Will Social Security Revoke My Disability Benefits if My Condition Improves?

 Posted on January 26, 2017 in Social Security Disability

When you are approved for Social Security disability insurance, there is no guarantee you will continue to receive benefits indefinitely. By law Social Security must conduct a continuing disability review (CDR) every three to seven years to ensure you are still medically unable to work. The exact frequency of a CDR depends on the circumstances of your case. However, if you are under the age of 50 and have a medical condition that is expected to improve, you can expect more frequent reviews.

Court Finds Woman “Exaggerated” Pain Symptoms, No Longer Legally Disabled

Social Security can discontinue disability benefits if it determines you have made sufficient “medical improvement” such that you are capable of working again. It does not matter if you actually return to work or can resume the same job you previously held. Social Security is only looking to see if you are physically capable of some type of gainful employment.

Even in cases where a disability recipient continues to experience substantial symptoms, such as chronic pain, Social Security may decide there has been enough improvement to discontinue benefits. For example, a Chicago appeals court recently upheld Social Security's decision to discontinue benefits for a woman after four years.

The recipient suffered terrible injuries as the result of a 2006 car accident. She required spinal surgery to “fuse three of her vertebrae,” according to court records. Social Security agreed these injuries rendered her disabled and in 2007 awarded her benefits as of the original accident date.

In 2011, Social Security conducted a CDR. Although the applicant said she continued to suffer from chronic pain arising from the accident and her subsequent recovery, a doctor who examined her on behalf of Social Security opined these complaints were “exaggerated.” The doctor said that in his medical judgment, the recipient was capable of sitting for at least 45 minutes at a time. A second physician, who reviewed the recipient's medical records but did not personally examine her, likewise concluded she could “perform light work” and hold down a full-time job.

During the CDR, the applicant herself testified “she could not sit or stand for longer than 15 or 20 minutes,” and that while she did work part-time she still experienced significant pain. A Social Security judge ruled the recipient was no longer disabled and she “had experienced medical improvement” sufficient to “allow her to perform sedentary work.”

The recipient appealed Social Security's decision to the courts, but as the Seventh Circuit explained in a January 11 opinion, there was “substantial evidence” to justify discontinuing benefits. Specifically, the appeals court cited the testimony of the agency's reviewing physicians, the recipient's admission of part-time work, and evidence of other activities “inconsistent with the limitations” she claimed.

Get Help From an Illinois Disability Benefits Attorney

Dealing with Social Security is rarely a one-time affair. Even if you survive the gauntlet of agency procedures necessary to obtain disability benefits, you may still face further challenges down the road during a CDR. Whether you are a first-time applicant or dealing with a periodic review, it is important to have an experienced Chicago Social Security lawyer by your side. Contact Pearson Disability Law, LLC, to schedule a consultation today.

Source:

https://www.disabilitylawyerschicago.com/social-security-disability-benefit-types