "correct" onset date based on the medical facts. Stipulating to a later (and fictional) onset date can lead to exposure for you and harm to the client. We have all given in to an ALJ's pressure to amend the onset to a later date to obtain a partially favorable decision sooner, but review all potential side effects with your client and document your file.

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 Posted on March 11, 2010 in Social Security Disability

All over the internet you can find Social Security disability attorneys ready to help people with disabilities receive Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI). One of the main reasons someone would want to hire a Social Security disability attorney is because of the increased likelihood of receiving disability benefits. There is no question that a disability attorney can significantly increase the chances of winning a disability claim. For this reason, I am a firm believer that the time to hire a Social Security disability attorney is when you decide you want to pursue disability benefits in the first place. Once a claimant hires a Social Security disability attorney, he or she has taken a major step in putting themselves in the best position to win their case. However, too often claimants mistaken the comfort of hiring a disability attorney to represent them with the idea that their own work in the process is done. This is far from the truth...

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 Posted on March 07, 2010 in Social Security Disability

I was surprised to receive three emails this week asking where the Social Security disability articles I've written can be found. Rather then emailing those people individually, I thought that I would write a blog post about it.

Once or twice a month I will write and publish Social Security disability articles on the internet. Normally, I write articles covering either a medical condition that I was working on while helping a client or a specific issue that I thought would be good to discuss and open up to the public for commentary. I enjoy helping others and am more than willing to write an article in response to any of your questions.

My articles can be found in numerous places on the internet. The main place where you can find my articles is on the Social Security Defenders LLC website.

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 Posted on March 03, 2010 in Already Applied for Disability Benefits

The following two similar questions were posted on my blog last week: "My husband is going to have his disability review after many years of receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) payments, where can I go to find out more information about the review process?" and "Our primary physician lost our medical records, what can we expect to happen during our disability review?"

Before I answer those two questions, I think it is important to understand what a Social Security disability review is for and why the SSA has them. Once a claimant has gone through the long disability application process and is finally awarded SSDI or Supplemental Security Income(SSI) benefits, the disabled individual will begin receiving monthly payments from the Social Security Administration (SSA). Monthly payments will continue so long as the person remains limited by his or her conditions and is in fact disabled. The SSA will determine the status of the individual's condition by holding a "checkup." Those "checkups" are part of SSA's disability review.

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 Posted on February 28, 2010 in Social Security Disability

For the fifth Best Social Security Disability Blogs of the month, there was a lot of competition in the month of February to make it to the Top 6. My favorite February blogs were:

What is A Medical Source Opinion in a Social Security Disability Claim? -Texas lawyer Bob Kraft on his P.I.S.S.D Blog

Failure to Follow Prescribed Medical Treatment -Maine lawyer Gordon Gates on Social Security Disability Lawyer Blog

Be Wary of Social Security Disability/SSI Advice Found on Disability Law Websites -Delaware lawyer Steven Butler on Delaware Disability Blog

Medical Records and Your Social Security Disability Claim -Illinois lawyer Aaron Rifkind on Social Security Blog

How going to school affects a Social Security disability benefits case? -Colorado lawyer Tomasz Stasiuk on the Social Security Insider Blog

Cancer and Social Security Disability benefits: Not as easy as you think -Florida lawyer Anthony Reeves on The LegalBEAT Blog

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 Posted on February 24, 2010 in Social Security Disability

Medical records play an extremely vital role in an individual's Social Security disability claim. The Social Security Administration (SSA) will do everything they can to discover whether a claimant has any medical conditions that prevent him or her from performing substantial gainful activity. SSA will determine the severity of a claimant's conditions based on different types of medical records. Different medical records that are submitted in a disability benefits application include but are not limited to: your test results; any medications the person is on or has taken; the contact information for any doctors, clinics, or hospitals that you have visited; and any information that your doctors, clinics, or hospitals can provide. Below are three tips with medical records that will help you with you Social Security disability benefits claim.

(1) Be Prepared

Once you decide to apply for Social Security disability benefits, the SSA is going to need all of your medical records to process your claim. The more records that you can provide them with, the faster they will be able to make a decision on your claim. One of the biggest factors contributing to application delay is when the SSA has to request medical records from your medical providers. These medical record requests can significantly delay an application. For this reason, it is imperative that you have taken all of the necessary steps to be as prepared as possible when you sit down and decide to apply for disability benefits.

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