When it comes to proving a Social Security Disability claim, the key in obtaining an approval is providing the SSA with enough evidence to support the severity of your disability and how it interferes with your ability to work. Oftentimes applicants turn to medical records and statements from their treating physicians in order to qualify for disability benefits from the Social Security Administration (SSA). There is, however, one resource that is commonly overlooked when it comes to gathering supporting evidence and that resource is an applicant’s former employer.
A former employer may be very familiar with the limitations that your disability has placed on you. In fact, if your disability led to you being unable to maintain your work activity at the company, a written statement from that employer may prove to be very valuable when trying to obtain disability benefits from the SSA.
In some cases, it is very evident that an individual is unable to work. When symptoms are objective and not subjective in nature, they can easily be proven through medical records. Those who suffer from conditions with subjective symptoms often have a harder time proving their case to the SSA. In cases such as these, it is important to build credibility for your case. While written statements from treating physicians can go a long way, a written statement from a former employer can add to the credibility and the strength of your Social Security Disability application.
If you wish to obtain a statement from a former employer, ask the employer to detail how hard you worked before the disability struck and have the employer clearly explain how the disability began to impact your ability to perform your daily work activities. The employer can also detail how the disability eventually led to you having to cease work activity.
While an adjudicator or administrative law judge is used to seeing written statements from physicians, statements from former employers of Social Security Disability applicants are not as common and such a statement may actually result in a faster approval of your Social Security Disability claim. This is because the statement from your previous employer can establish a history of your past work ethic and then support the decline in your ability to maintain the responsibilities that were associated with your job.
While a written statement from an employer cannot guarantee that your benefits will be approved by the SSA, such a statement may indeed improve the strength of your application and may even help you avoid the need for a Social Security Disability appeal.
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