Millions of people suffer from serious and debilitating physical and mental disabilities that prevent them from working. Many of them choose to apply for Social Security Disability benefits to provide financial support for their household. However, the Social Security application is often long, time-consuming and complex, causing many qualified claimants to be deterred.

A knowledgeable Santa Barbara disability lawyer can meet with clients who are interested in applying for disability benefits and explain whether they may meet the eligibility criteria. He or she can also help in all of the ways discussed below.

Explain the Application Process
A Santa Barbara disability lawyer can explain the criteria to qualify for SSDI or SSI benefits. The medical eligibility criteria for these programs are the same, but they have different requirements regarding assets and income. SSI is a needs-based program, so the value of your non-exempt assets must be below $2,000 for a single person or under $3,000 for a married couple. Additionally, you must not have sufficient work history to qualify for SSI benefits. In contrast, you must have sufficient work credits to qualify for SSDI benefits. Both programs limit the amount of income that you can currently be earning through employment.

The medical criteria that you must be able to meet to qualify for Social Security disability benefits include:

• Your medical condition severely limits your ability to work for a minimum of 12 months
• You cannot perform the work that you performed previously
• Given your medical condition, you cannot adjust to other work

Your disability lawyer in Santa Barbara can review your claim and determine if you meet these eligibility criteria. If you do not meet the criteria, you can save the time from applying for benefits and can consider other options. If you do meet the criteria, your disability lawyer can help you with the application. It typically takes between 90 and 120 days to complete this stage of the disability claims process, which includes submitting your application, medical evidence and supporting documentation.

Assist with All Levels of Appeals
Millions of applications for disability benefits are submitted to the Social Security Administration. However, only about 30% of these applications are approved at the initial stage of the application process. The rest are initially denied. However, many of these claims are eventually approved at a later stage of the process. An experienced Santa Barbara disability lawyer can help you appeal your initial denial and assist with all levels of appeals, including:

• Request for reconsideration – If your initial application is denied, you are given 60 days to file for reconsideration with the Social Security Administration. A representative reviews the claim again and makes an independent decision.
• Hearing – If your request for consideration is also denied, you have 60 days to request a hearing. At the hearing, an administrative law judge reviews your claim, asks questions and reviews evidence. The judge can approve your claim, send it back for review or deny it again. Many cases are decided in favor of the claimant at the hearing level.
• Appeals Council – If the administrative law judge denies your claim at the hearing level, the next stage in the appeals process is to appeal the decision with the Appeals Council.
• Federal district court appeal – The last stage of the appeals process is completed by asking the federal district court to review your case. At this stage, the court can approve the claim, deny it or send it back for review.

If your claim is approved at a lower level in the application process, you will not have to complete the next level of appeal.

Fully Develop Your Application
One of the reasons why many disability applications are not approved is that the application is not fully developed. A claimant may have answered a question with a simple “yes” or “no” response while elaboration or clarification may have been necessary. A seasoned Santa Barbara disability attorney can ensure that all relevant information is included on the application or within the supporting medical evidence.

A disability lawyer can emphasize the importance of listing all sources of medical treatment on the disability application. Information about medical treatment that should be provided on the application includes:

• The names of the doctors and medical facilities who provided treatment to the claimant
• The addresses of doctors, hospitals and clinics where the claimant has received medical treatment
• The dates of all medical treatment received

A lawyer can also request medical records on behalf of a claimant and go back several years during which time the condition affected the claimant. He or she can go through these medical records and select those that are the most demonstrative of your condition and provide copies of these to the Social Security Administration. Some medical providers fail to provide claimants or the Social Security Administration with medical records in a timely manner, and a dedicated lawyer can follow up with the medical facility to ensure these records are provided.

Develop Your Medical Evidence
Medical evidence is a critical component to your case. The strength of your medical evidence and the ability of your lawyer to explain it in the context of your long-term disability is directly aligned to your likelihood of being approved for benefits. Therefore, it is important that you are able to fully develop your medical evidence.

Your medical records must be:

• Timely – Timely records include treatment that was provided recently enough to be relevant to the claimant’s current medical condition, which is determined on a case-by-case basis. Conditions that rapidly change will require more up-to-date information than a condition that has progressed slowly or has remained relatively the same for the last several years.
• Accurate – Medical records should correctly describe your medical condition based on acceptable medical standards. This evidence should be supported by objective medical evidence.
• Sufficient – The Social Security Administration must have sufficient medical information to make a decision regarding your claim, including being able to determine the nature and severity of your medical condition. The SSA may need information regarding your treatment history, your response to treatment, the medications you have been described and the side effects of those medications.

The Social Security Administration will want to see longitudinal records that describe your medical condition over time.
Medical evidence can take on many forms, including:

• Physician examination notes
• Treatment notes
• Bloodwork panels
• Imaging results from MRIs, CAT scans and X-rays
• Mental health records

Experienced Social Security disability lawyers have a firm understanding of medical information and they will be able to piece together evidence to establish your disability. A qualified Santa Barbara disability lawyer can look for strong medical records that thoroughly describe your complaints, show the results of your examination and your response to treatment and provide a prognosis for the future.

For you to qualify under a listing in the Blue Book Listing of Impairments, you must often have specific test results or other medical evidence that show the frequency of flare-ups or other medical conditions.
If your existing medical records do not fully articulate the specifics of your condition or directly connect your medical issues, your Social Security lawyer may recommend that you visit a specialist who can provide more information and meet the stringent requirements under the listings.

One of the most important forms of evidence comes from testimony by your treating physician. A treating physician who has provided ongoing treatment for you for a number of years will likely be more familiar with your medical condition than other types of medical providers, such as those that the SSA may send you to one time to get a report. The SSA can schedule a consultative exam to get more information if it determines that your medical records are insufficient.
Your lawyer may ask specific healthcare providers to provide supportive statements regarding your functional limitations so that the administrative law judge has a more accurate picture of your medical condition.

Your treating doctor is usually the best person to prepare a residual functional capacity assessment on you. This assessment details the physical tasks that you can do, given your particular limitations. This assessment can explain how often you may require breaks, how often you must move from one physical position to another and the maximum weight that you can lift or carry during work. It also highlights if you have problems with bending, stooping, grasping or performing other common work-related tasks. Your Santa Barbara disability lawyer can help obtain a thorough statement from your doctor that references relevant medical evidence that is supported by objective medical findings.

Advise You of the Status of Your Case
As explained above, there may be many steps involved in a typical Social Security case. Your Santa Barbara Social Security disability lawyer can keep you informed about the current status of your case. You may receive phone calls or letters that explain the current status of your claim and update you on important information, such as a hearing date or a scheduled consultative exam. Your lawyer may need to call Disability Determination Services, which can spur the examiner to work faster on your claim and identify if any pertinent information is missing.

Prepare You for Your Hearing

Since many disability applications are ruled in the claimants’ favor at the hearing level, a good Santa Barbara disability lawyer will help you prepare for your hearing. He or she will discuss the types of questions that you will be asked at the hearing and what issues may arise based on your particular circumstances.
Subjects that you should be prepared to discuss at the hearing include:

• Your disabling medical conditions
• The symptoms of your medical conditions
• Your treatment history
• Whether you suffer mental health problems in addition to physical ailments
• Which medications you have taken for treatment of your conditions and their side effects
• Your work history
• Your education history
• Whether you have a history of drug or alcohol abuse
• Whether you are able to perform activities of daily living
• Whether you require assistance with personal hygiene tasks, cooking, cleaning or managing money
• How your medical conditions have affected your quality of life
• Whether you have problems getting along with others

You must answer all questions honestly and under oath at the hearing. It is important that you neither exaggerate your condition nor minimize it. Your lawyer will review common questions with you and provide advice about the type of information you should try to convey at the hearing level. Your lawyer will try to put you at ease during this process.

Examine Witnesses

Your Santa Barbara disability lawyer may review your application and identify witnesses who can help explain your condition and how it impacts your daily life. These witnesses may appear at your hearing and your lawyer can ask questions during this hearing. Additionally, your lawyer can cross-examine witnesses such as a vocational expert who claims that you can work certain jobs by posing hypothetical to the expert that makes him or her consider the full extent of your disability and side effects of treatment.

Look for Alternatives
The process to apply for Social Security disability benefits can be long and complex. A skilled Santa Barbara disability lawyer can look for other potential sources of benefits or income while your claim is pending or as an alternative to Social Security disability benefits.
Depending on the circumstances surrounding your claim, you may qualify for benefits such as:

• Workers’ compensation benefits
• Unemployment insurance
• State disability insurance
• Long-term disability benefits
• Short-term disability benefits
• Disability retirement benefits

Speak to a Knowledgeable Santa Barbara Disability Lawyer Today
If you would like assistance with your application for disability benefits, do not hesitate to reach out to a knowledgeable Santa Barbara disability attorney for help with your claim. Call us at (805) 214-888 contact us online to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation. At Ghitterman, Ghitterman and Feld, you are never charged a fee unless your claim is approved. We charge no upfront fees and you are under no obligation to start a claim if you are not ready.

Ghitterman, Ghitterman and Feld
https://www.ghitterman.com/