When you call Geary Disability Law for help getting Social Security Disability, you can expect us to ask a series of questions to determine what you need. Social Security Disability is a crucial financial lifeline when you can’t work because of a hit to your health, so don’t take chances with your claim. Get the below information ready, so we can support you quickly and effectively. These questions come in a certain order, because we may need to address some issues right away. FIRST: Do You Face Any Upcoming Deadlines? If you’ve been denied your Social Security Disability benefits, you have a ..read more

Many people think that alcoholism or drug addiction on their own can qualify as health impairments for the purposes of getting Social Security Disability benefits. This is a common misconception. Long ago, it was true that you could qualify for disability benefits with drug or alcohol addiction as your primary ailment. But the rules have changed. Substance abuse can still be a part of your disability claim, but it also can hurt your claim. In this Geary Disability Law blog post, I’ll explain how to present alcohol and drug struggles in a way that protects your chances of being approved for dis ..read more

You could lose your claim for Social Security Disability (SSD) benefits if you don’t thoroughly and accurately complete one of their most important forms—the Work History Report (Form SSA-3369). Disability benefits are a financial lifeline When health problems force you out of your livelihood. They can provide a more stable future. Missing this chance because of one form is a nightmare scenario. It can happen because of the way Social Security looks closely at the demands of your job and how those demands intersect with your medical conditions. You must be unable to work to qualify for disabil ..read more

You have to fill out a lot of forms when you apply for Social Security Disability benefits. As a disability attorney who works with this every day for people in Wisconsin, I know these Social Security Disability forms well. They are designed to help Social Security decide if you meet the qualifications to get disability benefits: that you cannot work any significant amount, in any job, for at least a year, because of your health problems. In this blog post I’ll explain three of the most common and important forms Social Security requires when you file for disability benefits: The Disability ..read more

Getting Social Security Disability benefits means proving that you can’t work. Which means proving that your health problems prevent you from working any of your past jobs—or any new job, either. Because of this, when you apply for disability benefits, Social Security will look at your transferable skills. How does this affect your chances of winning monthly checks, access to Medicare, and a sense of relief that comes from receiving disability benefits? As a Wisconsin Social Security Disability lawyer (serving people in Green Bay, Appleton, across the Fox Valley and throughout Northeast Wiscon ..read more

When the Social Security Administration (SSA) designed its method of evaluating people’s claims for disability benefits, they decided to make it easier to be approved for benefits the closer you get to retirement age. So Social Security uses a grid that combines your age, education, work experience, physical capabilities, skills, and transferability of skills to different work, to declare whether they think you can perform substantial work—and deny you for disability benefits —or whether it’s clear that you can’t work and should therefore win benefits. One of the main results is that people ov ..read more

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, if you were applying for Social Security Disability benefits and you needed to go to a hearing with a disability judge because your initial application was denied, you had two options for the format of your hearing: In person at a hearing office with an administrative law judge (ALJ) At a conference center talking to the judge in another location over video teleconference The pandemic caused Social Security to add two additional types of disability hearing: Telephone hearings Video calls from home But you should know this: Not every type of Social Security ..read more

To win the financial (and stress) relief that comes with Social Security Disability benefits, you must prove that your health problems qualify—by providing medical evidence. A key part of that medical evidence is information about the medications you take for the health problems that keep you from working. At Geary Disability Law, we help people in Wisconsin gather these details all the time, and we’ve seen over and over that a person’s prescriptions can impact their disability application in two major ways: 1) Administrative law judges (ALJs) who decide on disability claims may look at your m ..read more

Although some people get their benefits granted right away, most people who apply for Social Security Disability are denied at both the initial application and reconsideration stages.    The next step in appealing a disability benefits denial is to request a hearing before a Social Security administrative law judge (ALJ). When you have a hearing coming up, you need to prepare. Succeeding in your hearing, after all, will be crucial to getting financial relief when you can’t work due to health problems. And one of the most important ways to prepare is by attending a prehearing con ..read more

Support from Social Security Disability changes your life when health problems have robbed you of your livelihood. But to make sure people who win benefits truly qualify for disability, the Social Security Administration (SSA) created thousands of rules to follow and multiple steps to get through. As a result, Social Security has its own special legal system for deciding who gets benefits, and most applications get denied, which is one reason why many people seek help from a disability lawyer. Geary Disability Law, for example, focuses on helping people with this in Wisconsin. While there are ..read more