Social Security Disability Benefits Blog » Florida

Where are the Florida Local Social Security Hearing Locations? | Florida Social Security Disability Lawyer

Nancy Cavey — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 17:09:21 +0000

We have taken the time to construct a list of the following Social Security Disability hearing locations for you. The Florida local Social Security hearing locations are in:

Social Security Hearings in Tampa:

4925 Independence Parkway, Tampa, Florida 33364-750

Social Security Hearings in Clearwater:

SunTrust Building 601 Cleveland Street, Room 410, Clearwater, FL 33755

Social Security Hearings in Fort Myers:

10100 Deer Runs Rd, Suite 210, Fort Myers, FL 33966

Social Security Hearings in Orlando:

Glenridge Building, Suite 300, 3505 Lake Linda Dr., Orlando, FL 32817

You can easily find directions to each of these Social Security Hearing locations at www.mapquest.com

If you need help with your Social Security Disability claim, or have questions, contact us today at 727-894-3188

If you would like more information about your rights regarding Social Security Disability Benefits, you can order our FREE book,"Your Rights to Social Security Disability Benefits" by submitting the form in the sidebar. We will send it out immediately along with other important information.

For more information about Social Security Disability Benefits, visit our law firm web site at CaveyLaw.com. If you would like to speak with one of our Social Security Disability Benefits attorneys about your case, feel free to call us anytime at (727) 897-9117 or simply submit our contact form and we will get back to you quickly.

Work History and Your Claim for Social Security Disability Benefits

Nancy Cavey — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 15:53:57 +0000

Your work history is important for a number of reasons and will impact whether or not you are entitled to Social Security Disability benefits and the amount of benefits you secure.

As an American tax payer, a portion of you wages have been attributed to the Federal Social Security Disability Insurance program by deductions through your payroll FICA tax. You can look at your pay stub and see those deductions. A portion of every one of your paychecks goes to the Social Security Administration retirement and disability program.

When applying for Social Security Disability benefits you have to be currently insured. You have to have paid 20 quarters of the last 10 years to qualify to be currently insured.

What happens if you don’t meet those quarters? You can “buy a quarter” by earning a certain amount during a calender year. If you earned $1,900 in 2009 you’ve “bought a quarter.”

You earn up to four quarters in year, therefore, in the last ten years, you have had to have had at least 20 quarters of coverage or more to qualify for Social Security Disability benefits.

If you are disabled before age 31, the work history requirements are different. You can have six quarters of coverage plus one quarter of coverage for each year after the year you reached 21. In other words, if you are 27 years old and become disabled, you will only need 12 quarters of coverage to be fully insured.

When you apply for Social Security Disability benefits the Social Security Administration asks questions about the work that you have done during the 15 years before you became disabled.

At hurtles 4 and 5 of the sequential evaluation, the Social Security Administration determines whether or not you can go back to the lightest job you held in the last fifteen years, and, if not, whether there is job that exists in the mythical national economy based on your age, education and the transferable skills that you’ve learned as a result of your work history.

And, most importantly, you work history is used to determine the amount of your benefits. Your employer has to send the Social Security Administration a copy of your W2 form every year to show how much Social Security taxes you have paid. The Social Security Administration compiles that information and, when you apply for Social Security Disability benefits one of the most important documents we at Cavey and Barrett located in Florida and represent throught the state, look for in your file is the earnings report to determine whether or not you are fully insured and the amount of your benefits.

Your past work experience, earnings and disabling medical condition all combine in the evaluation process to determine whether or not you meet the Social Security requirements.

If you have any questions contact us at www.caveylaw.com or give us a call at 727-894-3188.

I’m not nuts, but the Social Security Administration wants me to have a mental exam. | Port Richey Social Security Disability Lawyer

Nancy Cavey — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 19:53:20 +0000

The Social Security Administration can require a consultative examination known as a CE for short. This can be scheduled by the disability examiner at the initial claim and reconsideration stages and by an administrative law judge at the hearing stage.

Most often these consultative examinations are scheduled because your records indicate that you haven’t seen a doctor recently or because there might be a condition for which you never received treatment. I have written an article about preparing for you consultative examination.

If the disability examiner or judge notes in your medical records that you are “depressed” or “anxious,” the Social Security Administration may be obligated to send you for a mental consultative examination even if you don’t claim to be depressed or anxious on your application and never sought treatment.

Many disability claimants are surprised when they receive a letter from the Social Security Administration scheduling them for a mental consultative examination when their disability application is filed on the basis of a pure physical problem such as a heart problem, degenerative disc disease, or diabetes.

If you are scheduled for a mental consultative examination, we suggest that you call Tampa St. Petersburg Social Security Disability lawyers, Cavey & Barrett to discuss what will occur during that evaluation, how you should prepare for that evaluation and how you should present yourself.

What are the 7 Things a Social Security Disability Claims Examiner Do To Evaluate Your Claim? | New Port Richey Social Security Disability Attorney

Nancy Cavey — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 15:09:19 +0000

When your Social Security Disability Claims is sent to the Social Security Disability office it is sent to the Disability Determination Office. It is then assigned to a Social Security Disability Claims Examiner who does 7 things in evaluating your disability claim.

Those 7 things are:

1. The Disability Claims Examiner assigned to your case will send medical records request letters to your various medical providers that you listed at the time of your initial application.

2. After your medical records have been received, the Disability Claims Examiner will read and evaluate them.

3. The Disability Claims Examiner will determine whether or not you have a physical or mental condition that meets the requirements of a listing. If your medical condition does not meet a listing, the Disability Claims Examiner will determine your functional capabilities based on reading your medical records.

4. The Disability Claims Examiner will submit his assessment of your Residual Functional Capacity to a staff physician who will review the form to determine what you can still do and what you are incapable of doing from a mental and/or physical standpoint.

5. The Disability Claims Examiner will review the physician-approved Residual Functional Capacity and determine whether or not your restrictions prevent you from doing the lightest job you held in the last 15 years.

6. The Disability Claims Examiner will also determine if those restrictions and limitations make it impossible for you to do other suitable work.

7. If the Disability Claims Examiner determines that you cannot return to your lightest job and that you can’t perform other suitable work, you will be approved for Social Security Disability benefits.

When the Disability Claims Examiner determines your functional limitations and compares them to the work that you did in the past and other work that might be available based on your age, education and job skills, he performs a medical/vocational determination.

The Residual Functional Capacity determination by the Disability Claims Examiner and staff physician is rarely accurate. Sharon Barrett, a St. Petersburg/Tampa Social Secuirty Disability lawyer, has your treating physician complete the right Residual Functional Capacity form for your medical condition so that the Social Security Administration has your treating physician’s opinion about your functional capabilities.

It is crucial to the success of your Social Security disability claim that your physican be given the right residual functional capacity forms!

How Can I Improve My Chances of Winning at the Social Security Hearing? | Spring Hill Social Security Disability Lawyer

Nancy Cavey — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 15:05:14 +0000

Without a doubt, you can improve your chances of winning at the disability hearing stage by finding a qualified Social Security Disability attorney, such as Sharon Barrett, who is based in Tampa/St. Petersburg.
Sharon will assist you in obtaining your medical records, getting a Residual Functional Capacity sheet completed by your physician, and submitting this documentation to the judge who will be hearing your Social Security Disability case.

Social Security lawyer Sharon Barrett will also assist you in preparing for your Social Security Disability hearing.