Critics of the Social Security disability insurance (SSDI) program often imply that there are many people in the system that could work, but simply want to obtain free benefits from the government. Sadly, for most individuals who are rendered disabled by illness or injury, that is far from the case.
Reviewing stories of the difficulties most applicants have in obtaining disability benefits makes it is clear that the ongoing backlog and the tortious path many must take make it unlikely that one would voluntarily leave the workforce to receive SSDI benefits. The backlog means in Ohio and most of the country, it may be up to a year before you are approved for SSDI payments.
If your disabling condition is not one of the preapproved “compassionate allowance” conditions, you have to provide evidence to Social Security Administration to prove your disability. A Detroit Free Press story tells on a woman in Arizona who spent two and half years in the application process before she received her SSDI payments.
She commented, “It was really a lot of work.” She hired an attorney to assist her application and said, “It was a lot of paperwork, which is hard when you are sick.” This element is often missed.
If you are sick or suffering some type of chronic pain, attempting to focus on collecting and collating all of your medical records and work history and then putting them together into a coherent story that accurately describes your disability can be overwhelming.
A SSDI attorney understands what is necessary for a successful disability application and can help you with the process.
Source: Detroit Free Press, “Social Security disability applications backlogged,” Ryan Randazzo, Dec. 2, 2012