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As illustrated by this chart, disability benefits can be awarded to you at any of the five procedural steps of the claims process:

Step 1	Step 2	Step 3	Step 4	Federal Court
			Decision Review Board
		Administrative Law Judge
	Reconsideration
Application
For more information, Click on the step where your claim is currently being processed.

If you obtain a favorable Social Security Disability Decision at step 1 or 2 of the claims process, you do not have to climb the more difficult and time consuming steps that follow. Call us now at (413) 567-5600 for a free case evaluation. The steps are decided at these locations:

1. Initial Decision, made either at your local District Office, or the at the Disability Determination Service for Massachusetts at 22 Front Street, P.O. Box 8009, Worcester, MA 01614 and for Connecticut: at 309 Warwarme Avenue, Hartford, CT 06114
2. Reconsideration (decided by the Massachusetts or Connecticut Disability Determination Service)
3. Administrative Law Judge (who hears your case during a hearing in Springfield or Hartford)
4. Decision Review Board (in Falls Church, Virginia)
5. Federal Court (Springfield, Boston or Hartford, depending on where you live)

No matter who is deciding your claim, they must make the disability decision using the 5 evaluation steps. These 5 questions in the evaluation steps are about you, your work history, and your disability: All five steps are not applied in every case. That is because the disability decision may be made at any of the steps in the claims process, ending the process with an award of benefits, or a denial of the claim.

Are you working? If you are working, and your earnings averaged more than $940 a month last year, that is consideredSubstantial Gainful Activity, and Social Security probably won't considered you to be disabled. Social Security Regulations explain "substantial gainful activity" and whether work activity is not gainful activity, or is done under special conditions or is an unsuccessful work attempt. The "Substantial Gainful Activity" Monthly Earnings Amount for 2010 is $1,000.

The POMS has a discussion and helpful examples of how Social Security decision makers apply the regulations for substantial gainful activity. POMS also discusses special employment situations that are not considered SGA. and explains how Social Security Disability looks at fringe benefits like health insurance and employee bonus plans. Social Security Program Policy Statement talks about whether a person has the ability to engage in SGA.

 

Is your condition severe? Your impairments must interfere with basic work-related activities for you to be considered disabled.

 

Is your condition found in the list of disabling impairments? Social Security has a listing of impairments for each of the major body systems. If your disability is described in the listing, that automatically means you are disabled. If your condition is not on the list, Social Security has to decide if it is of equal severity to an impairment on the list. If it is, your claim is approved. If it is not, we go to the next step.

Can you do the work you did previously? If your condition is severe, but not at the same or equal severity as an impairment on the list, then Social Security must determine if it interferes with your ability to do the work you did in the last 15 years. If it does not, your claim will be denied. If it does, your claim will be considered further.

 

Can you do any other type of work? If you cannot do the work you did in the last 15 years, Social Security looks to see if you can do any other type of work. They consider your age, education, past work experience, and transferable skills, and they review the job demands of occupations as determined by the Department of Labor. If you cannot do any other kind of work, your claim will be approved.

To answer the 5 questions, Social Security has to review the reports from all of the doctors, hospitals, and clinics that have treated you. Information about any medication you are taking is also important. The law requires Social Security to consider all of the evidence, and all of your impairments, when makes a disability decision. Social Security must look at the combined effects of every impairment. We will explain to Social Security how the combined effects of your impairments prevent you from working.

The person who decides your claim must use the logic of a doctor, a lawyer, and a rehabilitation counselor to decide if you are eligible for benefits. The decision combines your medical records and your work history, and Social Security’s complex regulations and policies:

Getting the medical evidence delivered directly to the person who is deciding your claim is an important part of the service that we provide to you when you become a client. Your disability decision will be made properly as soon as Social Security gets the evidence it needs to answer all 5 questions in your favor. Call (413) 567-5600 for a free case evaluation.

• Saving You Steps in the Social Security Claims Process:
Application for Benefits
• Reconsideration
• Administrative Law Judge
• Decision Review Board
• Federal Court
• Understanding Your Disability Benefits Award