Your Bakersfield Social Security disability attorneys can explain to you the five stages through which the Social Security Administration determines your qualifications for disability. Once the finding is made, the process stops.
The five stages are called sequential because if, at any step, you are deemed qualified or unqualified, the process ends. The stages are as follows:
1. Do you meet SSA standards for “substantial gainful activity” (SGA)?
2. Has a medical practitioner designated your condition “severe”?
3. Is your condition “equal” to one found in the “Listing of Impairments”?
4. Given your “residual functional capacity” (RFC), can you perform your “past relevant work” (PRW)?
5. All things considered (time of life, RFC, schooling), can you do another job that is currently available?
Terminology
Ask your Bakersfield Social Security disability attorneys about the specific legal definitions of the words enclosed in quotation marks.
Time Requirements
Your impairment has to continue for one full year.
Are You Disabled?
In short, you have two primary ways to qualify for SSI. Either your condition meets step three, in which case the process stops there, or it must meet all of the others ending at step five.
Or Not?
1. Are you engaged in “substantial gainful activity”?
2. Has a medical practitioner stated that you have no impairment or one that does not interfere with your work?
3. Have you had this condition for less than twelve months?
4. Can you perform your PRW?
5. Can you do another job?
If the answer to any of the above is yes, you are probably not disabled.
What Else Is There?
Not all of the requirements are disability related. You must have made adequate Social Security tax payments through your work history to earn the work quarters required to apply, and your income and assets must fall within specific limits.
Who Can Help?
If your concerned about your ability to qualify for SSI please contact us.
