Most unfortunately, you may have gotten involved in a personal injury accident that left you with a life-altering or life-threatening physical, mental, or emotional disability. With this, you may find the need to petition for financial assistance with the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits. You may be hesitant to go forward with this application, though, if you need to establish who was at fault for your personal injury event in the first place. This may be especially true if you feel partially blamed for this event. Well, please continue reading to learn whether you need to prove fault in an accident for SSDI benefits and how an experienced New Jersey SSDI attorney at The Law Offices of Sheryl Gandel Mazur can help with the evidentiary requirements for your application.
Do I need to prove fault in an accident for my SSDI benefits application?
You may rest easier knowing that establishing your personal injury accident was due to no fault of your own is not an eligibility requirement for SSDI benefits. This is only necessary if you are pursuing a personal injury claim against the other involved party, which is a completely separate process.
That said, you can apply for SSDI benefits and file a personal injury claim simultaneously. This is because the financial compensation you possibly retrieve from your personal injury settlement typically does not affect the payout you receive from your monthly SSDI benefits. Further, your SSDI benefits amount may depend on the length and recentness of your work history rather than your current income from your settlement offer.
What are the evidentiary requirements for my SSDI benefits application?
Instead of worrying about proving fault in your SSDI benefits application, there are other evidentiary requirements that you should turn your concerns toward. Without further ado, the SSA expects you to supplement your application with the following forms of proof:
- Medical proof: that is, proof of the nature of your disability from medical sources who have evaluated, examined, and treated it.
- Proof of the existence of impairment: that is, objective medical proof from an acceptable medical source that confirms you have a medically determinable impairment.
- Proof of the severity of impairment: that is, medical and nonmedical proof that confirms your existing disability affects your ability to function in a work setting.
- Proof of duration of impairment: that is, medical and nonmedical proof that confirms you incurred and anticipate suffering from this disability for at least 12 months.
It is worth mentioning that the SSA may still deem this as insufficient or inadequate proof. If so, they may ask that you arrange a consultative examination, potentially conducted by their independent medical source.
We hope that this blog offers the insight you were searching for. For more information, we encourage you to contact a skilled New Jersey SSDI attorney from The Law Offices of Sheryl Gandel Mazur today.