Social Security Disability

If you work long enough at a job which is covered under the provisions of the Social Security Act, and become disabled, you are probably eligible for disability benefits.

According to the Social Security Administration, a "Disability" can be physical, or emotional, or some combination of both. In order to win benefits, you must have a disability severe enough to keep you from working in any regular paying job for at least 12 consecutive months. The test for eligibility is not whether you can go back to a job you've lost. Nor is it whether you've been able to find a job recently. The test is whether you are physically and emotionally CAPABLE of doing a job that is generally available in the every day work place.

Furthermore, to obtain Social Security Disability benefits, you must have a doctor state that you are disabled "by medically acceptable clinical and laboratory findings". Unfortunately, many genuinely disabling conditions are difficult to diagnose by objective testing. In cases like that, it's up to your representative or legal help to present your doctor's reports properly, and to convince the government that you deserve your benefits.

For further information about social security law, click here.

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