CONCENTRATION, PERSISTENCE AND PACE - ISSUES THAT CAN WIN YOUR DISABILITY CLAIM

I always go into disability hearings prepared to talk about CPP--Concentration, Persistence and Pace.  If a claimant suffers from pain, fatigue, depression, anxiety or any other psychological issue, chances are he or she has issues with CPP.  Let's look at these terms and discuss how they affect the ability to work, hence how thy affect disability claims.

Concentration is merely the ability to stay focused on tasks long enough to complete them in a timely manner.  A person suffering from pain, depression or some other mental impairment may not be able to keep his mind on his work.  He may be easily distracted, have difficulty following directions or require too many breaks.  Social Security usually will concede that a person must be able to concentrate up to two hours at a time and sufficiently to complete an 8-hour work day on a regular basis.  Otherwise, there is no work they can perform and they are disabled.

Persistence is the ability to work 8 hours a day, 5 days per week on a "regular and consistent basis."  Pain, fatigue or other factors can make this difficult or impossible.  A person who will be absent 2 or 3 days per month (or more) due to medical impairments will not have the persistence for full-time work.  A person who can only work 5 or 6 hours a day lacks the persistence to work a full 8-hour day and is, therefore disabled. 

Pace means the ability to perform work activities on a regular schedule and in a timely manner to keep up with the demands of the job.  For example, an individual may be able to perform the same work as other workers, but if he needs twice as much time to get the same work done, he fails the "pace" requirement.  Most jobs provide 3 breaks during an 8-hour workday:  2 fifteen minute breaks, plus a half hour lunch period.  If a worker requires all of these breaks plus others on a regular basis, she may fail the "pace" requirement for full-time work and be found disabled.

This is one example of how a representative who knows Social Security regulations, and terminology, can use a claimant's impairments to prove disability.  Naturally, such allegations must be supported with medical evidence.

Contact the Forsythe Firm if you need to file for Social Security disability, have recently been denied, or have an appeal hearing in your future.  

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