No-one wants to be sick or otherwise not in perfect health. It can really put dark cloud over every aspect in a person’s life when their health isn’t in a good place. When it comes to being able to work, it can be nearly impossible if an illness or an injury has made it nearly impossible to find, keep or show up to a job. Sometimes, one needs to look at the options available to them when working is no longer an option.
One of those options may be Social Security disability benefits also known as SSD. These benefits are available to those who have worked enough hours (and thus contributed enough of their own paychecks) into a system that is federally run. Due to actual disability, the benefits are handed out on a need basis and the worker must also be unable to perform substantial work at other types of employment beyond their current or most recent job. Medical records can help to prove the validity of your claim.
The term ‘substantial gainful employment’ is one you may hear often if qualifying for SSD/SSI benefits. If a person meets the medical definition of disability, they must also prove that they are unable to engage in ‘substantial gainful activity’ in one of the two following situations. If the person’s impairment is not “listed,” or the functional equivalent of a listed impairment or if the person’s work history indicates that he or she is able to perform substantial work.
This may all sound like a lot of legal verbiage and uncharted territory. It is very important to understand all aspects of the SSD benefits application. If not, one could accidentally misinterpret the request and be denied solely based on inability to fill out the application correctly. One should make sure they do everything possible to be sure their claim for benefits is approved.