If you are applying for Social Security Income (SSI) or Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits, you know how disappointing this process can be. Following your application, you may need to wait 4-6 months for an initial decision. Should the Social Security Administration (SSA) deny your application, you need to appeal its decision. Similarly, if your application is rejected again, you need to request a hearing. You may have to wait up to one year for this hearing to happen. Thankfully, you can increase your chances of winning your case if you have a disability attorney representing you. But how do you know you are on the right path towards getting the disability benefits you deserve?
You Have Earned Sufficient Work Credits
To qualify for SSDI benefits, you must have earned sufficient work credits by paying your Social Security taxes. This year, employees gained a work credit for each $1, 730 that came from their wages or self-employment. To gain enough work credits, you must have worked five years out of the last ten years. To qualify for SSDI benefits, you have to earn a certain number of work credits depending on your age, and when your disability started.
Normally, you must have 40 work credits with 20 of them earned in the last ten years. But a younger employee can qualify for disability benefits even if they do not have a lot of work credits. Those who are younger than 24 should have gained 6 credits in the three-year period that ends when their disability started. Those who are between 24 and 31 years old should have work creditors that are equal to 50% of the time they worked from age 24 to the date their disability started. For instance, a thirty-year-old employee who suffered a disability needs four years of work history and sixteen work credits.
The Medical Conditions that Stop You from Working for More Than One Year
If your medical condition forces you out of work for at least a year, you may win SSI and SSDI benefits. Sadly, if this condition lasts for less than twelve months, you won’t qualify for disability benefits. For instance, if you have a broken arm or leg due to a car crash, you may not be able to go to work for several months. However, both limbs may heal within a period of twelve weeks. Even if your leg takes longer to heal, it is still expected to heal before one year.
Disability benefits pay for health conditions that make it impossible for you to work forever. Unless you have state benefits or private insurance, no program will pay you every month for short-term conditions. If you visit a physician regularly and they are an expert in the type of medical conditions you suffer, this positively indicates you might win benefits. Getting regular treatment from a physician offers the necessary medical evidence to win disability benefits.
In addition, you may win your case if you are suffering from a chronic medical condition. Remember that even if you think your doctor can’t do anything for you, you won’t win benefits if you don’t visit them regularly.
Your chances of winning disability benefits increase if your medical condition does not improve. For instance, if you suffer from Parkinson’s disease, Multiple Sclerosis, or Liver cancer, the SSA must pay you benefits. To win benefits, you must be able to present medical evidence from the doctor who has been treating you. Also, medical records such as progress notes from your treating doctor, X-rays, MRIs, and CT scans, diagnostic reports, hospital stay records, medical expert reports, and outpatient records of your mental health treatments will support your case.
