Midwest Disability, P.A.'s Blog

Since cases of Covid-19 started to increase in the United States in March, Social Security has been holding all disability hearings over the telephone.

And despite some technical and scheduling hiccups, this has worked out fairly well for claimants, attorneys, and judges.

Combat is a major reason for injuries to military personnel, but people often make the mistake of assuming that it's the only cause. They think of the danger from injuries and fatalities as linked to whether or not a soldier is engaged in active conflict with an enemy force.

The reality, though, is that working in the military comes with the same risks as working in many other professions where workers use vehicles, heavy machinery and power tools. Soldiers who are nowhere near a combat operation can suffer serious injuries, just like construction workers, road workers, delivery drivers and many other civilian workers back home.

If you suffer from panic attacks or have been diagnosed with panic disorder, you know how serious these episodes can be. When you're having one, your anxiety is higher than it has ever been. You may feel like you can barely breathe or think. It's hard to reign in your emotions. You may not even be able to move. Panic attacks, when bad enough, can essentially be a disability.

But what triggers these episodes? Do they just happen at random, without warning, or are there triggers that you can avoid?

The definition of disability is the inability to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medical determinable physical or mental impairment which can be expected to result in death or which has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than 12 months (The Social Security Act). Judges deciding disability cases must follow a strict 5 step sequential evaluation to determine whether an individual is disabled or not. In this blog post we will be focusing on the fifth step of the evaluation. While step four basically focused on whether an individual can perform any of their "past relevant work," at step 5 the burden of proof shifts to Social Security Administration to show that "other" work exists in significant numbers in the national economy considering the individual' age, education, past work experience, and residual functional capacity (physical and mental limitations). This means f the individual is found to be unable to perform their past relevant work, the judge will determine whether there is other work they can perform within the national economy. This inquiry is made by the judge in the form of a hypothetical question posed to the vocational expert at the end of the hearing. These hypotheticals will include several limitations (both mental and physical) depending on what the individual's disabling conditions are. Based on the hypotheticals posed, the VE may list jobs available in the national economy that can be performed within those specific limitations listed. If an individual can make an adjustment to other work based on their limitations, they will not be found disabled; if the individual cannot make adjustment to other work based on their limitations, they will be found disabled. However, there are several exceptions and specific criteria the judge considers including the Medical-Vocational Guidelines which takes into consideration an individual's specific age, education, and work experience. Therefore, it is essential and individual consult with an experience attorney to consider all specific individual considerations that may be taken into account to see whether step 5 will be an issue in their disability case or not.