Not all Missourians who are suffering from an injury, illness or condition that they believe warrants Social Security disability benefits or are already receiving them are completely unable to work. Their ability to perform substantial gainful activity (SGA) is a critical part of the application process. For some, they want to try and get back on the job, but are unable to. This can cause a problem with the initial claim for SSD benefits and a reconsideration. For those facing this dilemma, it is important to understand an unsuccessful work attempt (UWA) and to have legal advice throughout the entire SSD process.
If a person either works at a job for someone else or is self-employed and stops or lowers the amount of work to less than SGA and this occurs in less than six months due to the impairment or loss of special conditions to work, it falls into the category of UWA. The Social Security Administration (SSA) focuses on whether the person could work or not over an extended period and not about whether it was possible to work for a short time.
The SSA will ask if the work was sufficiently substantial to find that the person was taking part in SGA when they were working. It will also as if, despite the SGA and how long the person worked, the evidence indicates that the person could perform SGA while they worked or after they worked. If the work was found to be UWA, it will not prevent the approval for SSD benefits.
One of the main reasons people will seek Social Security disability benefits for injury, illness or due to a condition is because of their inability to work. There is nuance in that classification and many want to work and try to work, but find that their impairments prevent them from doing so. This is when UWA becomes important. If the application or reconsideration is hindered by this, it is imperative to know what the rules say and how to get or retain the benefits. A law firm that is experienced in Social Security disability and all its aspects can help.
