Realizing that you’re a suffering from a disabling injury or condition is tough. A person can go from one day feeling fine and being able to do the day-to-day activities to the next day being in pain and unable to care for him or herself. This impairment can go further, causing the individual to no longer work. This can significantly disrupt a person’s life, as this can alter his or her ability to pay for basic living needs.
When applying for Social Security disability benefits, an applicant needs to complete the necessary application and include any and all required documentation. It is the details and evidentiary support that allows an applicant to obtain approval for these benefits. Thus, it is important to make sure an application is carefully filled out and complete.
What are the evidentiary requirements for SSD claims? The most obvious form of evidence to include is medical evidence. This illustrates that the applicant has an impairment and shows the severity of it. Medical evidence includes documentation that shows that he or she has been evaluated, examined and treated for the named impairment.
Evidence must be provided to prove the existence of an impairment. The Social Security Administration required objective medical evidence from acceptable medical sources in order to establish that the applicant has a medically determinable impairment. It must be complete and detailed enough so the SSA can assess the nature and severity of the impairment, the length of time an applicant has suffered an impairment and whether the applicant can still do work-related physical and mental activities while living with the named impairment. Thus, an applicant may provide a wide range of evidence that helps illustrate the symptoms of the impairment and how it has impacted his or her life.
Living with a disability can be challenging. It can also be challenging to prove that an impairment is not only disabling but also impacts a person’s life so much that he or she is no longer able to work. It may seem like an overwhelming task, but it is important to collect the necessary evidence to prove disability so one can obtain the necessary SD benefits.
