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How can I get disability? This may be a question that forms in the minds of thousands of individuals each day. And for good reason: for those whose condition has made it impossible for them to work, an approval on a disability claim can quite literally mean the difference between bare subsistence and homelessness. Unfortunately, even for those whose claims are eventually approved, the extraordinarily long wait involved on an SSD or SSI disability case can cause great distress and wreck financial havoc on a single claimant or an entire household. How do you get disability benefits approved in either the social security disability or SSI program? In short, there is simply no way to guarantee that an approval of benefits will be made. However, having said this, there are a few basic tips that may potentially maximize the chances a claimant has for being awarded disability. First of all--and every claimant who has yet to fill out a disability application should heed this--make sure that social security is aware of all your sources of medical treatment, including, if possible, the names of individual doctors who treated you and the addresses of hospitals and clinics. Why is this so important? Simply because disability determinations are based solely on an applicant's records; consequently, failing to make the social security administration aware of all your treatment sources may leave "holes" in your medical history that are large enough to snatch away an approval. Secondly, if you receive a denial on a social security or SSI disability claim at any stage of the process, make sure to file for the next appropriate appeal within the alloted time frame. For those who are unaware, SSA allows every claimant a span of sixty days in which to file an appeal following a claim denial. Failing to file an appeal within this quite generous time frame will simply mean having to start over with a new application. And it may possibly mean losing the opportunity to win a disability claim via an appeal (typically, more claimants are successful in getting approved for disability through the appeals process than by starting new initial claims). Thirdly, if your claim for benefits is denied, seriously consider getting help through the services of a qualified social security disability attorney, because, most likely, your case will eventually wind up before an administrative law judge at a disability hearing. And going to a hearing unrepresented is seldom ever advised. These are just a few simple tips that may apply to any claimant's case. However, to return to the original question, How can I get disability?, we should perhaps illustrate how the SSA disability system actually works. To get disability benefits in either the social security disability program (also known as SSD, SSDI, RSDI, DIB, and title II benefits) or the SSI disability program (also known as supplemental security income and title 16 benefits), a claimant must have a severe impairment that is expected to last at least twelve full months. In other words, then, you cannot get disability for an impairment that is not severe (such as an extended bout of the flu) and you cannot get disability for even a severe impairment (such as a closed head injury) that does not meet this durational requirement. But, even individuals who possess a severe impairment that lasts twelve months or longer cannot get disability if the condition in question does not prevent them from working for this same amount of time. And this applies to both SSI and social security disability cases. Furthermore, claimants who do not qualify for SSD, but might otherwise qualify for SSI disability benefits will not get disability if their total countable assets (countable assets may include, among other things, vehicles other than their primary transportation, cash value in insurance policies, funds in saving accounts, and real property other than a residence) exceeds the threshold of $2,000.00. Fortunately, the asset test only applies to SSI claims and not to social security disability claims. However, to briefly summarize how the social security administration evaluates disability claims, it can be said that to get disability a claimant must have a severe impairment that, for at least twelve continuous months, prevents them from doing their past work and prevents them from performing any form of "other work". Disability Lawyers Help with Claims Free Case Evaluation Can you win a disability case for fibromyalgia? How does social security determine if you are disabled? |
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SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY SSI LAWYERS ATTORNEYS ANSWERS TO YOUR SSDI & SSI QUESTIONS PAGE 3 ANSWERS TO YOUR SSDI & SSI QUESTIONS PAGE 4 |
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If you suffer from a medical disability such as hip, neck, shoulder, ankle, wrist, back, or other joint problems, disc herniation, degenerative disc disease, spinal stenosis, carpal tunnel syndrome, rsi or repetetive stress injury, inflammatory bowel disease, ulcerative colitis, irritable bowel syndrome, arthritis, dysthymia, depression or other mood disorders, congestive or chronic heart failure, type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, diabetic neuropathy, high blood pressure (hypertension), seizure disorder, stroke, copd, emphysema, hearing loss or poor hearing, statutory blindness, peripheral field problems or other vision loss, clinical obesity, attention deficit hyperactivity or, simply, adhd, bipolar disorder or manic depression, panic disorder, schizophrenia, autism, head trauma, memory loss, low iq, mental retardation, learning disability, epilepsy, cancer, chronic fatigue, multiple sclerosis, lupus, anxiety, inner ear problems, meniere's, vertigo or dizziness, kidney failure requiring dialysis or other renal problems, cirrhosis, hepatitis, or other liver disease, pancreatitis, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, asthma, bronchitis, cystic fibrosis, rsd or reflex sympathetic dystrophy, crohn's disease, sarcoidosis, peripheral vascular disease, lyme disease, cerebral palsy, down syndrome, hiv, aids, anemia, sickle cell, thyroid problems including hypothyroidism, esrd or end stage renal disease, reflux, gerd (gastroesophageal reflux disease), cfids, muscular dystrophy, coronary artery disease, cardiomyopathy, or tachycardia, bradycardia or other arrhythmia and have initiated or been denied on a social security disability, or ssi, claim for benefits, this site may assist you with your case. Social Security Disability benefits are often difficult to win; however many claims for social security disability are lost simply because a claimant did not know enough about the disability process to their social security or ssi claim. For information re: representation on a social security disability or ssi claim (attorney or non attorney representative), see the "questions" & "how" pages. |
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