Why Doesn’t Social Security Understand I Can’t Work?

Many people who contact us for help with their disability claim don’t understand why they are having such a hard time getting approved. At Drummond Disability, we are repeatedly asked why the “Government” doesn’t understand why the claimant can’t work. The Government and the Social Security Administration system is not set up to make it easy to get disability. It is set up to make it difficult.

In addition to being disabled, Social Security requires that the claimant has been or will be disabled for a continuous period of twelve months before they would have a valid claim. Additionally, as with any system, not everybody who works for the Government is knowledgeable about medical terminology, conditions, or diseases nor are they all sympathetic to claimants. The entire Social Security Disability system is organized around the premise that a disabled individual “prove” their claim. This usually entails developing medical evidence and setting it forth in a constructive manner so as to meet the legal requirements for disability in each particular situation.

At Drummond Disability, we try to make it easy for the person deciding the disability claim to rule in favor of our clients.

For a FREE Consultation or Evaluation of your disability claim, do not hesitate to contact our office at our toll free number, 1-800-842-0426.

The Drummond Disability Guarantee: “If we can’t win, it’s FREE.”

Why Does it Take So Long to Get Disability?

The majority of the people we see in our consultations will ask why the disability process can take so long. The fact is that there is a backlog of pending disability claims with the Social Security Administration. Many, if not most, of the Social Security Administration Offices are severely backlogged. Additionally, there is a three-step process involved in a disability claim in most jurisdictions which is as follows:

1. Initial Application (if denied)
2. Request for Reconsideration (if denied)
3.Request for Hearing before an Administrative Law Judge

Unfortunately, the majority of disability claims are not approved either on the initial application or during the reconsideration phase and the claim has to be processed with a formal hearing in front of a Federal Administrative Law Judge. This process, in many instances, can take well over a year and usually up to two years. This amount of time is extremely stressful on claimants and can often leave them in severe financial distress. Fortunately, there may be ways, on certain select cases, to expedite the process and receive a favorable determination at a much earlier date. At Drummond Disability, we judge these cases on a case-by-case basis. This procedure for expediting appropriate claims based upon “dire need” sometimes allows us to get an early decision by careful review of the evidence and presentation to the hearing office with a request for a favorable determination being made “on the record” without waiting for a formal hearing.

For a FREE Consultation or Evaluation of your disability claim, do not hesitate to contact our office at our toll free number, 1-800-842-0426.

The Drummond Disability Guarantee: “If we can’t win, it’s FREE.”

Why Do Other People Get Approved For Disability So Easily?

Almost all of our clients tell us they know somebody else who, they feel, has successfully gotten their disability benefits “easily.” They often feel that these same people aren’t nearly as disabled as themselves. When our clients or potential clients ask us this question we obviously don’t have a quick answer. There is no “magic button” to push to get disability.

The fact remains that time must be spent developing evidence to successfully represent clients. We don’t waste effort trying to figure out what someone else has done!

The staff at Drummond Disability stresses to our clients that their job is to go to treat with their doctors for their disabilities and leave the law to us. We review each individual claim multiple times throughout the disability process and encourage frequent contact in order to process the claim and develop it into one that is the best it can be.

Successfully representing a client in their disability claim involves putting in the necessary work to get the job done and this is something we take seriously at Drummond Disability. We do our best to set the evidence forth in a clear and convincing manner so the claims will be approved.

For a FREE Consultation or Evaluation of your disability claim, do not hesitate to contact our office at our toll free number, 1-800-842-0426.

The Drummond Disability Guarantee: “If we can’t win, it’s FREE.”

What Did the Administrative Law Judge Deny My Claim?

People often have a difficult time understanding why an Administrative Law Judge denied their claim after the hearing. The short answer is there are usually multiple reasons why a claim is denied.

One needs only to look at the website, www.disabilityjudges.com, to review the Social Security database giving up-to-date information about the various Administrative Law Judges who hear cases in any specific ODAR Office. This website details each Administrative Law Judge’s approval rates, which can vary greatly. It is not at all unusual to have some Judges in a specific ODAR Office who deny 80% of their claims, while at the same time, have other Judges who allow 60% or 70% or more of their claims.

The most common reason a claim is denied is because the medical evidence was not properly prepared and presented in the most convincing fashion or the evidence in the file was not set forth with sufficient clarity.

Once there has been a hearing scheduled in front of an Administrative Law Judge, one of the first things we, at Drummond Disability, do is review the statistics on the particular Judge. Since we have literally tried thousands of claims, we have a familiarity of many of the Judges and their personal “quirks” and try to adapt by putting each individual claim in a format which will result in a favorable determination by that particular Judge.

The attorneys and staff at Drummond Disability are fully aware of the frustrations and sufferings of our clients who end up being denied benefits and we do everything possible to try to ensure a claim will be a successful one! Consultations and Evaluations are FREE! Call toll free, 1-800-842-0426.

The Drummond Disability Guarantee: “If we can’t win, it’s FREE.”

Why Was My Disability Claim Denied?

Claims can be denied for a multitude of reasons; unfortunately, there is no short or quick answer to this question. Claims are complex and deal with a variety of issues including the extent and type of disability, the duration of disability, the quality of the documentation in the file and many other issues. Additional issues include a “date last insured” in Social Security Disability (SSD) and income levels (above the allowed amount) in Supplemental Security Income (SSI) claims.

For a personal evaluation of your disability claim, just give us a call at Drummond Disability, 1-800-842-0426. We have been representing clients with their Social Security Disability and Supplemental Security Income claims for over 36 years.

The Drummond Disability Guarantee: “If we can’t win, it’s FREE.”