How to check on your disability claim status

by Nov 25, 2019

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Social Security disability (SSD) is a need of every person with physical illnesses. SSD provides financial assistance to such applicants in the form of cash. SSD has criteria on which they selected the recipients. They analyze their medical history and professional record. 

Once you’ve submitted an application for Social Security Disability, it takes some time in processing. Therefore, you need to wait for some time. Because in the process of applying, it passes through various screening stages. During the waiting period, it is vital to keep checking on your application proceedings. Because sometimes your application can be put on hold due to insufficient information or details. Missing information can put your application in the bucket of rejected applications. Also, it can slow down the process of the claim.

The processing of your Social Security disability claim:

Are you in desperate need of SSD and are disappointed because of the processing time? Unfortunately, the administration of SSD has to follow proper procedures. This process is time-consuming. It is not possible at all to accept your application instantly as it has to go through various stages. 

When you submit an application for a disability claim, it is first sent to an agency of state disability processing. That agency takes a look at the medical disability and makes a decision. This state agency is also known as disability determination services (DDS). As its name refers, it evaluates your health condition. For the evaluation, they pass your application to the disability examiner. In most of the cases, the examiner asks your medical history from your hospital or doctors. They are connected with the doctors that you have mentioned on your application.

Getting your medical records from the hospital takes some time. The record collection takes most of the time in the Social Security disability claim. After getting your medical records, the decision is made on your claim.

Who do you call to check your disability claim status?

In most cases, the Social Security claim takes around a month in the acceptance. However, it varies from country to country. You must know the policy of your state. For example, in New York, it takes around 3 to 6 months. And if an application is rejected a second time, it takes around a year or sometimes more than a year. 

If you have not received any status on your claim for a long time you should check on it. There are various means to check your disability claim status. But the best and authentic source is your disability examiner. As the Social Security Administration is not directly looking into your claim. It is the disability examiner who is working on your application directly. Thus, only he can give you a clear picture. You can easily connect with him through mail or a phone call. 

Calling a disability examiner can help you in many ways. For instance, if any information is missing, that is delaying your application proceedings, he will tell you. You will know the basic reason behind the delay. And most probably you can provide that information or detail. Secondly, if you are critically ill and want your application to proceed soon, you can talk to him. In most of the cases, we saw it that the applications proceed faster. 

You can easily get the number of your security examiner from your local Disability Determination Services (DDS). When you ask the number of security examiner, they will first ask your Social Security number. After that, they will connect you with your examiner. 

Other ways to check your disability claim status:

Besides calling your disability examiner, you can use other means too to check the status.

You can use the online platform to see the application status. For this, you need to go to the SSA website. In a minute or so, it will locate your file. It is the quickest and easy way to locate your application and find its status. To keep checking and locating your file online, you need to create an account online on the SSD site. Just create my Social Security account by spending a few minutes. And you will be able to check the status of your claim on a regular basis.

Another way to check the status of your claim is to contact the representative of SSA. They will inform you whether your claim has been processed or not. Or whether it is sent back to your local Disability Determination Service office. As these departments are working jointly on your application, they will give you authentic information. 

You can also ask your SSD lawyer if you hired one for this purpose. He will connect the related persons in DDS or SSA to see the status of your claim. He will take all the details you need on your behalf. 

It checking the status of your claim through any mean you need to give some details. They need your personal details for tracing your claim application. These details are included your full name, your social security number, your permanent address, and email address, and your contact number. 

Reasons and importance of checking on your Social Security Disability application status:

It is imperative to keep checking on your Social Security Disability claim application status due to various reasons. 

You need to check it frequently so that if your application has been denied, you come to know on time. The reason id after the denial of the first application, you only have 65 days to reapply from the date it was denied. If you will wait for 6 months for the answer or you do not check on it, it is possible that you will miss the date of reapplying or for filing an appeal.

Secondly, if you keep track of your claim and contact your disability examiner after certain intervals to inquire, it can speed up your application process.

Third but not least, if you have changed your address or any personal information has been changed, you must inform the Social Security Administration. It is important to keep them updated in case of any change in your personal information. If they are not able to connect you, they will deny your claim.

Therefore, once you applied for a disability claim, it is important to keep checking its status.