Filing Your Claim - The Three Best Things To Do

Nothing happens until you file a claim. The longer you wait to file, the less money Social Security will have to pay you. Every day you don’t file is money in their pocket, not yours. So, don’t wait -file!

When you do file, there are three things you should do which will enhance your chance of getting benefits quicker. These three ideas are all designed to provide the information to Social Security that they need to process your claim, get your medical records and determine if you are severely injured enough to get benefits.

#1 Type up a really good list of all of the physical and mental medical care providers you have been to for medical care and treatment since you have been unable to work, including their name, address, telephone number and fax number, if possible. This list should include hospitals, doctors, chiropractors, physical therapists, pain clinics, psychologists, etc.

#2 Type up a list of all of the medications you take, both prescribed and over the counter, indicating what each is for, how much you take of each and side effects you have from each of them. Descriptions of problems you have like dizziness, memory loss, etc. should be detailed with specific examples.

#3 Obtain a good letter from your primary care physician detailing all of your medical diagnoses, problems you have because of them and why he believes you are not able to work. Your doctor should attach this letter to a complete copy of his office/progress notes and give it to you for filing with Social Security. A supportive physician is extremely important to your Social Security case and a good letter from him or her will be very valuable to your claim at all levels of review.

And remember, never, never, never, never, never, never, never give up, as Britain’s former Prime Minister Winston Churchill once said, to which I would add appeal, appeal, appeal - and appeal again.