LONG TERM COVID-19 PATIENTS MAY QUALIFY FOR DISABILITY BENEFITS

 

The symptoms of COVID-19 often last about 2 weeks with full recovery. However, some patients can have symptoms that linger for months. It was once believed that about 15 percent of patients would become "long haulers," with effects of COVID that linger on for months after the initial infection. But new studies suggest that up to 33 percent of COVID patients can become long haulers.

In response, the Social Security Administration has made disability benefits available for these long-term COVID effects. It should be noted that these patients may not currently test positive for COVID-19. Yet, symptoms may continue and negatively effect the ability to work and go about normal activities.

Symptoms of long haulers may include some or all of the following:

• Fatigue
• Weakness
• Cough and shortness of breath
• Chest pain, joint pain, muscle pain, and headaches
• “Brain Fog,” dizziness, and difficulty thinking or concentrating
• Ongoing loss of taste or smell
• Insomnia
• Other symptoms that vary person-by-person

The Forsythe Firm is trained to help individuals with "long haul" symptoms after initial COVID infections. There is a complex application procedure that must be followed to document lingering symptoms of COVID. But if adequately documented and presented, the government may pay up to $3,148 per month in long-term disability benefits.

Our firm offers absolutely FREE consultations. Often a brief telephone consultation is enough to get started. And we will NEVER charge you a fee or any out-of-pocket cost unless you receive disability benefits with back pay! There is no risk to you.

Please contact us at (256) 799-0297 and speak to one of our highly trained advocates now.

CALL

The Forsythe Firm

Social Security Disability Specialists

7027 Old Madison Pike - Suite 108

Huntsville, AL 35806

PHONE (256) 799-0297

email: forsythefirm@gmail.com

WHAT IS A "CONTINUING DISABILITY REVIEW" (CDR)?

 

Almost everyone who receives a disability benefit from Social Security will undergo a review to determine if their benefits should stop or continue. Here is what the Social Security Administration says about Continuing Disability Reviews:

Social Security periodically reviews your medical impairment(s) to determine if you continue to have a disabling condition. If we determine that you are no longer disabled or blind, your benefits will stop.

We call this review a continuing disability review (CDR). The law requires us to perform a medical CDR at least once every three years, however, if you have a medical condition that is not expected to improve, we will still review your case, once every five to seven years. We will reach out to you to obtain updated information about your condition using the SSA-454 (Continuing Disability Review Report) or SSA-455 (Disability Update Report) form. Those who are eligible to receive the SSA-455 now have the option to complete the Disability Update Report (SSA-455) form online.

ADVICE FROM THE FORSYTHE FIRM ON CDRs

Many people don't think about a CDR until they receive notice that their case is under review, then they panic for fear their benefits are going to be discontinued (a real possibility). You should think about a Continuing Disability Review BEFORE it happens. Here is the best way to protect yourself and keep your benefits.

1 KEEP SEEING YOUR DOCTOR(S) AND FOLLOW MEDICAL ADVICE. Persons who rarely or never see their doctor after they begin getting disability benefits are in the most danger during a CDR. Just like you needed medical evidence to GET your disabiity benefit, you will also need medical evidence to KEEP your disability benefit. See your doctors regularly and be sure they make an adequate record to document your continuing disability.

2 Respond promptly to every notice from Social Security. Failure to respond to a Continuing Disability review will NOT make it go away. In fact, it will get your benefit stopped pretty quickly.

3. Try to get your doctor (the one you see the most) to write a letter detailing that you have had no significant medical improvement, that you are compliant with medical treatment, and state your prognosis.

4. If you are eventually notified that your benefit is being terminated, APPEAL in writing within 10 days. By filing this immediate appeal, you may request to continue receiving benefits pending the appeal. (You must request In this case, your benefits will continue while Social Security considers your appeal. (If you eventually lose the appeal, you must repay the benefits that were paid during the appeal period). If you miss then 10 day deadline, you may still appeal within 60 days; however, you will not continue to be paid during the appeal.

5. Consider legal counsel. In this situation, you are responsible for paying attorney's fees out-of-pocket. Your lawyer will put your fee payments in escrow pending the outcome of the appeal. But consider how much money is at stake for you. Let's say your SSDI benefit is $1,500 per month. That's $18,000 per year in lost benefits. If you are 20 years away from retirement age, your potential loss is around $360,000, not to mention the loss of Medicare and the future cost of medical treatment. It's well worth considering an attorney to help you with the CDR. He/she certainly won't cost you anywhere close to $360,000.

WHAT CONDITIONS WILL SOCIAL SECRITY PAY BENEFITS FOR?

 

If you are an insured worker, Social Security will potentially pay for almost any disabling condition which meets these reqirements:

1.  Your condition is medically determined by a physician

2.  The condition is expected to last at least 12 straight months or end in death

3.  You are unable to work because of the condition for 12 straight months. (You DO NOT have to wait 12 months to file a claim--but the condition must not be expected to resolve within 12 months).

The exact definition of what Social Security will accept as "disability" varies by age.  The most difficult definition of "disability" is for younger individuals, under the age of 50.  The easiest definition is for persons of "advanced age," who are 55 and older.

What you need to know when you file for SSDI benefits:

• Up to 80 percent of new claims are denied at the state level (application level)

• Most claims get approved at the APPEAL level.  Expect to be denied once or twice 

  • Take your case all the way up to the hearing level for the best chance.
    

  • Get a free consultation from an attorney before you start the appeal process.
   

The Forsythe Firm in Huntsville has represented claimants before the Social Security Administration and in hearings for 2 decades. The Firm has a high success rate and will never charge a fee until the case is won and back pay has been collected.

Call the Forsythe Firm    (256) 799-0297   Free Consult 

👀  What is an "insured worker?"  It is someone who has worked and paid Social Security (FICA) tax at least 5 years out of the most recent 10 year period.  The requirement is different for young workers who haven't had time to accumulate these years of work.

YOU NEED A PLAN TO GET DISABILITY BENEFITS IN ALABAMA

Having a plan or strategy is very important to winning your Social Security disability appeal.

Judges have very limited time to spend on a case.  They are required to issue up to 700 decision a year, or over 50 per month.  One case may have thousands of pages of medical records and other documents to review.  Your attorney or representative can help the judge, and your chance of winning, by pointing out what the judge needs to know.

• Is this claimant insured for benefits?
• What kind of past work did the claimant do?
• Does he or she meet a Listing or grid rule?
• Are there any transferable skills?
• Does the medical record support the alleged onset date?  If so, where? 

These are things the judge must know to decide the claim. 

A good representative will read and analyze the medical records, which are the foundation of every case.  The important evidence will be pointed out to the judge.  Are there MRIs or imaging studies to prove the alleged impairments?  Where can they be found quickly?

Do any of the treating doctors provide an opinion on the claimant's ability to perform work-like activities?  How do these opinions limit the claimant's residual functional capacity?

Then we come to the claimant's testimony.  It's very important that the claimant has been prepared and knows what to expect--and how to answer.  The testimony should match up with what the doctors say in the records.

Award rates among Social Security judges are lower now than at any time in the past 30 years.  A lot of things have to line up and make sense for the judge.  

I always provide the judge with a pre-hearing brief.  That means that I give her a step-by-step view of the case and why the federal regulations allow benefits to be paid.  The brief condenses hundreds (or thousands) of pages of medical evidence into 3 or 4 pages that can be read in about five minutes.  So, I try to help the judge make efficient use of his/her time.

A lot of times I can answer difficult or technical questions for the judge.  This can also help to get a favorable decision out more quickly.  

It's risky to walk into a hearing and just hope for the best.  Those kind of hearings often don't go well for the claimant.  It's much better to have a legal roadmap of where you want to go and how to get there.  That's worth paying the attorney/representative a fee when your case is successful. 

So, talk to a representative early in the process.  I think most people who appoint me to represent them decide after just a few minutes that I can add value to their case.  I have to think so, too, or I won't take the case.  The best of all worlds is when the claimant and representative work well together as a team.
______________
Charles W. Forsythe
The Forsythe Firm
7027 Old Madison Pike NW, Site 108
Huntsville, AL 35806
"Across from Bridge Street"
CALL (256) 799-0297 

https://forsythefirm.wixsite.com/website 

ALABAMA SOCIAL SECURITY DISABIITY BENEFITS: HERE'S WHAT TO DO

Most Alabama workers are covered by Social Security disability because they pay FICA withholding tax out of every paycheck.  This provides coverage against long term disability and loss of income.

However, Social Security can be difficult to deal with and there are complex rules that must be met before they will part with any money.  It can take anywhere from 4 months to 4 years to get approved.

Here is the sticky part.  Social Security will often agree that you cannot perform the work you once did.  However, they will say that you can still perform some jobs which exist in the national economy.  These jobs are often unskilled minimum wage jobs, such as hand packager, inspector or copy colater.  It doesn't matter that you can't actually find one of these jobs.

If you file an application and are denied (as up to 75% are), you have 60 days to file an appeal.  The appeal puts you in line for a hearing before a US administrative law judge (ALJ), who can review your case and give you a new decision.  Your odds before the judge are much better, especially if you are represented by counsel who understands the system and how to navigate it.

HOW CAN YOU PAY FOR EXPENSIVE LEGAL COUNSEL?

You don't have to.  Social Security forbids an attorney or representative to charge you any fee unless your case is decided in your favor and results in back payments.  In that case, Social Security will withhold a small portion of your back pay and pay the legal fee directly.  You keep most of your back pay and 100 percent of your monthly benefits.

If you need help with a Social Security disability application or appeal, please invest 15 minutes in a phone call to our firm for a free initial consultation.  We never ask you for money and our experienced disability advocates have been handling cases like yours for over a decade. 
_________
THE FORSYTHE FIRM
7027 Old Madison Pike - Suite 108
Huntsville, AL 35806
"Across from Bridge Street"
CALL (256) 799-0297

SOCIAL SECURITY JUSTICE WEBSITE

CONCENTRATION, PERSISTENCE AND PACE - USE THEM TO WIN YOUR DISABILITY CLAIM

In considering whether you are disabled, Social Security must consider all factors that will make it difficult for you to work.  "Work" is defined as consistently performing work activity--8 hours a day, 5 days a week--on a "regular and continuing basis."  Three of the many factors that must be considered include concentration, persistence and pace:

CONCENTRATION - which is the ability to remain focused well enough and long enough to perform the work.  It is generally agreed that most work requires an individual to concentrate up to 2-hours at a time without a break or having to be redirected; and for a total of 8 hours during a working day.  Concentration may be restricted by pain, anxiety, depression, panic attacks, fatigue or dozens of other reasons.  Most vocational experts will testify that being off task more than about 10 percent of the time will result in not being able to hold any full-time job. 

PERSISTENCE - basically is the ability to work for 2 hours at a time (without a break) and for 8 hours per day, and to do so 5 days per week on a regular and continuing basis. If a person is able to work 5 or 6 hours a day, but not 8, they are disabled.  If an individual is able to work 3 or 4 days per week, but not 5 days, they are disabled.  Vocational experts will generally concede that if a person is absent more than 1 or 2 days per month on a consistent basis, they cannot hold a job.  Also, if they are able to sit, stand and walk (in combination) less than 8 hours per day on a consistent basis, they are not able to hold a job.

PACE - refers to the ability to turn out the required amount of work in the required amount of time.  All jobs require that a certain amount of work be performed every 8 hours.  If an individual, for example, can produce only 70 percent of the expected work, he cannot meet the pace required.  If he or she can turn out all of the work required but it takes 12 hours instead of 8 hours, he or she cannot meet the pace requirement.  Pace is also affected by pain, restricted range of motion, restricted standing, sitting, walking, lifting, bending, etc.

What will be considered when concentration, persistence and pace are evaluated by Social Security?

1)  Your medical records should provide objective medical evidence of a condition or conditions which may reasonably be expected to limit concentration, persistence or pace.  If pain is a consideration, there should be objective medical evidence for the source or cause of the pain (Example:  an MRI showing herniated discs or degenerative disc disease).

2)  If mental disease, such as anxiety, depression, panic disorder, PTSD, schizophrenia, etc. are involved, detailed records from a licensed psychologist or psychiatrist will be needed.

3)  A medical source statement by one of the claimant's treating physicians will be most useful.  There is a particular form used for this.

You need a specialist to review and evaluate your medical records, then present an effective argument to Social Security why you cannot meet the concentration, persistence or pace required of jobs in the national economy.  An attorney or non-attorney disability specialist may be your best bet in formulating a case that you can't meet the concentration, persistence and pace required to handle full-time work.

ABOUT THE FORSYTHE FIRM - SOCIAL SECURITY JUSTICE

 

THE INTERNET IS NOT RELIABLE FOR DISABILITY INFORMATION

DANGER:  Don't count on the internet to tell you whether you qualify for Social Security disability.  This may lead you in the wrong direction, and cost you a lot of money.  Here's an example:

Thomas recently had back surgery and was forced to quit working because of unrelenting back pain and trouble standing, walking, bending and lifting.  He went online and googled "disability for back problems."

The internet directed Thomas to the Social Security listings for musculoskeletal impairments.  Tom saw a long list of complicated symptoms the Listings required and decided that his condition wasn't nearly bad enough for apply for benefits, so he didn't.  A year later, still not able to work, Thomas contacted an attorney.  The attorney filed for benefits and Tom was approved.

Here's the problem with relying on the Listings on the internet:  You do not have to meet those listings to be approved.  In fact, most people who are approved for disability benefits do not meet the listing.  

The "listings" are automatic approvals for the worst, most catastrophic conditions.  There is a mandatory 5-step process that Social Security must use to decide if you are disabled.  Claimants who "meet a listing" are approved early, at Step 3.  I would say less than 5 percent of those who get approved will meet a listing.

Those claimants who do meet a listing, however, may be approved at Step 4 or Step 5 (where most claimants get approved).  If you depend on meeting a listing, only 5 percent would win and 95 percent would lose.  So, the listings are not what you need to look at.

Here's my advice:  Do not rely on some website (even my own) to determine whether or not you qualify for benefits.  Let a professional evaluate your specific situation.  Factors that must be considered are:  your age, your education, your past work experience and your medical conditions (both physical and mental).

No two cases are alike.  Another bad thing is trying to judge your situation according to the experience that somebody else had.  For example, they denied Uncle Billy, who was even sicker than I am, so they will deny me, too.  Or conversely, they approved Uncle Billy in just 2 weeks, and he isn't near as sick as I am, so they should certainly approve me.  Uncle Billy has absolutely no bearing on your case.  You are unique because you...

• are a different age
• have a different work history
• have a different medical history
• will have a different judge
• probably have a different education level

• ...and are just different in a hundred other ways

Don't get led down the wrong path by the internet or well meaning friends who try to "help" with your disability situation.  There is a TON of false information out there.  Don't fall victim to it.

THE FORSYTHE FIRM
Social Security Disability Representatives
Huntsville, AL
Phone (256) 799-0297

MY WEBSITE IS PRETTY RELIABLE FOR GENERAL INFORMATION