If you have a disability or chronic medical condition that comes and goes, you might be wondering if you still qualify for disability benefits. The reality is there are certain rules for securing and maintaining disability benefits. Whether you can receive disability benefits depends on how often your disability changes and the severity of your condition. Feel free to ask a Philadelphia disability attorney about what other factors might affect your disability claim.

What If My Disability Occurs Infrequently?

Not all disabilities and chronic medical conditions always remain consistent. Depending on how much your disability changes each week or month, the Social Security Administration (SSA) may challenge your disability claim. The SSA disability benefits eligibility criteria state that:

• Your disability must last 12 months or,
• Lead to an early death

Some disabilities may last 12 months but not be consistent over those 12 months. Certain disabilities can go from mild symptoms to severe flare-ups within a week or a few months. Many people wonder how the SSA will judge these types of disabilities.

What eligibility criteria really look at is whether a person can consistently work within those 12 months or not. For people with occasional flare-ups of severe symptoms, they may still be able to work. Whereas people struggling with flare-ups almost every week may not be able to hold a consistent job.

The important thing you need to establish is how your disability prevents you from working consistently for 12 months. Doing this can be difficult when your disability occurs infrequently, or your doctor is unable to give you a solid prediction of your symptoms.

When Will I Lose My Disability Benefits?

Even if you were able to qualify for disability benefits with your condition, you could still lose them. The SSA is expected to do periodic reviews of disability claims to make sure people still qualify for their benefits. If your disability is not flaring up when your review comes around, you may face a loss of benefits.

However, continuing disability reviews happen at different times depending on:

• The type of disability
• The severity of the disability
• Whether any medical improvement is expected

When your disability is expected to improve, your disability will be re-evaluated within six to 18 months. Whereas your disability will be reviewed every three years when your disability has any possibility of improving. Even disabilities with no expectations of improvements are reviewed every seven years.

Your benefits could be removed if you start working again and earning a certain level of income. They can also be removed if you are able to perform a certain level of substantial gainful activity during your review.

However, your benefits could start again if your income drops below a certain amount after your benefits are removed. Consider contacting a Philadelphia disability lawyer to learn more about this.

Disability Attorney in Philadelphia

Finding out your disability benefits were denied or taken away can be scary when you do not have a steady income. Reach out to a Philadelphia denied benefits appeal lawyer to explore what steps you can take to secure your benefits. You can call Edelstein Martin & Nelson by dialing (800) – 300 – 0909 for a consultation today. Our experienced team of Philadelphia disability attorneys can work with you to obtain the disability benefits you need.