jamesratchford

SSI is a federal benefit program for poor people who cannot work.  The main advantage of SSI over SSD is that it isn’t dependent on your work history, so it can be a lifeline for people who don’t have the work history to qualify for a substantial SSD benefit or whose...

Dear Client:             Thank you for choosing my firm to help you win your Social Security claim.  We have the experience and knowledge you will need to make sure that the facts of your case are presented properly so that you have the best possible chance of being...

Some of the questions people commonly ask can be answered for free on the Social Security web site. In fact, a good deal of my work is conducted on the web. Here are some of my most frequently used web links: MySSA: Check your eligibility and benefit amount, and...

If you’ve read my other blog posts, you may have noticed a lot of paperwork and legal process is involved, and a lawyer can help you with that. But what about your role in developing the evidence to win your case? Almost all of the evidence needed to win a Social...

What kind of evidence do I need to win my claim? One of the main tasks necessary to proving a Social Security claim is gathering evidence. In evaluating Social Security Disability and SSI claims, the claim mostly comes down to medical evidence. Occasionally evidence...

Check out my new video series on the YouTube channel, linked right here.  I discuss the overall legal standard for proving disability, which is known as the 5-step Sequential Evaluation Process.  Here's the overview video, and you can follow along below for more...

In the last two posts, we covered the key dates at the beginning of a disability claim: the onset date (AOD), the date last insured (DLI), the filing date, and the entitlement date.  It’s important to keep these dates in mind at the beginning of the claim and at...

In the last post, I went into some detail on the Date Last Insured, a key date in a claim for Title II/SSD benefits.  Let’s see how that date fits in more generally with the overall claims process.   The DLI is a function of your tax history, so unless you return to...

One of the most important elements of advancing an SSD/SSI claim is timing.  You need to know when to file for maximum benefits and when to complete each step of the process along the way.  You may have seen my other detailed post going step by step through the claim...

In other posts, I’ve mentioned what we call the “grid rules” but haven’t gone into detail about them.  We call them “grid rules” because the actual regulation is laid out in a grid chart, but the formal name is the “Medical Vocational Guidelines.”  The citation to the...