A timeline of episodes
When each one started, how long it ran, what happened during it and how long recovery took. Built from records rather than memory, it is the most persuasive document in one of these claims.
Social Security Disability
Disability Benefits for Bipolar Disorder
The periods when you are well are the reason these claims get refused. They are also the reason the claim is real.
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An illness with an interval, assessed as though there were not one.
Bipolar disorder does not sit still, and that single fact causes most of the trouble in these claims. Somebody can be seriously unwell in February, hospitalized in March, and by June be articulate, organized and apparently fine. An examiner meeting them in June writes down what they see.
The well period is then treated as the true picture and the episodes as temporary setbacks. That reading gets the illness exactly backwards. The episodes are the illness. The interval between them is the part that makes the condition look manageable to somebody who is not living with it.
Work does not ask how you are today. It asks whether you will be there in three months, and whether the last two years suggest you will.
What this page covers
Bipolar I and bipolar II, cyclothymic presentations, and claims where rapid cycling or mixed states rather than distinct episodes are the pattern. Where the illness presents predominantly as depression, the depression and anxiety page covers that ground as well.
- Episodes, not a level The claim describes a pattern over years, not a state today.
- The manic side counts Poor judgment and lost jobs are impairment, not energy.
- Treatment history matters Admissions, medication changes and what each one did.
- Other people saw it Employers and family often remember what the notes do not.
The three things that get used against a bipolar claim
These come up so consistently that it is worth naming them before you apply.
One: you were stable at the examination
A single appointment catches one point in a cycle. If it lands in a stable stretch, the report describes somebody functioning normally, and nothing in it records that this was six weeks after a hospital admission. A claim that relies on a treating psychiatrist who has watched the pattern across years is answering a different and better question.
Two: the mania looked like doing well
This is the one people are least prepared for. Elevated periods can involve working excessively, starting projects, spending, taking risks and sleeping very little, and an examiner reading a file can mistake that for capacity. The relevant part is what happened next: the jobs lost, the relationships damaged, the debts, and the crash that followed. Impairment in this illness is not only the inability to get out of bed.
Three: you stopped taking the medication
Non-compliance is treated as a choice, and in this condition it frequently is not. Stopping medication because side effects were intolerable, because insight was lost during an episode, or because the medication was unaffordable are three different things and only the first two are common. Whichever applies, the reason has to be on the record, because an unexplained gap is read as evidence that the condition was not serious.
Evidence that describes a cycle
A file that describes only how you are now is describing the wrong thing.
Admissions and crisis contacts
Hospitalizations, emergency attendances and crisis team involvement. These are dated, independent and difficult to argue with, which is exactly what an episodic claim needs.
The employment record
A work history with short jobs, dismissals and resignations during episodes tells the story better than any description of symptoms. Bring it even if it is uncomfortable reading.
The treating psychiatrist on the pattern
Someone who has seen you across several years can say what a one hour examination cannot: how often episodes occur, how much function returns between them, and whether that supports steady work.
Questions
Bipolar disorder disability questions
General information, not legal advice. Every case turns on its own facts. The only way to know where yours stands is to have someone look at it.
I am doing well at the moment. Should I still apply?
Yes, if the pattern over recent years is the problem. These claims are decided on what the illness does over time, not on how somebody is in the week they fill in the form. A period of stability is part of the evidence rather than an argument against it, provided the record shows what surrounds it.
My medication works. Does that defeat the claim?
Not by itself. Treatment that reduces the severity or frequency of episodes without preventing them still leaves somebody unable to sustain work. What matters is the position with treatment in place: how often episodes still happen, how long they last, and what the medication itself costs you in sedation or concentration.
I have held jobs. Does that count against me?
Often the opposite. A history of jobs that ended after a few months, repeatedly, is one of the strongest pieces of evidence there is, because it shows the illness interfering with employment in the real world rather than in an examination room. Bring the full list, including the ones that ended badly.
Do I have to talk about the manic episodes?
Yes, and people frequently hold them back because they are embarrassing. Spending, risk taking, conflict, arrests, damage to relationships: these are impairment and leaving them out removes half the illness from the claim. Anything you tell us is confidential and we will handle how it is presented.
I drink or used to. Will that end the claim?
It complicates it and it does not end it. The question the rules ask is whether you would still be disabled if substance use stopped, which in a serious mood disorder is frequently yes. Tell us early so the evidence addresses it head on rather than leaving it for the agency to find.
What we charge
Our fees are set by federal statute, are contingency only, and are the lesser of 25% not to exceed the statutory maximum of $9,200.
There is nothing to pay up front and nothing to pay if the claim does not succeed. The fee comes out of past-due benefits when they are awarded, and it has to be approved.
If your condition is not one of these
The conditions we have written about are the ones we are asked about most often. They are not the only ones that qualify, and the list is not a test you have to appear on.
A disability claim is decided on what your conditions do to your ability to work, not on the name of the diagnosis. Several problems that are each manageable on their own can add up to something that is not, and that combination is frequently the strongest part of a claim.
If what you have is not on this site, that tells you nothing about your claim. Tell us what you have been diagnosed with and what it stops you doing, and we will tell you honestly whether it is worth pursuing.
Other Social Security Disability pages
The rest of this practice area, in case your situation fits one of them better.
All Social Security Disability
SSDI denials, appeals and hearings.
Initial Applications
We prepare and file the whole claim. Most clients start here.
SSDI vs SSI
Two different programs, two different sets of rules.
Disability Appeals
What to do when the claim comes back denied.
Disability Hearings
The hearing in front of the judge, and how we prepare you for it.
SSI Children's Cases
Benefits for a child whose disability affects how they function.
SSD Widow's Benefits
Drawing on a late spouse's record, from 60, or from 50 if disabled.
Back Injuries & Spine Conditions
Qualifying with a spine condition, where function decides it.
Neck Injuries & Conditions
Cervical claims turn on the hands and arms, not the back.
Cancer
Some diagnoses qualify outright. Others turn on what treatment left behind.
COPD & Respiratory Conditions
Breathing test values, and the day the test was taken.
Depression & Anxiety Disorders
Assessed on functioning across a working week, not on a diagnosis.
PTSD
Reactivity and avoidance, and why the workplace itself is the barrier.
Multiple Sclerosis
A fluctuating illness, assessed on a single day. Closing that gap.
Heart Disease
Measured exertion, and the difference between stable and employable.
Stroke
What is left when recovery stops, and when to make the claim.
Arthritis
Which joints. Ones you stand on and ones you work with.
Amputations
The prosthesis, not the amputation, is what gets argued about.
The three areas we handle
One incident can open more than one claim, and they are handled together here.
Client Reviews
What our clients say
I really cannot say enough about my attorney Steven Casper and his work ethic and professionalism. Also his legal assistant Ben, these two did a lot of prep work and fielding my many emails and answering my questions. Steven Casper prepped me personally for my appeal and court with an administrative law judge. This process is very slow dealing with Social Security but he kept me informed every step of the way with great detail and it played out exactly as he had described.
Michael Seagraves
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I can't thank Casper, Casper and Casper enough for what they did for me. From start to finish it took less than a year for them to help me get disability benefits. They did almost all of the groundwork and made it as painless for me as possible. I would highly recommend them to anyone.
Chester Thomas
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If I could give a MILLION PLUS stars I DEFINITELY would!! I contacted Mr. Steve Casper to handle my SSI case. I filed at first on my own and I was denied. He was VERY professional, honest and upfront about the clients he takes. He reassured me that I DID have a strong case. I got the news today that HE won my case for me!!!!
Kelly Bilbrey
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We cannot thank Casper and Casper enough for sticking with us through 4 years of back and forth to help our son (who has autism) receive his SSI benefits. From beginning to end we were treated with kindness. They were very thorough and made sure we understood the process and what we would face along the way. The relief we have received is immense.
joanna powers
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Casper x3 were a lifesaver. I chose them because they practice in our region and understand what exactly I needed. I did not want someone from out of town. Their team from top to bottom helped me in my SSDI case. I tried it first on my own and was denied. Having decades of SSDI and court experience, Robin Partin helped me from step to step to go thru the process and had my back 100% in the hearing.
Daniel Ethridge
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Steve Casper was VERY professional. Very compassionate. He explained things in an easy to understand way. He took my case after a previous firm dropped me in a very hurtful unprofessional way. He got my disabilty case approved from the very beginning. Steve is worth EVERY penny. I now will have my monthly payments to survive with my conditions and back pay to boot.
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