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 surrounding 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 beginning with their first job, with employers matching the contribution.
"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 distinction matters because it shapes how the public and policymakers view claimants. Bruni's framing positions SSDI as an earned benefit rather than public assistance, a point with implications for how applicants approach the process and how the program is defended in policy debates.
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.
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. Those timelines raise the stakes for claimants who delay filing or miss the appeal window, potentially forfeiting benefits they have already funded through payroll taxes.
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."
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.
