This feature appears from time to time as a means of illustrating the challenges that many applicants for social security disability benefits experience, in their efforts to be approved. These challenges include the many levels of decision-making for a social security disability claim (Initial application, Reconsideration, Hearing, Appeals Council, Federal Court), the specific issues raised by alcohol and drugs, the need to demonstrate that you cannot do past work or sometimes, any work at all, and the like. Cases are derived from actual clients I have represented but their names, details and key facts are changed to protect privacy.
“I used to love being around people – now I am afraid to be in public.”
“I was walking home from dinner with friends when a group of hoodlums came out of nowhere and attacked me,” said Ethan, a 45-year-old classic car salesman. He stuttered as he recounted the story, just one result of the brain injury he suffered during the attack.
“I went to the ER right after the attack, but I only started experiencing symptoms that made me think something was wrong with my brain a few months later. I couldn’t – and still can’t – trust anyone after what happened. I hardly leave my house. I get frustrated and angry so easily, but I can’t help it. It’s like I have no control over my emotions.”
“After the attack, Ethan could no longer go in to work,” noted Kathy, Ethan’s mother who was living off of her Social Security retirement income. “I am trying to support us the best I can. He was such a successful salesman, but now that he is so afraid around people, it’s impossible for him to keep working. I just hope that this works out so that he can have some income to get back on his feet. My retirement just isn’t enough for both of us.”
The Lawyer’s View
Ethan’s case posed some difficult challenges:
1. Ethan still rents a space in Seattle for his car collection. While most of the cars were sold off after the attack, he still owns some valuable classic car parts that he has been selling off to keep the space in the hope of someday returning to his job. How much value to these parts hold? Ethan is fighting for Supplemental Security Income benefits (SSI). In order to qualify for SSI, an individual must make less than $1,100 per month and have less than $2,000 in savings. Even if his medical condition qualifies, will these car parts make him financially ineligible for SSI?
2. Ethan’s brain injury wasn’t diagnosed until months after the attack, when he had a neuropsychological exam on our advice. How will this affect his disability onset date (the official date his disability started)? If he is approved for benefits, will the judge rely on the date of the attack or the date of diagnosis, a difference that will significantly affect the amount of back benefits that Ethan is awarded?
What happened?
At the hearing,
1. Kathy testified at Ethan’s hearing. Her testimony clarified some of the confusing testimony provided by Ethan as to his classic car business and work history. In her testimony, she noted that the parts actually did not retain much value and that he was not receiving more than a few hundred dollars very infrequently from the sale of the parts. She also attested to his fear of people and other symptoms stemming from his injury.
2. We provided the Judge with a copy of the neuropsychological exam. This exam, carried out by a qualified neuropsychiatrist, carried a great amount of weight with the Social Security Judge. Furthermore, it provided the necessary medical evidence of Ethan’s brain injury.
Despite some initial hurdles on the resource issues and eligibility for SSI, ultimately Ethan was found to qualify for SSI. Based on the medical evidence, Ethan was found to qualify for benefits as of the date of the attack.