Erroneous Reasons for Denial of Your South Carolina Social Security Disability Claim
Perhaps the most common single reason for an erroneous denial that I find when working on South Carolina Social Security disability claims is that the state agency overestimated a claimant’s residual functional capacity (RFC).
For example, the state agency may have determined that a claimant is capable of medium work, but the claimant is actually limited to light work, an RFC that may, if the claimant is old enough, lead to a finding of disabled under the Medical-Vocational Guidelines.
If this is an issue in your case and I was representing you, I would concentrate on obtaining medical opinion evidence and other evidence that demonstrates your correct RFC.
Other common examples of erroneous reasons for denial are:
- an impairment was determined to be “not severe”
- a claimant’s mental impairment was determined not to meet the Listings
- additional impairments were not considered
- a claimant’s allegations of pain were not properly evaluated
- the state agency did not gather evidence showing that a claimant’s impairment meets the Listings
- a claimant was determined to be capable of past work but the state agency underestimated the exertional level of the past work both as the claimant actually performed it and as the occupation is usually performed
- the state agency used a claimant’s years of formal schooling for establishing educational level but testing shows the claimant’s educational level is considerably lower.
Other possibilities are virtually limitless.
By understanding how the state agency came to its conclusion that you are not disabled, your South Carolina Social Security disability lawyer may find discrete issues in the case on which to focus in developing proof that you actually are disabled.
Sometimes the state agency’s error is so obvious that your lawyer may want to point it out to the administrative law judge well in advance of the hearing in conjunction with a request for an on-the-record favorable decision.
At the same time, your attorney will not neglect the rest of the proof that you are disabled. The judge does not have to accept conclusions arrived at by the state agency that are favorable to you.
