What you need to have when you file for disability

Here's a link to a post by another blogger. His wife is a federal employee and she's about to file for disability benefits from the social security administration (he didn't mention if his wife is an employee of SSA or another federal agency).

As the poster indicates, a fair amount of information needs to be provided to the social security office where a claimant will file a social security disability or ssi disability claim. And most of this information is memory-based. For instance, many individuals may not recall every doctor, hospital, or clinic where they've been seen. And even if they do, they may not recall the addresses of each provider and the dates of treatment. Also, if they been seen at an urgent or primary care, they may not remember the name of the physicians they've been seen by. Work history, of course, is another subject that can tax one's memory. Long gone are the days when most individuals worked for one or two employers over a period of several decades. These days, having to list one's work history can mean listing many past employers. And social security wants this information for the last 15 years (this is the relevant period).

Yet all of this information (medical and work history) is important to provide when you apply for social security disability or ssi disability benefits. Knowledge of a claimant's medical history and work history (and the skills and exertional requirements that went along with each job) will allow a disability examiner or a disability judge to determine whether or not a claimant meets SSA's disability requirements (and, thus, whether or not to award disability benefits).



Return to the Social Security Disability SSI Benefits Blog




Other Posts

Mental Disability - Social Security Disability, SSI, and Mental Disabilities
Social Security Disability SSI Benefits and Diabetes
Apply for disability
Disability benefits