The cost of providing disability payments for the population of the United States has increased by over 160% since 1990 alone. This massive increase in costs is due to a large number of fraudulent claims, but it is also just down to the sheer volume of people making claims in the first place due to injuries received in the workplace.
When applying for a disability claim there are two key prerequisites which you\’ll need to check well in advance. The first of these is to ensure that you actually qualify for a disability claim in the first place, so your injury or condition must be one of those on the Social Security Administration (SSA) \”accepted\” list.
Once you\’ve identified that your medical condition or injury is a recognized one you will then need to demonstrate that you\’ve worked in jobs which are actually covered by social security in the first place.
Once you\’ve met those two basic requirements you\’ll need to look at the process of filing your disability claim, and for most people the biggest hurdle here is actually deciding when to file in the first place.
SSA Timeframes
Unless you\’ve filed a claim of this type with the SSA in the past then you\’re probably not familiar with the timeframes involved in processing a claim. In reality even the most mundane of social security disability cases can take months to complete, even though you\’ll be casually told by the nice people at the Social Security Administration that most applications are processed within 90 – 120 days. Unfortunately the real timeframes here can involve waits of 6-months or more, plus you\’ll also then need to factor in the potential for you disability claim is refused – and more than 70% of them are. If this happens you\’ll then need to enter into the appeals process, which takes longer again.
Eligibility
You become eligible for claiming a disability payment 24-hours after you stop working, or at the point where your earnings drop below $1,000 per month, or what is otherwise known as the Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) level. The injury or medical condition you\’re suffering from must also be expected to last at least 12-months, otherwise there\’s the risk that your claim might be rejected. If, for any reason, your application for disability is denied please make sure you have up-to-date medical evidence and documentation available in relation to the illness, all of which can be used in the appeals process.
To speed up your claim have as much information as possible ready at the start of the claim, which would include the following: name, SSN, proof of your age, names, addresses and telephone number of doctors, hospitals and any medical professional involved in your claim and also the names and dosages of medication you\’re currently taking, etc. Basically the more detail you can provide in relation to your claim the better.
So as you can see the best possible time for you to file your disability claim is as soon as you possibly can, assuming that you have all the documentation you need to hand. Otherwise you run the risk of being left without any type of unemployment benefits, and also legally unable to work to earn a wage at the same time.