According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), individuals with disabilities are two to four times more likely to experience an addiction to drugs or alcohol. This may be due to the external factors that come with life with a disability, such as chronic pain, mental health crises, and social isolation. Nonetheless, you may want to be proactive in addressing your substance abuse issue. But at the same time, you may fear that by admitting your problem, you put your Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits in a compromising position. Well, please continue reading to learn what happens to your SSDI benefits if you have an addiction issue and how an experienced attorney in SSDI eligibility in New Jersey, at The Law Offices of Sheryl Gandel Mazur, can get you the help you need.
What happens to my SSDI benefits if I have a known addiction issue?
The Social Security Administration (SSA) may not entirely strip your rights to SSDI benefits upon learning of your addiction issue. However, they may temporarily withhold your monthly payments until a suitable representative payee can be appointed. This individual is to receive payments on your behalf and manage them or oversee your management of them.
With this, you may still have an opportunity to prove to the SSA that direct payment of your SSDI benefits would not cause you substantial harm. While the SSA may still presume that you will not use these funds wisely, they may believe your argument that your direct management would not cause your serious physical or mental injury.
However, the SSA may only be inclined to accept this for individuals who are legally incompetent or under the age of 15. As for those with addiction issues, there is always the assumption that this money will be used to purchase drugs or alcohol, and being under the influence could get an individual into a situation that is physically or mentally threatening.
Can I get disability benefits for my addiction issue itself?
On this topic, you may wonder whether your addiction issue in and of itself can be categorized as a disability. Well, substance use disorders (SUDs) are considered disabilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). But still, the SSA holds that your disability must exist and persist even when stopping your alcohol consumption or substance use.
That is to say that an addiction issue alone may not make you qualified to collect SSDI benefits. What’s more, the SSA may require you to establish that your substance use is not causing or worsening your disability. This is because, in this case, if it were not for your addiction, you may not have met the eligibility criteria in the first place.
If this blog has deeply resonated with your personal situation and concerns thus far, please reach out to a skilled attorney in SSDI eligibility in New Jersey for more information. The team at The Law Offices of Sheryl Gandel Mazur will be glad to represent you in your upcoming legal case.
