The Disability Claims Process

The Disability Claims Process is typically a long and arduous one for individuals attempting to navigate it without the guidance of an experienced, trained professional. Our team of qualified representatives have a long history of helping people just like you find their way to a successful claim outcome. You can expect your representative to move your social security claim through five steps that apply to every Social Security Disability and Supplemental Security Income case:

1. The Social Security Administration must determine if you are currently working, and if so, if you are working at the Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) level. This is a financial level set by the Social Security Administration annually that represents a level of income at which an individual should be able to support himself or herself. If you are working at or above SGA level as determined by their evaluation then you do not qualify. This is regardless of the physical or mental condition that you are basing your claim on.
2. If you are working under the SGA level set by the Social Security Administration, then your claim of disability will be evaluated for medical documentation. This is where symptoms, lab test results, and other medical findings will be used to show evidence of the nature and validity of your claim of either physical or mental disability.
3. Once this step is reached, the Social Security Administration must determine if your physical or mental disability fulfills the level of impairment required for benefits coverage, as listed in the “blue book” (now available on ssa.gov) from the Social Security Administration. Even if you do not meet the listed criteria for the appropriate level of impairment for benefit coverage at this point, you may still move on to steps four and five that deal with your ability to perform work.
4. Your past work responsibilities and tasks spanning the past fifteen years are reviewed to determine whether you would now have the ability to perform these tasks at SGA level, and if not, whether you could perform some other work function with your physical or mental disability taken into consideration.
5. Finally, the Social Security Administration will evaluate your ability to possibly perform any kind of work tasks considering not only your physical or mental condition, but your age, work history and any other factors that may contribute to your ability to perform tasks. Once it is determined that you cannot work at a sufficient level to adequately provide for yourself based on the above five steps, then are you qualified for disability benefits approval.