Sometimes, life takes an unfortunate turn and you may find yourself involved in an accident or unable to work anymore for physical reasons. You will then need to apply for disability benefits as a source of income. Typically, applying for disability can take a long time. However, there are a few things you can do to ensure that you receive a fair chance as early as possible. It can be incredibly stressful wondering whether or not you’ll be approved when you are unable to work or are suffering daily as a result of being a person with disabilities. To reduce this stress and better your chances, here are some ways to get approved quickly.
Enlist Doctor’s Help
Having a doctor and the correct medical documentation on your side can approve your chances. You don’t necessarily need to go to a specific doctor, you can stick with your regular family doctor if you want. Almost any doctor is good enough as long as they are supportive and have a good understanding of your medical history and the issues you face. Some doctors officers have a rule whereby they don’t fill out any disability paperwork. If this is the case, try seeing your doctor face to face and have them fill it out in front of you. Often they don’t do it because it seems a hassle but when you are with them, they are more inclined to fill it out. It’s much harder for them to decline in person!
Bring along the forms printed out to your appointment. If your doctor is super stubborn, you could get them to co-sign it. Whilst your doctor may be unwilling to fill out an entire form, there are often more likely to co-sign a form that has been filled in by another practitioner.
It’s best to locate a doctor who is willing to listen to you, be empathetic, and has a good understanding of your medical history. You will want to work with them to get good documentation. This is key to being approved the first time around. You will want to ensure you get a great RFC form, this is a Residual Functional Capacity form. This form allows your doctor to illustrate all how your disability limits you and why you cannot work. It is best to set up an appointment with your doctor to go through this as this is why they can ask you questions on the spot to provide the most accurate information.
A great letter is the key to a great application. Your doctor may not know what makes up a great letter and may be unsure as to what to write exactly. To make it easier for them it may be helpful if you brought along a medical test list, this a list of important medical tests which demonstrate abnormal results. If your doctor doesn’t have copies of the results, you may want to attach these. You could also bring along a sample to give them a clearer idea of what to write and how it should be structured.
Lawyers
A study carried out by the U.S. Government Accountability Office has shown that people who hired an attorney to assist them with applying for disability are 3 times more likely to be successful than those who did not. The benefits of having lawyers assisting with disability is that they understand the law and your rights and will be able to fight on your side. They can call on the right laws and cases to back your case. Missing deadlines when applying is usually an automatic dismissal. Having a lawyer will mean less overwhelm or mistakes and they can help keep you on track.
Friends and Family
Having a loved one help you out with your application can make the process a lot easier and improve your chance of getting approved. It’s easy to overlook this help, but enlisting your friends and family means more clarity on where your limitations lie. As an individual with disabilities, it’s easy to get used to your limitations and not realize the impact it has or the things you are unable to do. Your loved ones, with a more objective view, can help you point these out so that you can discuss this with your doctor.
They can also be great in helping you to collect your medical tests, letters, and evidence. They can take you to your appointments to ensure that you collect all your necessary documentation on time. All of these small things add up to creating a fantastic application.
Applying for disability can be a complex task and the stress of not receiving it the first time around is difficult. However, with the help of your loved ones, your doctor, and lawyers you can put together an application with a higher chance of getting approved.
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