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Allman v. Colvin, a case from the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, involved a claimant who alleged he was unable to work due to having a shunt in his brain, back pain, depression, anxiety, severe headaches and spina bifida.

1028452_syringes_and_vialDuring a hearing before an administrative law judge (ALJ), it was determined that he had a residual functioning capacity (RFC) allowing him to perform many different jobs in the national economy, and the judge denied his application for disability benefits.   ALJs use an archaic index of jobs known as the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT) that was largely drafted during the 1970s.  This book has a bunch of odd sounding job titles that are supposedly available at some place in the United States at any giving time.  This is opposed to finding job listings in the local economy, where the claimant is actually looking for employment.  No surprisingly, many disabled Americans do not want to leave their families and travel to another state for the opportunity to work a low wage job while being disabled.  However, this is exactly what ALJs often decide they should do. Continue reading

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In Stark v. Colvin, Claimant worked as yard driver for ten years at a major automaker.  She was responsible for moving pickup trucks as they rolled off the assembly line and taking them to a storage area until they could be shipped to car dealers around the world.  She was earning around $40,000 with benefits, but her back was hurting to the point where she had surgery for the first time in 2000.  Ultimately, she would have three surgical procedures on her back.

755533_suvWhen she went to see her orthopedic surgeon back in 2000, the doctor diagnosed her with a degenerative disc disease.  After speaking with his patient about various options, he decided to perform a lumbar fusion.  In addition to the lumbar fusion, claimant also had various procedures to widen her neural pathways.  Continue reading

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In Nowling v. Colvin, a case from the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, claimant was disabled due to what is known as conversion disorder. A conversion disorder is term for when a patient suffers real physical symptoms of a disease or other medical condition without any known cause. One type of this, the type suffered by claimant, involves non-epileptic seizures.

635810_softgel_capsuleThese non-epileptic seizures are believed to be the result of an unconscious and involuntary “conversion” process.  This means that a person who suffers from mental stress will unconsciously convert that mental stress into the physical symptoms.  In this case, seizures occur.  Continue reading

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There are currently around 11 million Americans collecting Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. These are the two programs the United States Social Security Administration (SSA) runs to provide benefits for disabled adults and children who cannot work due to their respective medical conditions.

1078874_word_work_on_the_dices-300x214Many in Congress like to claim that there are too many people collecting disability benefits, and they should be working.  We know that this is just political rhetoric, but there does not seem to be any stopping politicians from making these unfounded claims.  The truth is that the vast majority of people collecting Social Security disability benefits would much rather be healthy and able to work.  One reason we know this is because the cap for disability benefits is under $1,100 per month, which is much less than many people could earn at work even at a minimum wage job.  This is not a coincidence, as Congress did not want people to make more in benefits than they could while working. Continue reading

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A recent news feature from CNBC looks at some interesting statistics pertaining to the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) application process and also offers some helpful tips for getting your application approved faster.

957924_hand-300x200One of the first things to understand is just how difficult it is get approved for Social Security Disability Insurance benefits, especially if you do not have an experienced attorney representing you during the application process and appeal, which is often necessary.  As it turns out, between 2004 and 2013, slightly more than a third of all claims were approved by the United States Social Security Administration (SSA).  To put it another way, 64 percent of all claims were denied. Continue reading

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In Stage v. Colvin, a case from the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, claimant was working at a factory in 1985 when she suffered two slipped discs in her spine.  She simply kept working through the pain, but her condition got much worse as the years went by. Two decades later, she was diagnosed with severe arthritis in hips, left leg, both shoulders and her back.  She also suffered from a degenerative disease in her spine.  She was 5’6” in height and her weight about 200 pounds at the time she first appealed a denial of her Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits.

1115701_black_and_white_crime_2In addition to her arthritis and obesity, she also suffered from hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol), hypertension, and hypothyroidism.  When she first filed for Social Security Disability Insurance benefits, she claimed her hip pain and back paid made it impossible for her to work as of October of 2009.  Her job history included working at the factory, working at a kitchen in a nursing home, and work as a bartender. The back pain and hip pain was confirmed via her medical records submitted along with her benefits claim.  Continue reading

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Chaney v. Colvin, a case from the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, involves a claimant who filed for disability benefits in 2006 for a disability that he asserted began in 2003. Claimant testified during a hearing held by an administrative law judge (ALJ) who works for the United States Social Security Administration (SSA).

1028452_syringes_and_vialDuring his testimony, claimant stated he had long suffered from back pain, depression, and was addicted to drugs. He also testified that he had full physical custody of his daughter, then four years old, but was given considerable help from his parents. His parents regularly cleaned his home, paid his rent and utilities and provided him with other needed assistance.   Continue reading

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Miller v. Commissioner of Social Security Administration, a case from the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, involved a claimant who was a single father. Prior to becoming disabled, claimant worked as a security guard, material handler, bouncer at a local night club, and machine operator.

755993_pillsIn early 2006, claimant went to the emergency room seeking treatment for an injured left knee. Doctors performed a full examination with imaging and determined claimant had degenerative damage to his knee, as a well a contusion, which was the primary reason he went to the emergency room. Continue reading

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For most of last year and even before, there was a lot of news coverage about how the Social Security disability fund would run out of money in late 2016. At that time, it was calculated, the United States Social Security Administration (SSA) would only have enough money to fund 81 percent of the total needed.

the-capitol-193779-mIn other words, there would only be enough money to pay 81 percent of all benefits, so based upon agency regulations, all benefits would be cut by 19 percent in late 2016. For the roughly 10 million Americans who are living off a maximum of $1080 per month in benefits, a cut of 19 percent would make it extremely difficult to make ends meet and take care of themselves and their families. Continue reading

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According to a recent news article from ABC, a woman’s disability benefits have been terminated after she was a victim of identity theft. The victim has said it took her years of fighting with the United States Social Security Administration (SSA) to get her award of benefits in the first place.

167744_black_5She is a mother of three children who are now in their teens and was working as Spanish language interpreter at the time of her onset of disability. She developed a serious medical condition that required extensive surgery on her colon and bowel and experienced several complications involving the procedure. Continue reading

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Disclaimer – The settlements above are only a sample of cases represented by our office. Each case is different and the amount of a potential resolution of your case will vary considerably depending on a substantial amount of factors. Some case results were worked in conjunction with partnering law firms.

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