What You Need to Know Before Applying for Social Security Disability

The Social Security Administration (SSA) has the Social Security Disability program. This program pays benefits to you if you are insured and to certain members of your family in cases of physical or mental illnesses that prevent you from obtaining or maintaining employment.

Benefits can be applied for at any age, as long as the applicant has the necessary credits and has medical conditions that limit their physical or mental performance for work. There are some specific requirements to qualify and obtain its benefits. If you meet non-medical requirements, monthly benefits are paid if you have a medical condition that is expected to last at least one year or result in death.

Definition of disability for Social Security

For the Social Security Administration, disability is a condition that limits your ability to perform work-related tasks and that has lasted or is expected to last at least 12 months. Social Security has its own medical listings that specifically define medical conditions and the requirements under these conditions. Medical conditions must be documented and treated by your doctors. These include cardiological, neurological, musculoskeletal, psychological and catastrophic conditions, among others.

Insurability

Social Security may pay disability benefits to you and certain members of your family if you are insured. This means you worked enough, and recently enough, and paid Social Security taxes on your earnings. In this sense it is similar to private insurance. In the case of private insurance, if you stop contributing to the insurance plan, you are typically no longer insured under that policy. When a person becomes disabled, by not being able to work they also stop paying the corresponding contributions to Social Security through the IRS or US Department of the Treasury. The advantage is that, unlike private insurance where loss of insurability is almost automatic upon non-payment, Social Security disability benefits are not immediately lost. They extend up to a maximum of five years from the last year worked.

Medical treatment

The Social Security Law requires that each alleged condition have its medical treatment. The condition that does not have treatment with evidence will be discarded. The necessary medical treatment is the typical or current treatment in medical practice for the condition or conditions from which the applicant suffers. Certainly, this is a matter between the healthcare professional and his or her patient. However, it is very important that you seek advice since Social Security requires certain specific evaluations depending on the alleged conditions. Doctors do not always order the tests that Social Security requires. Understand that Social Security wants to prove whether your condition is truly disabling; your doctor wants to treat your condition. These two lines do not necessarily coincide.

The disability application process

Whether you apply online, by phone, in person, or hire us to do it for you, the disability benefits application process follows the following general steps.

• Gather the information and documents you need to apply. We recommend that you print and review the Adult Checklist provided by SSA. It will help you gather the information you need to complete the application.
• Fill out the application for disability benefits.
• The SSA reviews your application to make sure you meet some basic requirements for disability benefits.
• It is verified if you worked enough years to qualify.
• Current work activities are evaluated.
• They process your application and send your case to the state Disability Determination Agency.
• This state agency makes the disability determination decision.

Before applying, you should consult with a professional on the subject and review the basics to make sure you understand the process. Additionally, you should gather the information and documents you will need to fill out an application. We understand that the process can be complicated and tedious. For this reason, we recommend having a representative to complete each stage of the process with the attention it deserves. The vast majority of cases go through a multi-stage process ending at the local level in an administrative hearing before an administrative law judge (ALJ). The important thing for this procedure is to have a robust medical record and be well represented.

In Fuentes & Fuentes, we are in the best position to advise you free of charge and without obligation as Social Security attorneys on the process of applying for disability benefits. If you choose us as your legal representatives, we do not charge a cent until your benefits are approved. Furthermore, we continue to assist you free of charge after approval with related documents and paperwork.