Limitations Erode Working Ability
When
you testify at your disability hearing about your
limitations that contribute to your disability you
should prioritize the message, and tell the
Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) about your biggest
problems first. Save the minor problems for the
bottom of your list to keep the judge’s attention
and maintain your credibility. Focus on limitations
that significantly affect you in any job, anywhere,
in contrast to a limitation that would still allow
you to work.If your limitations are well supported by medical evidence, the ALJ conducting your hearing may decide to include the limitations into your residual functional capacity (RFC) which is a big part of the disability evaluation process. More limitations make your RFC, or the judge’s opinion of your capability to work, more restricted.
In the real world it’s easy to imagine that a worker would have less opportunity to work as they become more limited. For most claimants to win their benefits the ALJ needs to find they are unable to work in any job, anywhere. A claimant’s RFC will need to be significantly eroded by severe limitations for that person to be unable to work in any job, anywhere.
Not all Limitations Are Equal
The most important limitations you should discuss in your hearing are the ones that prevent you from working entirely, or the limitations that affect you in all jobs. A less helpful limitation brings you less potential jobs, but usually there will still be available jobs that could work around your limitation. Your best limitations that can help you win your case would be the limitations that prevent you from performing all jobs, or the ones that would prevent you from keeping any job.
Examples of limitations that affect you with any job, anywhere, so long as they are well supported by the evidence, would be: taking too many breaks at work due to your condition, being off task at work for too long each day due to drowsiness caused by a prescription drug or your condition, or excessive absenteeism reasonably caused by your condition. Because these limitations would not be tolerated in competitive employment a person with those limitations in their RFC would usually be found disabled.
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How to
Get More Help
We hope
the information linked to from this page will help you
regardless of where you are in the process. If
you have a question about your disability case that
you don’t find answered in the resources linked to
above, then contact us
here or give us a call at (800) 584-3700.
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For more information on Social Security Disability, please see:
Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) FAQs
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) FAQs
Social Security Disability Links
Social Security Glossary
