Definition of ‘Disability’
The Social Security Administration defines ‘disability’ as:
“The inability to engage in any substantial gainful activity (SGA) due to a medically determinable physical or mental impairment. This impairment must have lasted or be expected to last for at least 12 months or result in death.”
Sometimes applicants get confused with other private disability insurance policies they may have through an employer which are normally referred to as ‘Short Term’ or ‘Long Term’ disability policies. These type of policies typically define ‘disability’ as the inability to do the job which a person has been hired to do at a particular company.
Social Security is different, in that, you must prove your inability to do ANY type of job to a substantial degree, and that your inability to such activity is the result of a medically diagnosed physical or mental issue.
During the Five Step process, The Social Security Administration decides whether you are disabled in two primary ways:
Disability Listing
The Social Security Administration has compiled an exhaustive (over 3000 pages of regulations) list of specific medical impairments that would likely be disabling to a person. This list is commonly referred to as the ‘Listing of Impairments. ’ You can find an online version of this list here.
If a person meets all the requirements of a specific "listing", disability benefits will be granted. The impairments listed and the requirements which would satisfy the granting of disability are severe enough to prevent an individual from doing any work regardless of his/her age, education, or work experience.
Residual Functional Capacity
If a person’s physical or mental impairments do not satisfy the requirements of a listing, that person may still qualify for disability benefits under certain conditions.
Take for example a person who may have some requirements for two or three listings, but individually those issues do not satisfy any one particular listing.
In these situations, Social Security will assess a person’s ‘Residual Functional Capacity’. This process includes answering the following questions:
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What is this person’s age, education and work history?
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What functional/physical and non functional/mental limitations does a person have?
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Given those functional and non functional limitations, can that person perform’ either ‘heavy’, ‘medium’, ‘light’ or ‘sedentary’ exertion, if asked to work in a full time job (5 days a week, 8 hours a day)?
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Considering the person’s age, education, prior work history and determined exertion level, is this person disabled?
This process uses what is commonly known as ‘The Grid’. You can see an example of the grid and how it works here.
Should you feel that you may be entitled to disability under these rules of Social Security, you should immediately file an application.
CONTACT US
The Law Office of Dennis Elfert and Gulf Coast Dissibility Center
204 Barrow St.
Houma, LA 70360
