What does Social Security Consider in a Disability Case?

There are a number of factors that are brought under consideration when a social security disability (or SSI disability) case is being evaluated. For example, social security will consider an individual's work history, their ability to engage in activities of daily living, their age, their level of education, and the limitations that are brought on by their mental or physical condition.

However, speaking as a former disability examiner for social security, I can say that all of these factors are addressed in two basic categories. And those categories are 1) a claimant's work history and 2) a claimant's medical treatment history, i.e. their medical records.

Medical records are important because they allow the disability claim decision maker (at the initial claim or disability application level, this is the disability examiner and at the disability hearing level this is the federal administrative law judge) to determine exactly what the claimant's limitations are. Limitations, also known as functional restrictions, are the keystone of social security disability determinations. And this is because whatever the claimant's limitations are considered to be, this will determine whether or not they can be expected to work.

A claimant's description of her or her work history is important is important because after the claimant's limitations are known (for example, the inability to lift more than a certain amount of weight, or the inability to sit or stand for more than a certain length of time), the decision-maker on a claim can, with the use of the work history, determine whether or not the claimant can A) return to their past work or B) perform some type of other work.  The work history does this because it informs the decison-maker about the types of requirements of the claimant's prior jobs and also whatever job skills have been acquired over time by the claimant.

How do you win social security disability or SSI disability benefits? If the medical records indicate that the claimant cannot perform the duties of their past jobs (due to their limitations) or that their condition or skill level (or age and education) will not allow them to switch to some other form of work, then the claimant will likely be approved for disability.

Additional Information on Social Security Disability

Social Security Disability Questions
Social Security Disability Blog