 SSDRC What is the Application Process for Social Security Disability and SSI? How do you Win Benefits under Social Security Disability or SSI? If I am determined disabled, how far back will Social Security pay benefits? How do you prove your disability case if you have a mental condition? What Can I Do to Improve My Chances of Winning Disability Benefits Common Mistakes after Receiving a Denial of Social Security Disability or SSI Benefits How to File for Disability - Tips for Filing If You Get Approved For SSDI Will You Also Get Medicare? How much does a Social Security disability attorney get paid? Social Security Disability SSI Criteria and the Evaluation Process How long does it take to be approved for SSI or Social Security disability? What do you Need to Prove to Qualify for Disability Benefits? Social Security Disability SSI and Fibromyalgia Social Security Disability SSI and Degenerative Disc Disease Can I Qualify For Disability and Receive Benefits based on Depression? Answers to questions about SSD and SSI disability What Disabilities Qualify for SSI and Social Security Disability Benefits? Social Security Disability Status Social Security Disability Tips — how a claim gets worked on Social Security Disability, SSI Disability - Terms, Definitions, Concepts |
Filing for Disability - Can you speed up the Social Security Disability process?How to prove you are disabled and win disability benefits What you can or cannot do to speed up a social security disability claim depends on where your claim is within the system, meaning the level that it is currently pending at. Before you have an active Disability Claim If you have not yet filed a claim but have an appointment for a disability application interview at a social security office, you can make the process go more smoothly and reduce additional processing time by simply having ready all the information that would be required by the claims representative (the CR is the social security employee who does the intake for the disability application and then sends it to a disability examiner so that a medical-vocational decision can be made on the case). What do you need to bring with you? The following items should probably be taken with you: an original birth certificate, your social security card, information regarding any life insurance policies, stocks, or investments you might have (assets are considered for the SSI disability program, but not for the SSD, or social security disability program), a picture id, proof of marriage or divorce (in the case of disabled widow/widower’s claims), and a DD214 if you have prior military service. You should also bring the following information which will be used by a disability claims examiner to render a decision on your case: 1. A list of all your current medications including the dosages and what they are taken for. 2. A written history of the jobs you have held in the last 15 years--which is the "relevant period" for which the social security administration will review the requirements of your job and compare this to your current level of physical and/or mental functional capacity. 3. A list of all your medical treatment sources. You should be careful to include all of your treatment sources even if you do not think they are crucial to your case. It does happen occasionally that a person will be approved for disability not based on the condition that they think disables them but, rather, based on some other condition that they have and which is documented in a particular doctor's or clinic's records. When supplying your list of treatment sources, it will be helpful to the disability examiner to include dates of treatment (particularly when you were last seen), names of doctors and clinics and hospitals, and addresses, if possible. Supplying this kind of information can help your case avoid processing slowdowns. Why? Because the most time-consuming part of the disability evaluation process is the wait for medical records after they have been requested by an examiner. Records requests are typically generated on the very same day that a disability examiner has received a case from the social security office where the claim has been filed. But requests for records cannot be sent out if the examiner is not able to identify the medical provider. 
Return to: SSDRC, or the Questions, Answers, Tips, and Advice page Individual Questions and Answers SSD and SSI are Federal Programs The title II Social Security Disability and title 16 SSI Disability programs operate under federal guidelines and, therefore, the program requirements--medical and non-medical--apply to all states: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming Recent approval and denial statistics for various states can be viewed here: Social Security Disability, SSI Approval and Denial Statistics by state Special Section: Disability Lawyers and unnecessary claim denials |