Securing Your Social Security Disability Benefits
Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI/SSI) is available for every worker who has worked long enough and paid Social Security taxes. SSDI/SSI and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) are programs administered by the Social Security Administration (SSA).
How Do You Qualify For Benefits?
In order to apply for Social Security Disability Insurance:
- You must be unable to do any substantial work because of a medical problem (physical or mental).
- Your disability must have lasted or be expected to last for at least one year or result in your death
You do not have to be disabled permanently. If you get better with therapy or medical treatment after a year or more of substantial disability, you may still receive benefits for that “closed period” of disability. The difficulty with obtaining Social Security Disability Insurance is that it is an all-or-nothing system. The SSA has very strict guidelines and criteria that must be met in order to qualify for SSDI/SSI payments.
You also must prove to the SSA that you are disabled. Unfortunately, it is not always clear how an individual’s medical condition will fit into SSA’s guidelines. This causes many SSDI/SSI applications to be rejected at first.
What If Your SSDI/SSI Benefits Are Rejected?
The initial application process can take three to six months, and following a standard five month waiting period, your payments cannot begin until your sixth month of disability. Even so, it is still common for the SSA to deny applications.
The first rejection of an SSDI/SSI claim is when it is critical for you to talk to a Social Security appeals lawyer like myself one on one.
I am SSDI/SSI appeals attorney Richard Gutstadt, and I have been helping people appeal and obtain Social Security Disability benefits for 40 years. My legal team and I at Richard A. Gutstadt, P.C. work hard to build a strong case for your benefits. Your case will be based on medical and nonmedical evidence, and our job is to communicate that information in terms that enable SSA to understand and pay your case.
You Deserve The Benefits You Paid For. I Can Help You Get Them.
I have helped thousands of ill and injured people get the SSDI/SSI benefits they desperately needed. Contact my Oakland law office for help with your SSDI/SSI appeal through email or by calling 510-451-8370.