As Michles & Booth, P.A. marks its 25th anniversary, the firm's Social Security Disability attorney, Antonio Bruni, is challenging what he describes as the most damaging misconception about the benefit: that it is a government handout. Bruni argues that Social Security Disability Insurance, or SSDI, is insurance workers pay for through payroll deductions from their first job onward, with employers matching the contribution. That distinction matters, he says, because eligible workers may be forfeiting benefits they have already funded.
"It's not a handout," Bruni said. "You paid for that insurance, and now you need to use the insurance you paid for. I've paid my disability insurance to the government since I was 16, out of every check I ever got." The framing has practical implications: claimants who view SSDI as charity may delay filing or abandon claims after a denial, potentially losing months or years of benefits they are owed.
Speaking on the local program Sonshine's Corner, Bruni explained that eligibility turns on function rather than diagnosis. A medical condition must be expected to last at least 12 months, and Social Security weighs a person's combined limitations and age instead of any single label. He added that veterans are often surprised a VA disability rating does not carry over, because the two systems measure different things. For applicants, that means a favorable VA rating does not guarantee an SSDI award, and a claim must be built to the Social Security Administration's own standards.
Bruni said processing times have grown, with some claimants in the region waiting as long as three years for a decision. He urged applicants to file within a year of leaving work to protect retroactive benefits, and noted that a denial starts a 60-day clock to appeal, the first step in a process that can move from reconsideration to a hearing before a judge, and finally to the Appeals Council. Missing that deadline can end a claim regardless of its merits, making early filing and prompt action on denials critical.
Bruni also cautioned against using artificial-intelligence tools or online forums to build a claim, saying they apply a single rule while missing the exceptions that decide cases. "AI looks at that one rule and misses all the exceptions," he said. "It is destroying cases quickly." The warning carries weight as more claimants turn to chatbots and forums for guidance, potentially filing incomplete or flawed applications that trigger denials and lengthen an already multi-year process.
Bruni said the work is personal, recalling that he helped his own father file for disability years ago. The firm's goal for clients, he said, reaches beyond a monthly payment to include the health coverage an approved claim can provide. For workers who have paid into the system for decades, the outcome can determine access to both income and medical care.
