Social Security benefits have some unique characteristics to them that make them unlike most other types of benefits paid out by the government. For example, your Social Security disability benefits are partially dependent upon both your vocational history and your medical history. When you’re proving that you’re eligible for Social Security benefits because of a disability, you need to establish that you not only have a condition that is recognized by your doctors as making it impossible for you to work for at least 12 months, but that you also have a work history that reaffirms this fact.
As an example, if you were a long-haul truck driver and got a devastating back injury that made it impossible for you to sit for any length of time, you might find yourself in the position where you have to apply for Social Security disability benefits to get by. Your application would be processed by DDS, Disability Determination Services. This department would look at your medical records and your vocational records and, to approve you for benefits, they would need to both agree that you could not likely continue in your work or pursue other work for at least the next 12 months and that your work history establishes that your injury is, indeed, one that disqualifies you from your established field. A trucker, for instance, could not work if they had a bad back injury and the DDS may well reach this termination.
Make certain that you have a thorough work history before you apply for any Social Security disability benefits. It speeds the process and, if you are denied a claim for some reason, it provides you with a major piece of the evidence you’ll need to try to get the money from the Social Security administration with the assistance of a Dupage County attorney, which sometimes end up being the case.
