How Can I Speed up my Disability Claim?

There are certain situations which require the Social Security Administration (SSA) to make fast disability decisions. The process of applying for and getting Social Security disability is lengthy, and it can take up to two years – or longer – to get a final decision. Fortunately, there are a few types of claims called “critical cases” that the Social Security Administration will process quickly.

• Dire Need: If a claimant does not have the resources to get food, medicine, or shelter, the SSA will treat the claim as a critical case. The SSA will not immediately label the file of every claimant who alleges financial hardship as a “dire need” case because it would prevent them from being able to help the most serious cases. Therefore, if you request that your claim be treated as a “dire need” case, you should provide the SSA with as much evidence as possible to support your statements.
• Personal or Public Safety: If there is evidence that a claimant is suicidal or homicidal, the SSA will expedite the claim. This evidence may come from the claimant, treating physicians, family and friends, law enforcement, or SSA employees. If it is determined that a claimant is a threat to either him or herself or to others, the SSA will contact the appropriate authorities immediately to ensure everyone’s safety.
• Terminal Illness: The SSA will also expedite claims based on a terminal illness. The SSA calls these claims “TERI” cases. Because of the sensitive nature of TERI cases, the SSA will never mark or note the case as “terminal” in the file. The SSA may identify a claim as terminal based on doctors’ statements, certain diagnoses, if the claimant has an ongoing need for life support, is on a transplant wait-list, has been in a coma longer than 30 days, has certain cancers or cancer that has metastasized, is at stage IV, recurs after treatment, or is inoperable. Other terminal conditions may also qualify as a TERI case.
• Military Service Personnel: The SSA will expedite disability claims filed by military service personnel for injuries or illnesses that developed on or after October 1, 2001. The claimant does not need to be a current service member, but the disability must have begun while the claimant was on active duty.
• Compassionate Allowances: Some medical conditions may qualify for what the SSA calls a “compassionate allowance” (CAL). CAL conditions are so severe that they are almost always immediately approved under the SSA’s Listing of Impairments. The SSA requires minimal objective medical evidence for some CAL conditions and will sometimes grant approval based on a diagnosis alone. This makes it easier to approve these claims quickly, sometimes in as little as ten days. There are currently over 100 CAL conditions currently recognized by the SSA, including pancreatic cancer, ALS, and malignant multiple sclerosis.

If you or someone you know is unable to work due to a medical condition, please contact us for a free evaluation of your claim!

By: Joyce Trudeau of Premier Disability Services, LLC^®

Can I Receive SSD and VA Disability at the Same Time?

It is not uncommon for military veterans to have both Social Security Disability and Veterans (VA) Disability claims at the same time. An award of VA disability benefits, also known as service-connected disability compensation, is not based on income, so you can receive VA disability compensation and Social Security Disability insurance (SSDI) at the same time. However, veterans should know that these programs, though both run by the federal government, differ in terms of eligibility, the burden of proof required, and the amount of benefits you receive.

One major difference between SSDI and VA disability is that you do not need to be totally disabled in order to be eligible for VA compensation. In fact, most veterans who receive VA compensation do not receive a total disability rating. Veterans can receive a compensable rating as low as 10%, and can even have a rating as low as 0%. Social Security Disability, however, does not compensate disability claimants based on only a partial loss of employability. You are either disabled or not disabled under Social Security’s strict definition of disability.

VA approval does not necessarily help get Social Security disability. In the past, if you were the recipient of a very high VA rating (70% or higher), your chances for success on your Social Security disability claim were quite good. In 2017, the Social Security Administration published new regulations saying that Social Security will no longer take VA approvals for disability compensation into account when deciding whether to grant disability benefits. In addition, written denials or hearing decisions from Social Security will no longer provide any information on whether the agency considered the VA’s approval in its determination.

Social Security will, however, consider any evidence that the VA took into account in making its own disability determination. The VA and the Department of Defense (DoD) share medical records electronically with Social Security, which will use the evidence in evaluating its applications for SSDI. Social Security may also use VA or DoD evidence to expedite the processing of claims for Wounded Warriors and veterans with a 100% disability compensation rating.

Social Security approval also does not necessarily help get VA benefits. If you are disabled under Social Security’s rules, the VA may not give Social Security’s decision much weight, since it’s not usually clear whether the disability is based on service-connected or non-service disabilities. Many veterans have a wide array of both types of disabilities, and the VA can be quick to attribute total disability to a host of non-service disabilities. Also, a veteran must be able to show specifically which disabilities prevent employability. To convince the VA that the veteran is unemployable and that his or her disability was caused by service-connected impairments, a veteran may need to hire a vocational expert to specifically attribute the unemployability to service-related disabilities.

Although the VA will give a Social Security disability decision no special deference, the VA is required to consider Social Security records. Medical records in your Social Security file could provide key evidence for your VA claim. The VA should be provided with the entire Social Security disability file and decision; in fact, the VA has a duty to request it.

If you or someone you know is unable to work due to a medical condition, please contact us for a free evaluation of your claim!

By: Joyce Trudeau of Premier Disability Services, LLC^®

Social Security Disability Benefits and Unemployment Benefits

Many people wonder if they can collect unemployment benefits while applying for Social Security Disability. After all, it can take months or even years for the Social Security Administration to approve a claim for Social Security Disability benefits.

Usually, Social Security Disability and unemployment benefits are mutually exclusive because they serve different populations. Unemployment benefits are paid to people who are “willing and able” to work but are simply unable to find a job. On the other hand, Social Security Disability benefits are for people who are unable to work. Claiming both disability and unemployment benefits at the same time is unusual, but it is possible in some cases.

If you feel that you may be able to work or you may be able to hold down a part-time job that generates less than $1,000 per month in income, you may want to apply for both unemployment and Social Security Disability benefits. In doing so, you are not stating that you are able to hold down a full-time job, but you are also not stating that you are unwilling to seek employment. You are merely stating that your disability may prevent you from working full time and obtaining substantial gainful employment and that you need unemployment benefits to compensate for your lack of employment while you seek out job alternatives.

It is, however, important to understand that some states require you to be willing to seek out full-time work in order to receive unemployment benefits. If you are applying for Social Security Disability, you are stating that you are unable to perform full-time work. If the unemployment office discovers that you were actually unable to work because of a disability while you were receiving unemployment benefits, you may be responsible for paying all of those benefits back and you may even be faced with charges of disability fraud.

Many Social Security Disability representatives advise against collecting unemployment benefits when applying for Social Security disability because the Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) who work for Social Security have been known to look askance at people applying for both benefits at the same time, or even deny the disability claims of those who are collecting unemployment benefits. While it is Social Security’s official stance is that receiving unemployment benefits does not prevent someone from receiving Social Security Disability benefits, a disability claims examiner or ALJ can consider the unemployment filing as one of the factors in considering whether an applicant is disabled.

If you or someone you know is unable to work due to a medical condition, please contact us for a free evaluation of your claim!

By: Thomas Klint of Premier Disability Services, LLC^®