When you are injured, have an illness, or are otherwise impaired, filing for your Social Security Disability (SSD) benefits can help you get the money you need in order to get by financially. However, the Social Security Administration (SSA) doesn't necessarily make it easy on filers to get the benefits they need, and there are a lot of myths out there to complicate things further.
Myth: You cannot file for SSD if you are still working.
You can actually file for your SSD benefits when you are still working. However, there is a limit on how much income you can be bringing in when you file your claim. The SSA sets the base income amount at about $1,300 per month. Anything more than this can be deemed as a substantial or gainful activity, which would mean you are technically not disabled enough to qualify for payments. if you are making less than the base income, you can still file a claim. However, your efforts to prove your disability can be harder, so it is even more important that you have a Social Security Disability lawyer to help you out.
Myth: Your disability has to be on "the list" in order for you to get your benefits.
The SSA keeps a list of disabilities that are considered severe enough for an individual to qualify for their benefits. While this list includes a lot of medical conditions, it does not include everything. Just because your specific condition is not on the list, it does not automatically mean that you will not be able to get your SSD benefits. The SSA will have to examine your condition and the severity of your symptoms to determine if it is just as bad as something else on the list. Of course, if your condition is not listed, legal guidance throughout the filing process is necessary.
Myth: You cannot file for SSD if you were injured on the job.
If your disability has resulted from something that happened on the job, you may have to file for worker's compensation first. However, you may still have to file for SSD as a long-term solution for financial assistance. It is common for workers to go through the whole process of filing a claim with worker's comp and then filing a claim through the SSA. Obtaining your SSD benefits can take substantially longer, and worker's comp payments can help you get by until you receive a decision in your SSD claim.
For more advice on what you need to do to get SSD benefits, talk to a social security disability lawyer in your area.
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