Vocational Issues Related to Your Disability

Your eligibility for Social Security Disability is dependent largely upon whether you are able to work. While SSD may use Medical-Vocational Guidelines to make this determination, at times a clear answer of eligibility cannot be made this way. Your Michigan Disability attorney will help you with any appeals or other matters that may come up.

Ability to work a previous job

SSD will focus specific attention on your ability to perform work you have held. A specialist may analyze your condition to decide on the likelihood of your being able to return to your previous job. You may also need to testify about your diminished functional capacity at a hearing. If this occurs, your Michigan Disability attorney will prepare you to respond to questions about the extent to which you cannot return to that or any job you have held.

Skills transferability

If you are not able to work a job you previously held, SSD may consider whether your work skills would be transferable to some other, less physically demanding work. This can be a complicated matter, not the less so because, regardless or your skill set, you may no longer be physically capable of performing skills you mentally know how to do.

Work availability

A related matter has to do with whether work that you may still be able to perform is available. This is particularly relevant today when so few jobs of any kind are available. Your age, education, and work experience are all factors which will weigh on this determination.

For a claimant under age 50, SSD may deny an application even if no work is available to transfer his/her skills into. This is because Social Security regards unskilled work as a viable option for younger claimants. Once you are past age 50 your work options diminish, and you are less likely to have time to acquire new skills, so you would be more likely to be found eligible. Keep in mind that if you are denied, this is not the last word. Your Michigan Disability attorney can help you during the appeals process.

If you have become disabled to the extent you are unable to work, you may qualify for Social Security Disability. Call Michigan Disability attorney JB Bieske for a consultation today at (800) 331-3530.