We Have The Answers To Common Questions Regarding Social Security And Veterans’ Disability Benefits

When a doctor, nurse, or hospital makes a mistake the effect can be tragic—as you know all too well if you have been the victim of medical malpractice. You went to the doctor or hospital to improve your health or to help manage your pain and instead a mistake was made that left you with a permanent disability. You are unable to work and your condition is expected to last for at least a year or result in death.

What Now?

If your condition qualifies you for Social Security disability, you may apply for benefits—and collect benefits—even if your condition was caused by the negligence of a doctor or hospital. The Social Security Administration (SSA) is less concerned with what caused your injury or illness than with what your actual injury or illness is and your expected prognosis. Accordingly, if you satisfy the requirements of one of the conditions in the Listing of Impairments or otherwise prove that you are unable to work and you qualify for benefits, you should be able to receive Social Security disability.

At the same time, you may be able to pursue a medical malpractice claim. If you are successful in your medical malpractice claim and reach a settlement, or a court rules you in your favor, it will have no impact on your Social Security disability benefits. Your benefits will not be reduced, eliminated, or otherwise impacted by your medical malpractice recovery.

To learn more about protecting your Social Security disability rights, please watch our free videos today.

Not every victim of a sexual assault will qualify for Social Security disability. It is possible to be significantly injured and emotionally traumatized by the assault and still not be eligible for benefits. This is because Social Security disability is only an option for people whose disability is expected to last for more than 12 months or to result in death.

Some Sexual Assault Victims May Be Eligible for Social Security Disability

In order to prove your eligibility to the Social Security Administration (SSA) you will need to prove that: (1) you meet the requirements of a listing in the SSA’s Listing of Impairments; (2) your injury has the same effect on your life as one of the listings; or (3) you are unable to work.

You may meet one of these eligibility requirements if you satisfy the criteria for:

• An anxiety-related disorder as described in Section 12.06 of the Listing of Impairments
• A musculoskeletal disorder as described in Section 1.00 of the Listing of Impairments
• Any other specific listing in the listing of impairments

The Social Security disability application process may seem intimidating. You may not know what to do or you may be reluctant to share personal information with the SSA. However, your efforts may be important and may help you significantly if you are unable to work due to the physical or emotional impacts of your sexual assault.

Accordingly, if you would like to learn more about your rights, we encourage you to fill out our online contact form today to schedule a confidential meeting about your rights and to discuss whether Social Security disability may be an option for you.

No, you should pursue a claim with both the private disability insurance company and the Social Security Administration in most cases. To understand why, please consider how both the Social Security Administration and the private disability insurance company handle this type of situation.

How the Social Security Administration Will Consider Private Disability Insurance

The Social Security Administration (SSA) will not consider any private disability insurance benefits that you receive, or may receive, when deciding whether you are eligible for Social Security disability. The Social Security disability system is not needs based. In other words, your financial needs are irrelevant to your application and, regardless of your income from other insurers, you may be able to recover Social Security disability benefits if you qualify for such benefits.

How Private Disability Insurance Will Consider Social Security Disability

However, you should check the terms of your private disability insurance to determine exactly how the private disability insurer will account for Social Security disability. Some disability insurance policies require people to apply for Social Security disability benefits and may deduct the amount received in Social Security disability benefits from the amount paid by the insurance company. Of course, even if this is true, you are still getting more in disability benefits than you would from Social Security disability alone.

Accordingly, it is important to read the terms of your disability insurance policy carefully and to take the steps that allow you to recover the greatest amount possible in disability benefits. If you have any questions or would like to learn more about applying for Social Security disability, we invite you to start a live chat with us today.

No. You will not have to sell anything in order to qualify for Social Security disability benefits. Your financial situation is irrelevant to the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) review of your application because Social Security disability is not a needs-based program.

Whether you live in a multi-million dollar property, in Section 8 housing, or something in between is of no concern to the SSA. You will not be asked to downsize your home or your financial assets.

What, Then, Does Matter to the SSA?

The SSA may not be concerned about your financial situation, but it is very concerned about your health. In order to qualify for Social Security disability benefits you must prove that you are unable to work because of your physical condition and that you will be unable to work for at least twelve months or that your condition will result in death. You may be able to do this by showing that your medical condition is included in the Listing of Impairments, by proving that your medical condition is equal in severity to a condition included in the Listing of Impairments, or by proving that you are unable to work. You should expect to supply the SSA with supporting medical documentation and a complete application.

Get Social Security and Stay in Your Own Home

You should not—and do not—have to decide between the disability benefits that you’ve earned and staying in your own home. Instead, learn what Social Security disability is really about and how it may help you by reading our FREE Social Security Disability Fact Sheet.

We are sorry to hear of your husband’s passing. Please know that you are not alone. Many families experience this same problem. Your loved one filed for Social Security disability because his serious condition that kept him from working was likely to last more than a year or result in death. Then, the Social Security disability application took longer than expected or the applicant’s condition deteriorated faster than expected. Either way, the result was that the application was still pending before the Social Security Administration (SSA) when the applicant died.

The Process May Continue After Your Loved One’s Death

As the surviving spouse, you may be able to continue the Social Security disability application after your loved one has died. While you will not be able to get monthly payments for any time after your loved one’s death, you may be able to get payments for the months that your loved one was eligible for Social Security disability prior to his death. This may be a significant amount of money if the application process took a long time or if your loved one was involved in the Social Security appeals process after an initial denial of his application.

Should You Continue the Application Process?

The decision is yours to make and depends largely on how many months of benefits you think you may be able to recover. We hope that this information helps you make an informed decision and we invite you to read our FREE Social Security Disability Fact Sheet if you have additional questions about eligibility or the application process.

No. It means that you may qualify for Social Security disability, but your application will not be automatically approved, nor will it receive any special treatment because you are disabled according to the definition of another law.

The Laws Define Disability Differently

While you may consider yourself disabled, you must meet the specific definition of “disabled” according to the law in order to qualify for the benefits of that law. While there are many different disability laws, we will focus on the two that you identify in your question.

You will be considered disabled according to the Americans with Disabilities Act if you have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, if you have a history of such impairments, or if others perceive you as having such impairments. This law prevents you from being discriminated against for one of these reasons.

Additionally, you may be considered disabled according to Social Security Disability Insurance guidelines if you cannot do your work, you cannot adjust to other work because of your medical condition, and your condition is expected to last for at least one year or to result in death. This law allows you to recover benefits if you are disabled and have worked long enough to qualify for Social Security disability.

You may—or may not—be considered disabled according to both laws.

In order to protect your rights, it is important to thoroughly understand those rights. To learn more about Social Security disability please read our FREE book, Social Security Disability: What You Need to Know.

If you have a representative payee to handle your Social Security disability payments, it is likely due to your inability to manage your own money when you first began receiving benefits. There may come a time when you feel as though you no longer need someone else to fulfill this role. When this is the case, you can request to have yourself appointed as payee instead. While this may seem like a positive change, it is important to exercise caution before proceeding.

Before Requesting Yourself as Payee

Before making the request to have yourself appointed as payee for your disability benefits, it is important to understand how the process works and how it may affect your eligibility to receive benefits. You can apply to have yourself appointed as the payee if you are able to show that your condition has improved enough to allow you to manage your own money. Exercise caution when going this route, however. If your qualifying condition for purposes of obtaining Social Security disability benefits is a mental condition, you could jeopardize your benefits by claiming to now have the ability to handle your own money. Making this request will alert the Social Security Administration that there has been an improvement in your condition and they may choose to reopen your case. If they determine that you have improved sufficiently, your benefits may be denied going forward. While wanting to manage your own affairs is completely understandable, you don’t want it to jeopardize your much-needed benefits.

Before requesting a change to your representative payee, we encourage you to reach out for legal guidance. Contact use today at (214) 373-3761 for more information.

If your bipolar disorder is controlled by medication, you may not currently qualify for Social Security disability benefits. While bipolar disorder may qualify some people for Social Security benefits, you will likely not meet the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) eligibility criteria if your symptoms are controlled by medication.

Why?

In order to receive Social Security disability benefits you must be unable to work because of your bipolar disorder. If your medication controls your symptoms enough so that you can work, you do not need Social Security disability and you should expect that the SSA will deny your application for benefits.

Be Aware That Circumstances Change

Bipolar disorder, as you well know, is a tricky condition. Your current treatment which is working well now may:

• Stop working in the future.
• Result in serious side effects that make the costs of continuing with treatment outweigh the benefits.

If these things happen and your condition starts to severely impact your ability to work and live your life then it may be time to reconsider your Social Security disability eligibility—especially if other treatments are unavailable or ineffective. Before you apply, however, you should talk to your doctor and make sure your condition and its effect on your life are well documented.

To get more information, at any time, you can download our FREE Social Security Disability Fact Sheet; you can read the SSA’s specific requirements for bipolar disorder eligibility, or you can start live chat with us to have your questions answered.

You know you have a mental illness. You even went to the doctor seeking treatment and the doctor made some suggestions to you. However, you haven’t followed through on those suggestions consistently. You may be inconsistent about taking your medications or you may fail to show up for follow-up appointments, for example. You don’t mean to do these things; they just happen, and if your lack of action is a symptom of your condition, it shouldn’t be held against you.

Exceptions to Treatment Requirements

Generally, the Social Security Administration (SSA) may deny an application for Social Security disability benefits if the applicant failed to follow through on doctors’ recommended treatments. There are exceptions to that general rule, however. The SSA cannot hold your lack of treatment against you if your mental health condition—the one for which you are seeking disability benefits—prevents you from consistently getting treatment.

Additionally, the SSA should not hold a lack of treatment against you if:

• You couldn’t afford the treatment.
• The treatment was against your religion.
• You are able to make lifestyle modifications to manage your symptoms without treatment.
• The side effects of the medication are worse than the treatment.

Yet, the SSA may try and use your lack of treatment as a reason why you should be denied benefits. Accordingly, it is important to know your rights and to get the help you need to fully complete an accurate Social Security disability application. To learn more about how to do that, please start a live chat with us today.

Maybe. Not everyone with sickle cell disease will qualify for Social Security disability benefits. However, the Social Security Administration (SSA) has a specific criterion in the Listing of Impairments for sickle cell disease.

If you suffer from sickle cell disease or one of its variants then, according to Section 7.05 of the SSA’s Listing of Impairments, you may qualify for Social Security disability if one of the following is true:

• You had documented painful thrombotic crises at least three times in the five months before applying.​
• You required extended hospitalization (not just emergency care) at least three times in the 12 months before applying.
• You have chronic severe anemia with a persistent hematocrit of 26 percent or less.
• Your impairment qualifies you under a different criterion related to the affected body system.

Of course, you may also qualify in other ways. For example, if you can prove that your medical condition prevents you from engaging in substantial gainful activities or if you can prove that your sickle disease is medically equal to that of another listing then you may also qualify for Social Security disability.

The path to Social Security disability benefits is not always a straight one. It can be confusing, it can be difficult, and it can be frustrating. However, you don’t have to do it alone. You have the right to get help. If you have questions about the Social Security disability eligibility process or about what you should do to protect your rights, please start a live chat with us today.