APPROVAL STEPS

The Social Security Administration currently determines if you are disabled using a 5-step process.  Each step is broken down into categories to best determine your eligibility for benefits. At each phase of a disability claim, there is an adjudicator or decision-maker. At the Initial Application and Reconsideration phases, the decision-maker is a Disability Determination Service (DDS) Examiner who works in consultation with a DDS Physician. At the hearing phase, the decision-maker is the Administrative Law Judge who often consults with a Medical Expert (ME). The following evaluation is employed by the adjudicator at each phase.