One of the biggest misconceptions that people have about disability benefits is that they can get them quickly. Often, they claim to know someone else who got benefits in just a week or two. They want to do whatever that friend did to speed up the process.
It just doesn’t happen that way. Don’t take second-hand or third-hand accounts seriously. Just because you know someone who swears that their friend got benefits quickly does not mean it’s true. There is no fast track. While there are things you can do to make it go faster, this “week or two” mentality isn’t realistic. You need to have the right expectations as you begin this process.
How long will it take? Every case is unique, but the Social Security Administration notes that the average time runs from three to five months. And that’s just to make the initial decision. If that decision is a denial, you then have the option to appeal. Many applications get denied, after all, and you can often fix the errors and try again. However, that just adds more time — potentially months longer — to the process.
The best way to make things go as quickly as possible is just to reduce potential mistakes. A lot of denials come back to paperwork errors or missing information. Make sure you go over everything to eliminate these mistakes so that you don’t get denied over something simple and increase the amount of time that it takes.
Knowledge really is power in this situation. Be sure you fully understand the process and you know exactly what legal steps to take.