Social Security Disability Advice for Filing

It is well known that the wait for disability benefits can be a long one. It takes on average three to four months after filing a claim to receive a decision from the state disability determination agency, and if your claim is denied upon initial review (the vast majority are) then the reconsideration appeal and, if necessary, disability hearing can take additional months, or even years (the backlog of disability cases waiting to be heard before an administrative judge is considerable in all areas of the country).

The ideal situation, then, is for a claimant to have their disability application approved quickly by the disability examiner at the first level of consideration, the state disability determination agency. This is indeed a rare occurrence, but it does happen, and at any rate you can help speed up the process if you follow this advice for filing for social security disability benefits:

1. Seek medical treatment for your condition as soon as possible. The idea is to make sure that you can provide documentation from a qualified physician that demonstrates you are a) currently suffering from a medical condition that is inhibiting or preventing you from working and b) that this condition is ongoing rather than temporary, and is likely to prevent you from working in the future.

2. Make sure that the physician from whom you are receiving treatment is willing to help you document your condition when you apply for disability benefits. This means letting your doctor know up front that you plan to file for disability, and asking if he or she would be willing to fill out a residual functional capacity (RFC) statement for you in support of your claim. It is important to get an idea beforehand if your physician is willing to be involved in a disability case—some doctors are unsympathetic toward disability patients in general, and others do not want to spend the extra time involved in providing a disability examiner with the necessary paperwork. If you get the feeling that your physician is not willing to help you make your case, or is in any way skeptical that your condition is truly disabling, find a new doctor. All disability benefits are awarded based on information found in medical reports, and without this documentation your case will certainly be delayed, and, in all likelihood, denied.

3. Provide a detailed, organized, medical and work history. This is by far the most time-consuming part of the disability process for the claimant, but it makes all the difference in the world in how quickly a claim is decided. Don’t expect that vague dates, lack of addresses, names, etc., is something that will be acceptable or that the disability examiner will fill in these blanks for you. At some point you will have to come up with the correct information, so do it sooner rather than later. One thing all disability cases that are approved early in the process have in common is that they have plenty of verifiable medical evidence to back them up.







For information on Social Security Disability, visit the

Social Security Disability SSI Resource Center















Additional Resources


Medical Condition – Social Security Disability
Win Benefits – Social Security Disability
Can you appeal a disability denial if the deadline has passed ?
How to qualify for disability