What are the Steps in Getting SSI?

Published on: March 31, 2014

doctor filling out SSI forms

We’re aware of the pain that you’re going through if you’re disabled and looking for a way to deal with the financial troubles that come with it. We’ve been dealing with these cases for many years (and will be for many more). We’ve seen what happens, and we’re here to help.

Maybe you’ve just recently become aware of the disability benefits that you’re able to get, but you’re not sure of the steps you need to take to get started. For instance, where do you go, and how do you initially file? What kind of information will the doctors need to provide to the Social Security Administration?

Fortunately, its a relaitively simple process. The Social Security Administration does most of the hard work for you after the initial application. In the sections below, we’re going to detail just what is involved in filing and pursuing a claim for benefits.

The Initial Claim

First off, you’ll need to file the initial claim with the SSA. You can do this at the field office or on the telephone—making it that much simpler to get a claim into the SSA. For us, either way will work. After you've filed the application, it goes into the initial stages of review.

Generally, this means that it goes to a specific state’s department for processing these claims. Here in Florida, that department is known as the Division of Disability Determinations. From there, the claim goes to a Disability Examiner, who starts making the phone calls and requests for your records from your medical treatment sources.

Why Seeing a Doctor is Imperative

It’s at this phase of the evaluations that the importance of seeing your doctor on a regular basis becomes crystal clear. If you’re not seeing your doctor regularly, then your records won’t be as up-to-date as they could be. This means that the evaluations may not reflect your current situation. Without seeing your physician regularly, you could be turned down due to lack of sufficient evidence.

Also, it’s not just a Disability Examiner that goes over your application. Another doctor reviews your records to ensure that your disability is, in fact a disability.   That’s yet another good reason why you should see your doctor: they and the SSA have a common language that should assist in your claim.

Checking Against Your Residual Functional Capacity

At this point, the SSA checks any limitations that you have versus what you used to do for a living. For instance, if you used to be a truck driver and you’ve lost function in your legs (necessary to hit those gas pedals), you might qualify under that case. But that’s not the only test that they check for. They also check your current skills against other jobs. It’s not just being disabled from your previous form of work; it’s being disabled from all forms of work. If you’re a truck driver and have other vocation skills, your claim can be denied-even though you can no longer do the work you've done in the past.

Denied!

If, after all of the qualifications and examinations, the SSA has deemed you unable to get SSI, you have appeal rights. You can file for reconsideration, where a Disability Examiner and a doctor that have not previously been involved with your claim reexamine your case to see if a mistake has been made. Additional records that you may have acquired through going to the doctor are also reviewed here. After that, you can request a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge.  You should call the experts to help you through this process.

As we've said before, we have years of experience in getting you the benefits that you need, and this case is no different. We have retired Administrative Law Judge as a consultant on our staff. We’re ready to help you—are you ready to get what you deserve? Call now!

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