Wheeling
Personality Disorder Disability Lawyer

On This Page

1. You Can Get a Social Security Disability Lawyer Right Away in Wheeling, WV
2. Our Wheeling Personality Disorder Attorneys Verify Eligibility for SSD Benefits
3. Our SSD Lawyers Can File Your Wheeling Personality Disorder Disability Claim
4. Call Us Today for a Free Consultation About SSD Benefits for a Personality Disorder in Wheeling, WV

REVIEWED BY

C. William Kenny

November 11, 2023

Board certified by National Board of Trial Advocacy

Working and maintaining a full time job during a diagnosis of a personality disorder can be very difficult. If you have a mental health disorder that will prevent you from working for a year or longer, you could qualify for additional support through Social Security Disability (SSD) benefits.

Because of how daunting it can feel to fill out complicated government forms while managing your mental health disorder, Berger and Green’s Wheeling Social Security Disability lawyers are dedicated to smoothing the path as much as possible for you. In fact, our Wheeling personality disorder disability lawyers are available immediately for a free consultation. You can call us today to explore your legal options and next steps.

You Can Get a Social Security Disability Lawyer Right Away in Wheeling, WV

Berger and Green is committed to understanding the people we help. We want to ensure you understand what you must do to file for disability benefits and that we understand how your disorder affects your ability to earn a living. 

As a result, we establish a clear line of communication from the start and remain in touch with you about your claim. With that understanding as our foundation, we seek to build a relationship with you to help tackle an SSD application or appeal.

We Can Promptly Start on Your Case

Since the Social Security Administration (SSA) and Disability Determination Services can take time to process, review, and decide on disability claims, the Wheeling Social Security Disability lawyers from our firm get to work right away.

Some of the tasks we can manage for you include:

• Deciphering hard-to-understand terms and wording 
• Filing your application
• Making sure the SSA can retrieve your records and contact info
• Analyzing the reason for a claim denial to strategize how to appeal
• Gathering additional proof of your eligibility after a denial
• Filing an appeal before the 60-day deadline 
• Helping you understand what is expected at your hearing
• Representing you in hearings
• Explaining back pay or retroactive pay

All the while, we are mindful of your condition. If you ever need help or clarification, just ask.

Our Wheeling Personality Disorder Attorneys Verify Eligibility for SSD Benefits

When we look at your case to determine if you qualify for SSD benefits, we look at how your disorder affects:

• Current work: Will your disorder affect your ability to work for at least a year?
• Past jobs: Does your disorder prevent you from working in a previous position?
• Other positions: Can you not transition into another job with accommodations?
• Substantial gainful activity (SGA): Are you unable to engage in any SGA?

If you can do none of that, the SSA may consider your personality disorder a disabling condition.. 

What Is Your Diagnosis?

Next, we look at whether your condition fits into the list of impairments for mental disorders. According to the Mayo Clinic, there are several types of personality disorders:

• Disorders that cause suspicion or lack of interest in other people: Paranoid personality disorder, schizoid personality disorder, and schizotypal personality disorder
• Disorders that cause overly emotional or unpredictable behavior: Borderline personality disorder, histrionic personality disorder, and antisocial personality disorder
• Disorders that cause anxious thinking or behaviors: Avoidant personality disorder, dependent personality disorder, obsessive-compulsive personality disorder

Any of these could interfere with your life enough to qualify you for Social Security disability benefits. 

What Evidence do You Have?

You must provide specific evidence of certain behavioral patterns, like detachment from social relationships or preoccupation with perfectionism and order. You also must show that you experience limitations in certain areas, like interacting with others or recalling or applying information. 

Because of how integral this medical evidence is, it’s important to work with your doctors while pursuing Social Security Disability. They can help you provide proof like:

• Diagnostic records
• Office or therapy visits
• Treatment notes
• Prescriptions
• Expert testimony

We go over all these requirements in detail with you, applying them to your specific personality disorder and its symptoms. 

What Benefits Can You Get?

After determining your eligibility based on your ability to work and your medical condition, we look at which disability benefits you’re qualified to receive. 

• If you have enough recent work credits: Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI)
• If you are below certain income limits: Supplemental Security Income (SSI)

You could qualify for both, in which case we can discuss both applications. We can also go over more of the specific differences between SSDI and SSI.

By going through the steps together, we can build a strong application for benefits. Having a personality disorder can make it harder to handle stressful activities, and this certainly qualifies. However, we can take it one step at a time.

Our SSD Lawyers Can File Your Wheeling Personality Disorder Disability Claim

If you are in need of disability benefits in Wheeling, our personality disorder attorneys can file your application for you. From there, the steps are:

1. West Virginia’s Disability Determination Services reviews your application. You may need to talk to a representative or answer questions.
2. They issue a decision—either an approval or a denial. When they notify you, they provide a reason for a claim denial.
3. If you were unfairly denied, we can request a reconsideration. We can submit corrections or provide more evidence at this stage.
4. A second denial isn’t the end—we can request a hearing with an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ). We will prepare you for this hearing, using it as an opportunity to argue for your benefits.
5. If the ALJ upholds the denial, we can request a review by the Appeals Council. 
6. After repeated denials, we can file a lawsuit in federal district court. This involves filing a civil action.

The SSA denies most claims at first. The issue with your application could be something small, like out-of-date contact information for a doctor. Even more complicated reasons, like a denial based on your income, could still have a solution. Don’t let a denial make you give up—talk to us.

Call Us Today for a Free Consultation About SSD Benefits for a Personality Disorder in Wheeling, WV

Bring us your Wheeling personality disorder case today, and our disability lawyers can immediately start strategizing. At Berger and Green, your case is given personal attention by our team, considering your unique mental health struggles, work and education history, age, and income. Call our law firm today to explore your disability benefits options.