Despite their best efforts, many Michigan residents become afflicted with illnesses and injuries during their lifetimes. While most of these ailments are transient and resolve in time, others may last and endure long into the victims’ lives. Short-term conditions generally may not serve as the grounds for Social Security Disability (SSD) benefits’ applications: ailments that qualify individuals for these benefits must be long-term.
The definition of a disability recognized by the Social Security Administration states that a person must not be able to “engage in any substantial gainful activity (SGA) by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment(s), 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 12 months.” Therefore, a person’s ailment must last for a year at minimum to allow them to pursue Social Security benefits, or may be terminal and end in the individual’s death.
Demonstrating the existence of a long-term or terminal ailment in a Social Security Disability benefits applicant’s application requires significant proof and often supporting medical evidence. When individuals fail to show that they qualify for benefits and meet all of the elements of a disability’s definition, they may discover that their requests for support have been denied.
Social Security Disability benefits applications can be complicated and, as mentioned, may require significant supporting documentation to be complete. Applicants should put forth the most comprehensive application packages that they can so that their claims are comprehensive for review.