Almost daily, employees of Social Security disability law offices are bombarded with client questions about why a client received a denial letter in the mail when their conditions and impairments should’ve qualified them as disabled, but Social Security decided they were fit enough to work.
Honestly, it is a question that does not have a simple answer. As a Social Security disability law firm we disagree with Social Security’s decisions on disability claims at the initial and first appeal level every day, but that doesn’t mean we don’t understand how Social Security came up with its decision.
Social Security developed its List of Impairments in aiding how to determine whether a disability applicant is disabled.
The Listing of Impairments is a long read. There are 14 different sections related to different types of conditions and disorders and countless subsections. No one should get the idea that just because one of a claimant’s conditions appears on the List of Impairments that they are entitled to disability pay. The more important factor is how this impairment or condition may limit a claimant’s ability to work. The List of Impairments also breaks down how someone diagnosed with a condition is able to function.
Social Security will examine records for a claimant’s impairments and determine whether those impairments meet Social Security’s definition of being disabled.
The law defines disability as the inability to engage in any substantial gainful activity (SGA) by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment(s) which can be expected to result in death or which has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than 12 months.
In addition to what impairments a claimant has and how it limits their ability to work, Social Security also has to consider past work experience, age, education and work skills of a claimant.
For a closer look at Social Security’s Listing of Adult Impairments click here.
