Veterans Compensation pays a monthly stipend based on the severity of a service-connected disability. The recipient may not be totally disabled or unemployable. Social Security Disability insurance, on the other hand, is available to a person who is not engaged in Substantial Gainful Activity (“SGA”) and cannot perform SGA due to a severe, medically-determinable impairment that has lasted a year or will continue despite treatment, and which prevents him from engaging in any kind of full time work, even if that work is really different from what the claimant used to do. www.ssa.gov/disability.
You file your original claim online after you’ve stopped working due to your severe medical condition(s). There are special rules concerning Wounded Warriors who are still maintained in active duty status but who have been reassigned to the Warrior Transition Unit (WTU). Keep in mind that some medical conditions may be chronic, but by themselves won’t be a basis for SS Disability approval — an example is high blood pressure that is well-controlled by daily medication.
With your claim, you submit current relevant medical evidence. You’ll authorize the VA medical center to release specific treatment records and C&P reports. It will take about 6 months for your initial claim to be processed, and the SSA may send you to CME’s (Consultative Medical Examiners) to be examined. If you are denied, you only have 60 days to file your appeal.
Call us for representation on Social Security Disability appeals…
732-382-6070