3 Important Tips You Must Follow When Applying For Social Security Disability
Sometimes injury or genetics may cause a severe disability that prevents your ability to work and earn income. Luckily, the government does offer social security disability benefits for those who qualify. If you have been injured and need a source of income to support yourself and your family, you should consider applying for social security disability. However, before you do, check out these three important tips you must follow.
Don't Wait to File Your Claim
A lot of people assume you need to wait a long time to file a disability claim. This false belief is likely due to the fact that your injury must last at least a year for you to qualify for disability through social security. Unfortunately, too many people believe this means they must have been disabled for a year before they can qualify, but that isn't the case. As long as you can prove your disability will last at least a year, that's good enough.
On the other hand, you don't want to apply too quickly for social security disability benefits. If you've only been disabled a month, your doctor may not be able to give an adequate estimate of how long your disability will last. Therefore, when you apply, you are more likely to be denied than if you had waited long enough for the doctor to have more proof regarding the length of your disability.
Continue Seeking Treatment
One of your best allies in fighting for disability benefits is your doctor. Hopefully, you've already been seeing your doctor for this condition, but if you haven't, it's time to start. Your doctor is the one who provides all the documents that help prove you cannot work for an extended period of time. If your doctor does have a suggested treatment, try it. It looks a lot better to the government if you try everything you can to heal yourself.
If you don't choose to see your doctor, you can still apply for disability benefits. Any related medical charts you do have can be sent in to help your case, but not undergoing medical treatment is a great way to increase the chance of getting your claim denied. In other cases, the social security department may decide to send you to a doctor of their choosing to examine you.
Don't Earn too Much Money
You can earn money before you apply for benefits, while you are waiting for a decision, and even after you are receiving benefits. However, watch how much money you earn. There is a certain amount of money you can make and still qualify for benefits. The limit is monthly, not annually, so even if you only have one good month where you can work a lot, you may get penalized. In some cases, you may be kicked off disability or you may have to repay some money to the government.
Another factor to consider is how often you are working. Even if you aren't making much money, but you are working a lot of hours each week, this shows the government you can work. Again, just because you might be feeling extra well one week or month, watch how much you earn and how often you work, so you don't sabotage yourself for the following month when you may be too exhausted or sore to do anything.
The truth is that you're initial claim is likely to get denied. This is because it's so easy to forget important information. If you really need social security disability benefits, your best option is to contact an attorney. They typically only get paid once you are approved. For more information regarding disability, contact an attorney in your area today.