In my 30 years of experience representing claimants in social security disability hearings, I have concluded there are five factors that are significant in almost every case. These are the factors one should consider when applying for disability.

SERIOUS IMPAIRMENT: You cannot get disability for a hangnail. Your impairment must seriously affect your ability to work. It must be an impairment In my 30 years of practice, I have always found Social Security Judges to be very sympathetic to a claimant with a serious impairment such as lupus or cancer.

YOUR AGE: It is best to be 55 years old or older when applying for disability. The system favors the older applicant. On the other hand if you are under 50 years of age you may have to show you cannot do any job that exists in the national economy. It does not take much physical ability to be a greeter at a Walmart store or a security monitor watcher. If you are under age 50 you will have to show you cannot do those types of jobs.

YOUR OWN DOCTOR