What You Should Know About Complex Social Security Administration Rules after Getting Injured or Disabled in Pennsylvania

Social Security Disability Insurance (“SSD”) and Supplemental Security Income (“SSI”) are federal insurance programs that provide benefits to disabled persons who are unable to work. SSD benefits are available to disabled wage earners based on the payroll taxes that they've paid into the Social Security Trust Fund. Thus, SSD is like a mandatory long-term disability benefit plan. SSI, on the other hand, is a need-based federal program for low income individuals who are not insured under the SSD program.

In order to obtain SSD or SSI, an individual must establish that he or she is unable to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment which can be expected to result in death or which has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than twelve months. That means that the typical social security disability claimant must not only prove that they can't perform their regular job, but also that they are unable to perform any type of work in the national economy.

The Social Security Administration (“SSA”) administers the SSD and SSI programs and decides whether you are disabled and qualify for benefits based on a complex set of administrative regulations that govern disability determinations. Our firm has helped hundreds of individuals throughout Southwestern Pennsylvania to receive the benefits that they deserve and has extensive experience in successfully guiding individuals through the social security disability process.

Many people mistakenly believe that they will easily obtain social security disability benefits simply because their doctor tells them that they can't work or that they deserve the benefits. Although some people easily qualify for benefits based on the nature of their disability, the majority of social security disability claimants must be prepared to endure a time-consuming and complicated legal process before they are awarded benefits. We don't believe in leaving your disability claim to chance and make every effort to educate our clients about the social security disability claims process and work with our clients' health care providers to improve their odds of obtaining benefits.

Learn More about Social Security Disability Insurance by ordering our free book – Six Keys to Proving Your Social Security Disability Case.

If your doctor says that you can't work or suggests that you change jobs because of a physical or mental impairment, you should contact the Pennsylvania Social Security Disability Lawyers at Kunkel Law Firm today by calling (724) 438-3020 or by completing the questionnaire on this website.