DISABILITY - WHO CAN FILE FOR BENEFITS?

Under Title II, or SSDI - you may be entitled to disability benefits if you

1. worked long enough to be covered for SSDI,
2. have not yet reached your full retirement age,
3. have been or expect to be unable to work for 12 consecutive months, or have been diagnosed with a condition expected to result in death; 
4. suffer from a medically determinable condition that prevents you from performing past relevant work or any other work.

 Social Security will consider medical evidence to determine whether you meet their medical requirements for disability.  It will also look at vocational evidence.  It will consider your age, past work history, education and residual function capacity (what you can still do in spite of your condition).

A person is generally found disabled if (s)he cannot perform any of his/her past relevant work and can perform no other work as it generally exists in the national or local economy.  This phrase "no other work" is troubling because it is somewhat difficult to prove that an individual cannot perform any full-time work.  (Technically, Social Security must prove that the individual CAN perform some other type of work, but this is still the most difficult requirement in a disability claim).

Let me use an illustration of how "other work" can play into a disability claim. Fred was an unskilled laborer for a construction company.  This is his only past relevant work.  His past work has an exertional classification of "very heavy," which required lifting and carrying 100 pounds occasionally and 50 pounds or more frequently.  Fred can no longer meet this level of exertion, so he can no longer work as an unskilled construction laborer.  However, this does not necessarily mean that Fred is disabled.

This gets Fred past Step 4 in the 5-Step sequential evaluation.  Can he perform any of his past relevant work?  No.  So, on to Step 5:  Is there any other work that he may still be able to perform?  Let's say that Fred's Residual Functional Capacity (RFC) is found to be "light exertion level."  At this level, a worker would only need to life 20 pounds occasionally and up to 10 pounds frequently.  The judge will ask the vocational expert whether any other work exists that Fred could do (at the light exertional level).

Let's say that, yes, Fred can perform one of several jobs available in the national or local economy--all of which are classified as "light" exertional level jobs.  If that is true, then Fred is not disabled under Social Security rules.  Since he can perform "light work," he can also perform "sedentary" work--which is even easier.  This may represent a large number of jobs in the national economy that Fred can perform.  (It doesn't matter whether Fred can actually get one of these jobs, or even if one of the jobs is open; it only matters that the jobs exist and that Fred could do one of these jobs if it were open, if he could find it, and if he could get hired).

I hope you are beginning to see why going into a disability hearing without the help of a qualified representative is foolhardy.  Most people are simply not familiar enough with vocational rules to argue with a vocational expert--who will most likely testify at your hearing.  If you have a disability hearing in your future, take a good representative with you.  Good representation is not expensive - it's priceless!