Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits are a privilege that many individuals with physical and mental disabilities vie for, but that only a select few ultimately receive. This is why, upon getting word of your substance abuse issue, the Social Security Administration (SSA) may put into question whether you qualify for this privilege anymore. Continue reading to learn whether you can lose your SSDI benefits due to a substance abuse issue and how an experienced New Jersey SSDI benefits lawyer at The Law Offices of Sheryl Gandel Mazur can help defend your case to the SSA.
Is it possible to lose my SSDI benefits due to my substance abuse issue?
The short answer is that the SSA may presume that substantial harm exists if you are receiving monthly SSDI benefits payments while struggling with a drug addiction or alcoholism condition. This is because the Association leads with the assumption that your substance abuse issue may negatively affect your ability to manage your SSDI benefits in your own best interest. What’s more, it may hold that doing so may even cause you further serious physical and mental injuries.
Under these circumstances, the SSA may find it suitable to assign a representative payee to receive your monthly SSDI benefits payments and manage them or direct the management of them. Until a fitting representative payee is brought on, your SSDI benefits may be temporarily delayed or suspended.
On the other hand, the SSA may investigate whether your substance abuse is worsening your physical or mental impairment. It may also examine whether your impairment would improve if you resolved your drug addiction or alcoholism condition. If these seem to be the case, then the SSA may rule that you do not have an eligible disability and thereby revoke your existing benefits or deny your initial claim.
Can I prove to the SSA that my substance abuse issue is not a contributing factor to my disability?
If the SSA believes that your substance abuse issue is a contributing factor to your physical or mental impairment, you must present evidence that proves otherwise. Such evidence may entail doctor’s notes and statements by medical experts, among other things.
To prove that your struggle with substance abuse is not correlated to your struggle with a disability, you may argue that your current condition would still exist even if you practiced abstinence. In other words, you must present evidence of your condition being irreversible. Further, you must emphasize that your substance abuse issue was not the root cause of your physical or mental impairment surfacing. Also, if applicable, you may even argue that you still qualify for SSDI benefits due to your blindness.
When you have an urgent matter like this, you must drop everything and call a skilled New Jersey SSDI benefits lawyer. Our team at The Law Offices of Sheryl Gandel Mazur is ready to help you pick up the pieces.
