Social Security and Disabled Veterans

If you are one of the 600,000 veterans seeking care from the Veterans Administration since October 2001, you may be eligible for Social Security. As the cost of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq reach the $4 trillion range, Social Security is readying for the impact.

Currently, there are 9.4 million veterans receiving Social Security benefits. If you are a disabled veteran, there is a good possibility that you may be eligible or Social Security Disability. Just remember: The VA system is significantly different than Social Security.

Here are a quick list of differences between the VA and Social Security:

• There are no percentages with Social Security. You are either disabled (meaning, you can't work) or you are not.
• There are no partial benefits for Social Security. Like their determination of "disabled", you either get 100% or 0%.
• It is much more difficult, although not impossible by any stretch, to get Social Security benefits. Unlike the VA, which will factor in a whole host of secondary medical problems (i.e. eczema), Social Security will only be looking at the disabilities that preclude you from working substantially and gainfully. Unless the discomfort from your disability makes it impossible to work (i.e. too much pain, side effects from medications are dramatic), Social Security is unlikely to factor in these secondary medical problems.

"Critical Cases" for Social Security

A "critical case" in Social Security requires expedited processing and affords the claimant an immediate assignment to an Administrative Law Judge. Previously, the critical designation applied to cases involving:

1. Terminal illness
2. Dire Need (i.e. individual is unable to obtain food, medicine, or shelter)
3. Suicidal/homicidal claimants

Recently, two new categories have been included. They are:

1. A disability claim for any military service personnel injured Oct. 1, 2001 or later provided that the individual was on active duty when the injury occured; and
2. Compassionate allowance cases. There are numerous examples for compassionate allowance cases, and many can be found here.

It is up to your attorney to provide a written explanation of your situation to the courts and provide a properly completed Critical Request Evaluation Sheet.

Introduction

I am a Pennsylvania and New Jersey Social Security Disability attorney. I am starting this blog to begin highlighting ways people can receive Social Security (SSI & SSD). The process is complex, confusing, and time consuming. I hope to clarify the many issues surrounding this area of law and, ultimately, help clients receive their benefits.