WE'RE HERE TO SERVESSI Case Consulting For Attorneys

SSI Case Consulting For Attorneys

The Supplemental Security Income program presents unique challenges for claimants and their attorneys. The services offered by an SSI case consultant can make the SSI claim process less intimidating and more productive.

The SSI program includes disability benefits for adults and children who are blind or disabled, while also providing benefits for individuals age 65 and older without disabling medical conditions. Disability consulting gives attorneys in sole practices, as well as multi-attorney law firms, the ability to expand the services offered to their clients without increased staffing or added burden on existing resources.

An SSI case consultant gives attorneys access to the comprehensive services of an accomplished, skilled, and esteemed disability attorney with more than 50 years of hands-on disability law experience. For real-world SSI legal support, rely on the services of attorney consultant James Mitchell Brown.

Unique Challenges in SSI Cases

SSI is a means-based program designed to provide financial assistance to blind or disabled adults and children. It also pays benefits to individuals who are not blind or disabled when they are 65 years of age or older.

The purpose of the monthly benefit payments to individuals approved for the SSI program is to provide the financial means to afford food and shelter. Unlike the SSDI program that requires a work history to be approved for benefits, applicants for SSI must meet strict limitations on the income and resources available to them.

For example, SSI applicants cannot have assets, which the Social Security Administration refers to as “resources,” that exceed $2,000 in value. Couples approved for the program cannot have more than $3,000 in resources.

One of the unique challenges of the SSI program is that not all resources and income count toward determining whether a person meets the requirements for approval. A motor vehicle’s value counts as a resource unless the claimant or other member of the claimant’s household uses it for transportation.

An additional challenge with resource limits applies to homeownership. The value of the land and home is included as a resource available to an individual unless the SSI beneficiary occupies it as their primary residence. However, if the SSI recipient ceases to occupy it as their principal residence, the value of the land and home becomes a resource.

Income limits can be equally perplexing for anyone without extensive expertise and experience with SSI claims. For instance, earned income counts toward determining whether Social Security approves an application for SSI and the amount of monthly benefits the individual receives. However, the first $65 of a person’s monthly earned income, and one-half of their earnings that remain, may be excluded. A $20 exclusion may be applied to income from sources other than earnings from working.

An SSI case consultant offers valuable income-based disability help to attorneys and to the clients they represent. A consultant brings decades of experience with SSI cases, including solutions to address the challenges they present to practitioners.

Required Evidence & Income Review

An individual applying for SSI based on blindness or disability, their application must be supported by evidence proving they meet the federal definitions for blindness and disability. Federal regulations define statutory blindness as central visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye with correcting lens. An eye with a limitation in the field of vision so that the widest diameter of the visual field subtends an angle no greater than 20 degrees is considered to have a central visual acuity of 20/200 or less. The condition must be expected to last for a continuous period of at least 12 months or be expected to result in death.

Unlike blindness, that has a single definition that applies to both adults and children, adults and children each have their own disability definitions. Adults applying for SSI with a disability must prove an inability to engage in any substantial gainful activity because of a medically determinable physical or mental impairment. The impairment or impairments must be expected to last for at least 12 continuous months or expected to result in death.

The definition of a disability for a child younger than age 18 requires a medically determinable physical or mental impairment resulting in marked or severe functional limitations. The limitations must be expected to last for a continuous 12-month period or be expected to result in death.

Disability consulting gives attorneys and law firms the advantage of guidance from a seasoned disability attorney to help them gather and present the documentation, including medical records, to support an SSI application. The expertise of a consultant also helps with income limitation reviews to ensure that all income exclusions are applied to reduce any adverse effect during the application review process.

Case Strategy for SSI Approval

A winning case strategy for SSI claims relies on medical documentation and other evidence to establish not only the existence of a diagnosed medical condition but also the limitations an individual experiences as a result. An SSI case consultant develops a strategy including:

• Gathering medical evidence, including updated records.
• Looking for gaps in medical care or non-compliance with the prescribed treatment plan.
• Working with the treating physician to ensure completion of a comprehensive residual functional limitation form.
• Ensure that applications include all medical conditions causing impairments.
• Encourage the claimant to maintain a daily journal of symptoms, side effects, and functional limitations.
• Ensure compliance with income and resource limitations of the SSI program.

During the appeals process, a consultant helps with Social Security case reviews, evidence presentation, and preparation for hearings.

How Consultants Assist Attorneys

An SSI case consultant brings a level of expertise that an attorney or law firm that handles only a few disability cases may not possess. James Mitchell Brown has been practicing disability law for more than 50 years. He has an AV Preeminent Peer Review Rating from Martindale-Hubbell and was a founder and past president of the National Organization of Social Security Claimant’s Representatives.

He shares his unparalleled knowledge of disability law and insight into the Social Security Administration and the SSI program with lawyers and law firms nationwide to improve the services they provide to clients. Contact Attorney Consultants today to learn what James Mitchell Brown can do for you and your disability clients.