Kevin Linder is the founder of Linder Law office which was formed in 1995. Kevin has a bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois at Springfield and his law degree from the University of Missouri in Columbia. At Linder Law Office, a high degree of professionalism is exhibited. The staff have taken the National Association of Legal Assistants training in Social Security Disability Representation, and Linder Law Office employs a retired Disability Adjudicator with more than 30 years experience and a Nurse Consultant. Kevin is a sustaining member of the National Organization of Social Security Claimants and Representatives and the National Association of Disability Examiners.

  Kevin has attended and taught many continuing education courses on representing clients before the Social Security Administration and has a high success ratio at all levels of representation - initial application level; Reconsideration; Administrative Law Judge Level and Appeals Council.

  The process of attaining Social Security disability benefits can be overwhelming. An experienced attorney can analyze what needs to be proven to win benefits, figure out how to prove it, and gather the necessary evidence. If you are going through this process and would like a trustworthy and experienced representative, please contact Kevin Linder.

For a free initial consultation, pleaes contact the Linder Law Office, fill out the claim evaluation form to the right, or visit the Linder Law Office website at:  http://www.linderlegal.com/Practice-Areas/Social-Security-Disability.shtml.

Kevin Linder

Linder Law Office, LLC

1300 South Eighth

Springfield, IL 62703

Phone 217-793-6477

Fax 217-241-2089

The Social Security Administration (SSA) follows a five-step sequential evaluation process to determine whether you are disabled for purposes of either of the two disability programs operated by SSA — SSI or Social Security disability. If it finds that you are disabled or not disabled at a step then the determination is over and it does not go on to the next step. Those five steps are:

1. You are not engaging in “substantial gainful activity” (SGA); and

 2. You have a “severe” medically determinable impairment; and

 3.Your impairment meets or “equals” one of the impairments described in the Social Security regulations known as the “Listing of Impairments;” or

 4. Considering your “residual functional capacity” (RFC), you are unable to do your “past relevant work” (PRW); and

 5. You cannot make an adjustment to other work that exists in significant numbers, considering your RFC, age, education, and work experience.

Be careful about the terms identified by quotation marks and the initials that go with some of them. These terms have precise meanings in the law, and these meanings are not necessarily the meanings you would expect.

In addition, to be found disabled you must meet the “duration requirement.” That is, your disability must last for 12 full months.

In summary, there are two main routes to a finding of disability on an SSI or Social Security disability application:

1. Your impairment must meet or equal an impairment described in the Listing of Impairments — the sequential evaluation process culminates at Step 3.

2. You must meet all the other requirements of the sequential evaluation process culminating at step 5.

There are six ways that you may be found not disabled. That is, you are not disabled if you:

1. Are working at the SGA level (Step 1).

2. Have no medically determinable impairment (Step 2).

3. Have a medically determinable impairment, but it does not significantly limit your physical or mental ability to do basic work activities (Step 2).

4. Fail to meet the duration requirement.

5. Are capable of past relevant work (Step 4).

6. Are capable of other work (Step 5).