Answer: False as George Washington's teeth.
The Disability Determination Service (DDS) will deny over two-thirds of all Social Security disability applications.
Here is why the DDS will usually deny your disability application at the first step in the process:
- DDS will decide that there is other work you are able to sustain, even if you cannot do any of your past relevant work. (Step 5 Denial).
- DDS
will nearly always assign a residual functional capacity that is
unreasonable based on your medical records but which allows for some
work, thus justifying a denial.
- DDS will nearly always allow more weight for the opinion of their own medical consultant than for the opinion of your treating doctor(s)--even though this directly contradicts federal regulations and Social Security's rules.
- DDS decisions are generally made by individuals who have never seen or examined the claimant, thus cannot possibly have a good picture of his or her impairments and how they affect the ability to do work like activities.
You have 60 days to appeal a denial. The next step is a hearing before a US Administrative Law Judge. (Unless you live in one of the non-prototype states, in which case you must ask for Reconsideration before requesting a hearing).
In Alabama (a prototype state), you go from a DDS denial to a hearing by a US Administrative Law Judge. It can take 18 months from the date of denial to get a hearing, so the process is lengthy and frustrating. You must file the request for a hearing within 60 days of the denial of your claim.
The question of how far back to look for medical evidence in a Social Security disability claim can vary case by case. Typically, we consider the alleged onset date (AOD) and look for evidence beginning about one year prior to that date. That would certainly not always be the case. Sometimes the medical evidence needs to go back further. (The AOD is the date on which the claimant alleges that he/she first became disabled).
One common mistake that claimants make is obtaining recent medical evidence, which may prove that they are disabled now, but failing to obtain older evidence that proves that they became disabled a year ago, two years ago, or longer. The result can be a partially favorable ruling in which benefits are paid but some or all of the back pay is lost.
If a person alleges that he became disabled on June 1, 2012, for example--it is vital that he provide medical evidence showing a disability back to June 1, 2012. If he only submits evidence showing a severe disabling impairment beginning in December of 2015, no benefit can be paid under Title 2 until June of 2016 because of the mandatory five-month waiting period. Thus, there would be no back pay.
Social Security disability is a rather complex field that is governed by complicated laws, federal regulations and even federal court decisions. Navigating through this complexity is generally best done with professional help, especially at the appeal level.
