Choosing to Work with Tampa Social Security Disability
Attorney Mike Murburg is Easy

According to the Social Security Administration, an applicant can be found to be disabled if he or she:

• has a listed impairment,
• has a severe impairment that is equal to a listed impairment,
• has a severe impairment when medical and vocational factors are considered, or
• had previously established entitlement to a disability benefit.

An applicant can be denied benefits if he or she:

• has an impairment that is not expected to last 12 months,
• has an impairment that is not considered severe,
• is able to perform his or her usual type of work,
• is able to perform another type of work, or
• has an impairment resulting from drug addiction or alcoholism, provides insufficient medical evidence, fails to cooperate, fails to follow prescribed treatment, does not want to continue development of the claim, or returns to substantial work before disability can be established.

There is an age limitation to those who are entitled to SSDI (Social Security Disability Insurance) benefits. SSDI benefits stop and are changed to “Retirement Benefits” once a claimant hits “FRA” full retirement age. This age changes from year to year and for those born after 1956, it will be age 66 or over, depending on the year of birth.

There is also an “Earning Credit” requirement for the receipt of SSDI.  You must have worked 5 of the last ten years “on the books” and have paid into the SSDI system in-order to collect. The Social Security Administration determines whether or not you have sufficient earnings credits at the time you file.  The amount of earnings can be minimal, only a few thousand dollars for each yearly quarter. So, do not be afraid to file, even if you were a minimal earner. If you do not have enough credits to qualify for SSDI, you may still qualify for SSI, or “Supplemental Security Income” benefits. 

SSI or Supplemental Security Income, (as it applies to the disabled), is money that the United States Government pays to a disabled person when that disabled person has not paid into the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program, has allowed his or her coverage lapse due to time away from substantial gainful employment or has SSDI payments that are less than approximately $800.00 per month.

SSI claims apply to adults and may also apply to children under the age of 18 and “adult children” between the ages of 18 to 22 who have not earned enough work credits on their own to qualify for SSDI.

The proof of the claimant’s disability is still the same as it is in a SSDI case, but unlike SSDI where a claimant can go back and claim past due benefits, an SSI claim only runs from the date the claimant files his or her claim. Adult SSI payments also depend on the amount of the claimant’s household income and assets. In short, adult SSI disability benefits are disability benefits to which the financially under-privileged are entitled.

This is a common misconception because so many claims are initially denied. Even with four different levels of appeals, and including all cases in which claimants either had or did not have attorney representation, just over 50 percent of applicants end up with benefits.

When you file a claim, the SSA has 90 days to accept it or deny it, and most claims are denied initially. Nationally, according to the Social Security Administration, Social Security disability applications face an overwhelming 70% denial rate upon initial evaluation. 

Once denied, a claimant has 60 days to file an appeal in which the SSA has 90 days to accept the claim or deny it. And, again, most are denied. Nationally, the percentage of applicants who are awarded benefits at the “Reconsideration” are very, very low, averaging only 3%. This low acceptance rate forces claimants to file a further appeal called a “Request for Hearing” to have the case heard before an ALJ (Administrative Law Judge).  

At the “Hearing” level only 13% of all cases are granted nationally. At the Appeals Council level only 1% of cases sent up on appeal are successful, i.e., only one percent of the cases result in the Appeals Council issuing a new decision.

The Social Security Administration reports that on average, 90% of the Requests for Review are denied or dismissed and 9% of the cases are remanded to an ALJ for an additional hearing. Only 1% of the cases result in the Appeals Council issuing a new decision.

By way of historical illustration, nationally, in 2016, there were 578,780 final approvals and 575,381 final denials after exhausting all appeals. According to the Social Security Administration, denied disability claims have only averaged nearly 53% overall.

Yes, Florida is the fifth-hardest state to get approved for social security disability, with an SSDI approval rate of 39.1% in 2020 and an approval rate of 39.3% in 2019. Working with a Tampa Social Security Disability Attorney you increase the likelihood of securing benefits. The average monthly benefit for SSDI beneficiaries is $1,281.

The earlier the better. Generally, after your reconsideration is denied or at the time the “Request for Hearing” is filed the claimant really should hire an attorney. We can help with either the reconsideration or the hearing request. Once denied, a claimant has 60 days to file a “Request for Hearing” by an Administrative Law Judge.

There is no specified time in which the SSA has in order to set a hearing, but it is plenty of time to gather evidence and opinions from medical doctors that will be helpful in proving your case. While the request is pending the SSA will set your hearing in front of an ALJ, or Administrative Law Judge at the Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA), formerly known as ODAR the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review.

Railroad Retirement Board Disability is a disability program set up by the RRB for disabled railroaders and their families.  It is much like Social Security and Social Security Disability but it is for disabled  railroaders;  1.  Who are under 60 and have under twenty years and at least five full years of creditable railroad, service.  These are called “Total Permanent Disability Claims” because the railroader must prove he or she is excluded by his or her disability from all competitive work in the national economy; or 2. Railroaders who are under 60 with a current connection with the railroad industry and who have at least 20 years of creditable service or, railroaders who are at least age 60 and have 120 months (10 years) or more of creditable railroad service and cannot return to their former railroad occupation. These claims are called “Occupational Disability Claims” because rather than having to prove a total permanent disability, the railroader must prove that he or she is permanently disabled from work in his or her “regular railroad occupation”

The RRB also has programs for disabled widows and the dependents and disabled children of railroaders that you can find more about by contacting the Law Offices of Mike Murburg, P.A.