3 Reasons You Haven’t Heard Back on Your Social Security Disability Status
Filing for Social Security Disability is a long and difficult affair, full of paperwork, red tape, and deadlines. The last thing you need is for something to go wrong, right? However, that happens more often than you would think, and it’s not completely uncommon for someone to send off all their information and then find themselves waiting for what seems like forever before finally realizing that something might be wrong. If you find yourself in this situation, there might be a couple of different reasons for the delay. Here are three possibilities, starting with the best-case scenario:
It’s Just Taking a Long Time
Disability cases already take a long time. The average wait time, once everything has been submitted, is right around four or five months. That already seems like a long time. Keep in mind, though, that this is the average, which means that half the cases take longer than that. In fact, it’s possible that a case, with all the proper documentation and information submitted correctly, can still take up to almost two years before you hear back and get an answer. Of course, this doesn’t help you out, but you should know that not having heard back from the SSA does not automatically mean something has gone wrong. Still, it’s not a bad idea to call and double-check from time to time.
What to Do to Get Lost Paperwork?
Another possible scenario that can delay a decision is lost paperwork. This occurs when you send off your application and documentation on time, and yet somehow it never seems to arrive at its destination or get entered into the system for consideration. This is more common than you think, and although the SSA likes to blame the post office in situations where paperwork goes missing, there’s really no way to say when it happened, or who is responsible. And honestly, who to blame is not relevant, anyway, because the result is pretty much the same no matter what: you must refile and resubmit the information the was lost. Therefore, you should ALWAYS keep copies of everything you send in! And before you send in your copies, make copies of them again (you know, just in case).
how To Submit Missing Medical Evidence?
The third, and most damaging situation, is missing medical evidence. By “missing” I don’t mean you submitted it, but it never showed up. That would go under “lost paperwork,” which was already discussed. No, by “missing” I mean that, for one reason or another, there was a gap in your medical documentation that cannot be filled. Maybe you were unable to get to a doctor for a long period due to a lack of money or transportation. Maybe the doctor’s office is less than helpful when it comes to sending information, and you just can’t get your hands on it. For whatever reason, a gap in your records is a problem that the SSA is going to have a hard time getting over. This doesn’t mean automatically that you will be denied in this case, but it does make it much more of an uphill battle. If you haven’t hired a disability attorney yet, this would be a great time, because you are going to need an experienced professional in your corner to argue that you still deserve benefits, even without all the documentation to prove it.
If you are having a hard time getting the benefits you are entitled to, or you have questions about the process, please don’t hesitate to contact us today!
