Assistance from an experienced Colorado Springs Social Security lawyer can improve your chances of success with your initial application or with an appeal. Helping people get benefits. It’s what we do all day long. And we’re ready to help you, too.

Throughout my professional career, I have worked tirelessly to help people with disabilities and injuries get the benefits they deserve.

I began practicing law in 1997 after a 10-year career as a vocational rehabilitation counselor in which I assisted individuals with disabilities to identify and train for new vocations. That experience inspired me to continue working with disabled individuals in my law practice.

I practice primarily in the areas of Social Security Disability Law and Workers’ Compensation Law. In 2010, I expanded my practice to include disabled veterans. I was recently admitted to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.

Before opening my own practice in 2002, I contracted with Norton Frickey and Associates where I handled Workers’ Compensation cases.

I am a member of the following professional organizations:

• National Organization of Social Security Claimants Representatives (NOSSCR).
• Colorado Bar Association.
• El Paso County Bar Association.
• Workers Compensation Education Association (WCEA), Vice President.
• National Association of Consumer Advocates (NACA).
• Ben Wendleken Inn of Court.
• National Organization of Veterans Advocates (NOVA).
• Colorado School of Professional Psychology (Board Member, 2005-2007).

I graduated with a Juris Doctorate from the University of Denver, Strum College of Law. I also have a Masters Degree in Communications from the University of Northern Colorado and a Bachelors Degree in Psychology and Communications from the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs.

For a free initial claim evaluation, please contact my office or visit my website at: http://www.coloradospringsdisabilitylawyer.com/.

Stephanie J. Stevenson

Colorado Springs disability lawyer

Santa Fe Building

985 Pico Point

Colorado Springs, CO 80905

888-457-5452

What does it take to qualify for Social Security disability benefits?

This is the question my Colorado Springs Social Security clients most often ask. The answer is complicated and depends on your age, work experience, and the nature of your disability.

You have to have worked in jobs covered by Social Security for a sufficient period of time. And you must meet Social Security’s definition of disability:

• You must not be engaged in“substantial gainful activity.” In general this means you must not be working or you must be earning less than a minimum monthly amount specified by the Social Security Administration.
• You must have a severe “medically determinable impairment” that has lasted or is expected to last at least 12 months or result in death. A “medically determinable impairment” is a condition that can be established through medically acceptable diagnostic techniques.
• You must be unable to do your “past relevant work.” Past relevant work has a complicated definition, but, put simply, you must be unable to do the easiest job you have done in the past 15 years.
• You must be unable to do other jobs that exist in the national economy considering your age, education, and work experience.

To qualify for benefits, most claimants will need to show that they are unable to do a full time job. That means they cannot work for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, at a satisfactory pace and quality. The rules are somewhat easier for older claimants and claimants with limited education.

For more information on qualifying for benefits, watch my video Are You Likely to Qualify or read The sequential evaluation process.

If you meet the disability criteria, you will be entitled to a monthly cash benefit. You will also be eligible for Medicare 29 months from the date your disability began.

Your disability benefits will usually continue until you are able to return to work on a regular basis. Special rules, called work incentives, provide continued benefits and in some cases health care coverage while giving you a chance to attempt to return to work.