Pitfalls to avoid with Social Security Disability

When you are applying for social security disability, you should keep the following pitfalls in mind:

• Commit to stop working or work.
  • Do not ride the fence.
  • Working at less than full-time may impact your social security insured status and working some shows you can work, and thus it makes it hard to show you cannot work for disability.
• Do not apply for unemployment (certifying that you can work but are out of work) and then apply for social security for the same period of time (certifying that you cannot work). This looks like fraud to Social Security.
• Social Security treats with scrutiny any addiction type behaviors (alcoholism and drug use) when it comes to a disability application. You could have a medical condition legitimately preventing you from work, but if your medical records focus on your addiction, your credibility and motivation to work may be questioned. Get help.  Stay clean.

RELATED ARTICLE: How Long Will I Have to Wait While Applying for Social Security Disability and Hoe Do I Survive While I Wait?

• Have you contacted social security to see if you are insured and even eligible to apply?
  • Do you know how much disability you would be earning if you are found disabled?
  • Will you be able to live off of the estimated benefit if received?
• Do you really want to continue to work?
  • Have you considered job retraining to return to or continue to work?
  • Perhaps you may want to look into job retraining with the Ohio Bureau of Disabilities.
• If you have your disability and want to attempt to go back to work, you really should speak with an attorney 1^st.
  • Social Security will encourage you to attempt to work and seemingly provide you a safety net for a few months to attempt to work.
  • Short work attempts that are reported may not knock you off your disability payments immediately, but after a while working proves you can work.
  • If you get kicked of social security to find out you cannot maintain employment, you may lose your disability and not be able to work.
  • Before you attempt to work, consider the risks. Can you live off of the income you earn from employment? Do you have your Medicare and does your new job cover health insurance also?
  • If you cannot maintain the employment, how will you survive during your reapplication process if they stop your benefits?

RELATED ARTICLE: Part 2: How Long Will I Have to Wait While Applying for Social Security Disability and Hoe Do I Survive While I Wait?

• Be consistent with you medical and mental health care. See your doctors, medical providers, and mental health professionals regularly.  Don’t miss and skip appointments.  Social Security relies heavily on your medical records to determine if you are disabled. Without consistent treatment for the conditions you claim prevent you from working, you will have an uphill battle to get your disability benefits.
• Don’t rely on social security to automatically get all the medical records after you sign medical releases. You need to check and make sure Social Security has ordered your records you feel support your disability, which may mean you getting your records and submitting them directly to Social Security.
• Keep copies and receipts of appeals and mailings of everything you receive and turn into Social Security. Social Security loses things and proving that and when you appeal may be necessary if they deny receipt of something in a timely manner.  Also, things get lost in the mail, so having another copy may save you having to redo paperwork or additional delays.
• Call periodically and check on your case if you do not have a representative or attorney helping you.
• Make sure you notify Social Security of a working phone number and what your current address is at all times. If they cannot reach you with questions or to set a hearing, your case may be delayed.

Questions? Arthur Law Firm Co., L.P.A offers free consultations for social security disability cases. Call 419-782-9881 for free consultation.