WHICH IMPAIRMENT SHOULD YOU FILE ON?

Most individuals filing for Social Security disability have more than one problem or medical impairment. Which impairment should you file on? The answer is, all of them.

Social Security must consider all of your medical impairments as long as (1) they are considered severe (See definition below) and (2) have lasted or can reasonably be expected to last for 12 consecutive months, or to end in death.

1. What is a severe impairment? An impairment is severe if it significantly effects your ability to perform one or more work related activities.

2. Why must an impairment last for 12 consecutive months? Because there are no short term disability benefits with Social Security. To meet the regulatory requirement, a disabling condition must have lasted 12 consecutive months, be expected to last 12 consecutive months (based on medical evidence) or is expected to end in death.

When I file an application for a client, I list all of the medical impairments. Not every one of them will qualify for disability; however, when taken together, they may make a good picture of a person who is not able to persist at a job 8 hours per day, 5 days per week, 52 weeks per year.

When a person wakes up in the morning, she may suffer from backache from a bulging disc, migraine headache, depression and a panic attack. Each of these symptoms will impact whether she can perform the demands of remunerative employment for 8 hours that day. If these combined symptoms prevent working at least 3 or more days per month, there is a legal argument for disability.