Self Employment

A key issue in disability benefit determinations is a claimant’s credibility. Claims adjudicators are frequently skeptical about a claimant’s credibility is he or she was self employed. The claim adjudicator assumes that the applicant may be working off the books in some capacity.

I succeeded in obtaining disability benefits for a self employed claimant in only three months by submitting evidence from third parties to substantiate the claimant’s credibility. My client was a construction contractor who had operated his own business installing doors. I submitted letters from material suppliers and subcontractors attesting to the fact that they no longer engaged in business with my client.

Even in cases where the medical evidence is strong, applications of self employment are usually denied because testimony is deemed necessary to evaluate the contention that the claimant is no longer working. However, the letters supplied by the client’s former business contacts supplanted the need for live testimony, which saved the claimant months, if not years, of waiting time.