More than 60 percent of all Social Security Disability (SSD) claims are denied on the initial stage and about 80 percent are also denied on the reconsideration stage.

This is usually because of the mistakes that the claimants made on their applications which that they do not know would hurt their chances of getting approved.

Fortunately there are disability attorneys who can advice you on what you can and cannot do with regards to your disability claims.

Here are some of the most common mistakes to avoid with regard to your SSD claim:

Failing to apply for SSD after you stopped working

Social security gives a limited time for you to make a disability claim after you stopped working because of a disability.

It is generally five years but may be shortened if there is a gap in your work record.

Filing a claim with the same information

The reason why there are a lot of rejections in the reconsideration stage is that a lot of the claims that are submitted contain the same information when the first claim was denied.

Some claimants think that if their claim is handled by a different evaluator then it will be approved.

That is not the case. The same medical information from the first application means the same result.

Failure to make an appeal on time

You have about 60 days to appeal your denial from the initial stage. If you fail to do so, your case may no longer be considered.

Working while applying for SSD

Remember that SSD is for people who cannot go back to work. If you are working, even part time, it may diminish your chances for approval; especially if you are earning more than $860 a month.

Applying for SSD when condition is short term

For your disability claim to be approved, your disabling condition should be expected to last at least 12 months.

If not, you should look for other options like worker’s compensation.

Failure to get medical treatment

Most administrative law judges give little credence to claimants who do not seek consistent treatment of their condition.

The judge may think that if the illness does not need treatment then maybe you do not have the disability after all.

So make a conscious effort to seek treatment for the effects of your disabling condition.

Failure to get treatment from a specialist

To get an accurate diagnosis, you need to get the opinion of a doctor who specializes in your condition.

For example, if your disability is related to a heart condition, then you should seek treatment from a cardiologist.

Failure to get doctor’s support

Social security puts a high value on a doctor’s written report about your condition. That is why it is very important that the doctor’s report supports your claim of disability.

Failure to get help from a disability attorney

As said above, the high rate of disability claims denial is due to the lack of knowledge about the process of SSD applications.

A disability attorney would be a big help in preparing and gathering evidence to prove your disability thus making sure that you have a winning SSD claim.