When a person is disabled, every dollar and every day counts when it comes to getting help. This is no different whether a person was born with a disabling condition or suffers one later in life.
However, the timing of a severe injury or illness will affect the type of support you may be eligible to receive from the Social Security Administration. For example, if you were disabled while on active duty in the military, you can qualify for disability benefits through Military Casualty/Wounded Warrior claims.
These benefits are only available to veterans wounded while on active duty. We discuss these and other eligibility requirements in more depth in this article on our website, which you can read for more information.
Basically speaking, claims that are flagged as an MC/WW case will be put on a fast-track through the system. These claims are filed in a field office and then sent to the SSA where they are flagged as a wounded warrior claim (if they weren’t already flagged) and put on a priority timeline.
These claims will still be approved and/or denied based on the medical documentation, daily living limitations and other necessary information provided by applicants, but they are processed in an expedited manner. These claims are prioritized and tracked in accordance with expedited terminal illness instructions, but they do not have to be terminal illness cases.
What this means to veterans wounded while on active duty is that their claim will be pushed through much more quickly than other claims. This allows applicants and their families to get a faster answer regarding whether they can collect disability benefits through Social Security or not.
Avoiding delays can be critical when it comes to pursuing the financial support available for people with serious mental or physical disabilities. This money can provide the essential support people need to take care of themselves and their families, even when they cannot work and collect a steady paycheck.