Social Security disability attorneys know a case is worthless if a condition isn’t disabling enough to be approved by the SSA. No amount of testifying will sway an ALJ if there isn’t medical evidence to back up a claim. Most Social Security attorneys turn away claims dealing with mental illnesses, but did you know that 34.7% of approved claims are applicants who have a mood disorder or similar illness?
If your Social Security disability firm doesn’t take claims from people with mental illnesses, you could be missing out on one of the most commonly approved disabling conditions.
What does the SSA count as a Mental Disorder?
“Mental Disorders” encompasses many illnesses that could qualify for disability benefits. The largest demographic of this category is people with a mood disorder (13.6% of approved claims). This includes depression, bipolar disorder, PTSD, and anxiety disorders. Other illnesses that make up a bulk of this category are intellectual disabilities, which include Down syndrome or other congenital illnesses (8.4%), and schizophrenic and other psychotic disorders (4.9%).
Why are these illnesses commonly approved?
There are various reasons as to why the SSA approves mood disorders so often. Here are just a few:
1. Mood disorders are commonly diagnosed. According to Newsweek, around 1 in 5 Americans suffer from some form of mental illness. This means that a lot of Social Security applicants will have mental illnesses.
2. Mood disorders often affect people in the workforce. Unlike congenital disorders that are present at birth, preventing someone from working at all, a mood disorder or mental illness will often suddenly strike someone who has a rich work history.
3. The SSA has numerous Blue Book listings for mood disorders and mental illnesses. Although it’s possible to be approved without a Blue Book listing, Social Security disability attorneys know better than anyone that meeting a disabling condition’s listing goes a long way in getting a claim approved. Section 12.00—Mental Disorders has 9 listings under which someone with a mental or mood disorder could qualify, and many separate diagnoses qualify under one listing. For example, “anxiety disorders” covers PTSD, OCD, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and more.
How can your firm take on these common disabilities?
Instead of immediately ignoring a “contact us” form or a call from someone with a mental illness, your intake staff should really dig into the claimant’s medical history to determine if he or she has a chance of qualifying. Taking medication for a mood disorder for just two years radically raises a claimant’s chances of qualifying for Social Security disability benefits.
If you purchase Social Security disability leads from eGenerationMarketing, we highly recommend that you call every single lead we send you, even if the claimant has a mood disorder or mental illness. There is no telling how severe someone’s illness is until you speak with him or her yourself. If you choose to not even speak to every person with a mental illness, you’re throwing away 35% of claims approved by the SSA!
* https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/statcomps/di_asr/2015/sect01b.html