How to Win a Social Security Disability Case Fast
Is there a way to win a social security disability case fast? I generally approach topics like this by either pointing out the various things a claimant can do to enhance their case, or the various types of mistakes they should avoid on an application for SSI disability or SSD disability.
However, I chose this title because I came across one individual's description of how he filed the paperwork to apply for disability and then was approved...very quickly. Mind you, he did this without all knowledge of medical SSA disability criteria or the social security disability requirements for approval based on his impairments.
I'll provide a list of how he filed his claim. If you've read much of this blog's parent site (www.disabilitysecrets.com), then it should sound fairly familiar to you. Everything he did has been written about here several times.
In essence, here's what he did:
1. He filled out his disability application in detail. He didn't do what far too many claimants do which is to submit a barely completed application that leaves gaps in treatment and fails to sufficiently address the nature of an impairment or even list all impairments that a claimant might have.
2. He submitted a very detailed work history. As I've said on www.disabilitysecrets.com and on this blog, a disability determination decision from social security is both a medical and vocational decision. In other words, your medical records will be used to establish whether or not you are disabled according to social security standards. But so will the vocational factors of your case...such as your work history. After all, how can a disability examiner or disability judge determine if your present condition and residual functional capacity (what you can still do despite your condition) will allow you to return to your past work if it isn't clear what your past work was? Remember, past work doesn't just include the very last job you did, but potentially every job you did in the relevant period, which is the last fifteen years.
3. He submitted the medical records to social security himself. By his account, he submitted all his records, including his oldest records and most recent. This, by itself, probably went a long way toward getting a quick disability decision. Why? Because, as I've said many times, the wait for a disability decision is mainly a factor of how long it takes a disability examiner to gather a claimant's medical records. Usually, it takes weeks to get the records. Sometimes, it can take months. If you supply them at the time of application, you can obviously save a lot of processing time.
4. He submitted a very detailed statement from his doctor. This statement did not simply say "Patient is disabled and unable to work". It stated in clear detail how his condition affected and limited his ability to engage in daily activities and work activities. In other words, it was a useful statement that was backed up and substantiated by fact. This was the kind of statement that a disability examiner or judge could actually use in pushing a case toward an approval. Letters from doctors, by contrast, that contain only a one-line assertion that a patient cannot work...are more or less useless.
So, let's analyze what this individual did. Pretty easy, actually. He filled out his paperwork completely, promptly, and gave social security everything they needed in terms of knowing about his medical history and work history. However, he went a couple steps further by supplying his medical records with his application and a detailed statement from his doctor.
Now, will every person who does this win disability fast or even win social security disability at all? Not necessarily. Remember--social security, on average, denies seventy percent of all cases at the application level. However, speeding up the process can either A) result in a quicker approval or B) allow a claimant to start filing appeals much sooner (the benefit of this lies in the fact that many individuals who are denied at the application level are later approved on appeal).
Return to:
Social Security Disability Secrets
Social Security Disability Requirements
Other Posts and Pages
What to do when your reconsideration is denied?
Social Security Disability when you can't work
What can you receive social security disability for?
However, I chose this title because I came across one individual's description of how he filed the paperwork to apply for disability and then was approved...very quickly. Mind you, he did this without all knowledge of medical SSA disability criteria or the social security disability requirements for approval based on his impairments.
I'll provide a list of how he filed his claim. If you've read much of this blog's parent site (www.disabilitysecrets.com), then it should sound fairly familiar to you. Everything he did has been written about here several times.
In essence, here's what he did:
1. He filled out his disability application in detail. He didn't do what far too many claimants do which is to submit a barely completed application that leaves gaps in treatment and fails to sufficiently address the nature of an impairment or even list all impairments that a claimant might have.
2. He submitted a very detailed work history. As I've said on www.disabilitysecrets.com and on this blog, a disability determination decision from social security is both a medical and vocational decision. In other words, your medical records will be used to establish whether or not you are disabled according to social security standards. But so will the vocational factors of your case...such as your work history. After all, how can a disability examiner or disability judge determine if your present condition and residual functional capacity (what you can still do despite your condition) will allow you to return to your past work if it isn't clear what your past work was? Remember, past work doesn't just include the very last job you did, but potentially every job you did in the relevant period, which is the last fifteen years.
3. He submitted the medical records to social security himself. By his account, he submitted all his records, including his oldest records and most recent. This, by itself, probably went a long way toward getting a quick disability decision. Why? Because, as I've said many times, the wait for a disability decision is mainly a factor of how long it takes a disability examiner to gather a claimant's medical records. Usually, it takes weeks to get the records. Sometimes, it can take months. If you supply them at the time of application, you can obviously save a lot of processing time.
4. He submitted a very detailed statement from his doctor. This statement did not simply say "Patient is disabled and unable to work". It stated in clear detail how his condition affected and limited his ability to engage in daily activities and work activities. In other words, it was a useful statement that was backed up and substantiated by fact. This was the kind of statement that a disability examiner or judge could actually use in pushing a case toward an approval. Letters from doctors, by contrast, that contain only a one-line assertion that a patient cannot work...are more or less useless.
So, let's analyze what this individual did. Pretty easy, actually. He filled out his paperwork completely, promptly, and gave social security everything they needed in terms of knowing about his medical history and work history. However, he went a couple steps further by supplying his medical records with his application and a detailed statement from his doctor.
Now, will every person who does this win disability fast or even win social security disability at all? Not necessarily. Remember--social security, on average, denies seventy percent of all cases at the application level. However, speeding up the process can either A) result in a quicker approval or B) allow a claimant to start filing appeals much sooner (the benefit of this lies in the fact that many individuals who are denied at the application level are later approved on appeal).
Return to:
Other Posts and Pages
What to do when your reconsideration is denied?
Social Security Disability when you can't work
What can you receive social security disability for?
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home