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Why Can't My Husband Get Disability Benefits?

This question is for my husband. He has been fighting for his disability since 2011 he can't read and write he had special education class in school. His back is broken in 3 places he has cops he has arthritis in his back and elbows and shoulders. In 2015 he went off cymbalt cold turkey which was for depression and ended up shooting himself and don't remember the accident. Now he has been diagnosed with skitzafrentic, and parionoia, I don't understand why he hasn't received it.

Hi,

I'm afraid I don't have an answer for you. In order to qualify for Social Security disability (SSDI) benefits you must a) have enough Social Security covered earnings credits to be insured for SSDI (https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/planner/credits.html#h3), and b) be determined to have an impairment(s) that meets Social Security's definition of a disabling condition.

It sounds like your husband has a number of impairments that could be considered as disabling depending on their severity, but I don't have any way of knowing specifically why Social Security disallowed his claim. Many claims for SSDI benefits that are disallowed initially because Social Security judged the person's impairment(s) not to be severe enough end up being approved on appeal. In case your husband hasn't pursued an appeal of the disallowance of his claim, the following Social Security publication explains his appeal rights: https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10041.pdf.

Best, Jerry

Posted: 
Jul 28 2020 - 10:26am
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