DEFENDING YOUR ALLEGED ONSET DATE

When you file a new disability claim, you choose the date on which you claim to have become disabled.  This is called the "alleged onset date" or AOD. This date must be defended and proven or it will cost you money. 

This date doesn't become official until a Social Security decision maker agrees with it.  Usually, this happens in a hearing with an administrative law judge (ALJ). So, it is Social Security that sets the actual date of disability.  At that time the alleged onset date (AOD) becomes the "established onset date" (EOD).

It is up to the claimant to prove the date on which he/she became disabled.  This is done primarily with (a) medical records showing a severe impairment on or before the AOD and (b) by employment records showing that the claimant stopped working prior to the AOD.

AOD may be easily established if you became disabled due to a major event:  a heart attack or an accident, as examples.  In other cases, disability may have started less obviously or more gradually.

Another factor to consider is when did you stop working?  You cannot be disabled under Social Security rules while working at substantial gainful activity.**

Why is the alleged onset date so important?

Because this date will determine when your disability payments can begin.  The date plays a huge role in how much back pay you can receive.

Let me use an example here.  John claims that he became disabled on 7/1/16 (his AOD).  Social Security denies his claim and John appeals.  He doesn't get a hearing until June of 2018.  He should present medical evidence that he was continuously disabled all the way back to 7/1/16 or he will lose a substantial portion (perhaps all) of his back pay.

It is a mistake to go into a hearing trying to prove only that you are NOW disabled.  You want to prove WHEN you became disabled. 

Look carefully at your AOD.  Ask these questions:

1)  Had I stopped working at substantial gainful activity by the AOD? 

2)  Can I get medical records showing a significant impairment back to my AOD?

Is the AOD the same as the application date?  No, usually not.  Most people do not file a disability application on the day they become disabled.  They file later.  However, they may go back as much as 17 months prior to the application date.  So the AOD may be much earlier than the date of the application.

** Substantial gainful activity in 2018 is defined as earning wages of at least $1,180 per month.  Working at this level will disqualify a person for Title II or SSDI benefits.

__________
The Forsythe Firm
Social Security Disability Advocates
7027 Old Madison Pike - Suite 108
Huntsville, AL 35806
PH:  (256) 799-0297

Free consultations     Pay only if you win.

Keep 100% of your monthly checks.
_______________