WHY YOU COULDN'T GET DISABILITY BENEFITS

Disability benefits must be approved according to a government formula. It isn't enough just to be unable to work.

Here are common reasons why people who may be disabled can't get disability benefits:

1. You don't have a severe "medically determinable impairment." Having blinding headaches, nausea, extreme back pain or memory loss is not a medically determinable impairment, even if they are documented in medical records. These things are symptoms of a disease, not the disease itself. If your headaches are caused by cervical stenosis in the nerve root of C5-6, then you have a medical impairment. If your back pain is caused by herniated disc in your lumbar region, then you have a medically determinable impairment. If memory loss is a result of Major Depressive Disorder or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, then you have a medically determinable impairment. The failure to find the medical CAUSE of pain, fatigue or other symptoms is a sure way to have your disability claim denied.

2. You are not severe limited in your day-to-day activities. Social Security is absolutely focused on your "Activities of Daily Living (ADL). You will be questioned about your ability to prepare meals for yourself or your family, drive, shop for groceries, do housework, gardening, care for pets, and other activities. If you give the impression that you cook, drive, shop, cut the grass and walk your dog--Social Security may conclude that you are "able to perform most activities," and "do not qualify for benefits under our rules."

3. You Don't Have Sufficient Medical Evidence to Explain Why You Can't Work.

The regulations require you to be disabled by objective medical evidence. This means laboratory studies, X-rays and other imaging, tests and examination by experts. There can be many reasons why a claimant doesn't have medical evidence. The most common reason is no health insurance and the inability to pay for medical care out-of-pocket. No matter what the reason, the evidence still doesn't exist, and regardless of why it doesn't exist, will block your approval.

4. You haven't paid in to the Social Security trust fund and therefore can't take anything out. There are a number of ways Social Security says the same thing, including:

A. Your date last insured (DLI) is in the past (expired).

B. You are no longer insured for Title 2 benefits.

C. You have not worked at least 20 quarters out of the most recent 40 quarters, or

D. You have not worked at least 5 years out of the most recent 10 year period.

WHAT SHOULD YOU DO? First, try to find a way to get medical care and evidence, including going to a state health department or community free clinic. Second, sit down with a good disability attorney or advocate and see if you have a case. If not, find out what you must do in order to have a case. Attorneys/advocates have spent years in front of judges and have won and lost thousands of cases. They know what kind of claims judges pay and what kind they deny. Take advantage of this free advice and map out a plan to prove your disability.

These are all saying the same thing: You have waited too long to file a disability claim.