The Social Security Administration (SSA) offers “compassionate allowances” in certain cases for disabled workers who apply for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI). A compassionate allowance provides expedited benefits to disabled applicants whose medical conditions are so serious, it’s obvious that they qualify for disability benefits. Compassionate allowances help the SSA target the most seriously disabled applicants and approve their benefits as quickly as possible. In the Los Angeles area, if you’re applying for disability benefits, let an experienced Los Angeles Social Security disability lawyer help and guide you through the application process.
If your condition is designated as a compassionate allowance condition, the SSA will approve your benefits quickly if you can submit medical records support your claim. However, it can take weeks or sometimes months for medical providers to send records to the SSA. And even if they receive a compassionate allowance, SSDI recipients must wait five months after their disability onset date before they can begin receiving payments.
Conditions that qualify for compassionate allowances include most cancers, ALS, some types of muscular dystrophy and muscular atrophy, early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, and several other illnesses. For some conditions (esophageal cancer and ALS, for example), a diagnosis with supporting evidence is enough to qualify you for a compassionate allowance. Other illnesses or conditions on the list must be in severe or advanced stages to receive compassionate allowances; malignant melanoma, for example, qualifies for a compassionate allowance only if it has metastasized.
Even when you are qualified to receive disability benefits, proving your case to the Social Security Administration can be a challenge. A good disability lawyer will help you prove your disability and the extent to which it keeps you from working. In the Los Angeles area, if you are unable to work, don’t wait another day; speak to an experienced Los Angeles Social Security disability lawyer immediately.