There are all kinds of injuries that can leave a Los Angeles resident with a complete inability to work. Many people will actually suffer from a work-related injury, which will usually leave them with worker’s compensation benefits in addition to potentially applying for Social Security Disability benefits for the injury. Other people will become disabled due to an accident-related injury that occurs in other circumstances. For people in this situation, being left unable to work may lead to reliance solely on SSD benefits.
There is perhaps no more concerning injury that a person can suffer from than a brain injury. After all, other parts of the body may heal – bones, soft tissue – but an injury to the brain can be permanent and result in long-term disability.
According to the Brain Injury Association of America, every year about 52,000 people die from brain injuries. Another 280,000 are hospitalized due to a brain injury. Of those that are hospitalized, many will likely lean on SSD benefits for at least some period of time.
Because the brain is so complicated and injuries to the brain can be so hard to describe, the documentation that an applicant for SSD benefits provides needs to be as clear as possible about what the person’s disability actually entails. The federal requirements are clear when it comes to awarding SSD benefits. And, as a result, the application for benefits needs to be equally clear in order to meet those requirements. This can be more difficult to accomplish when the disability is due to a brain injury, so any Los Angeles resident who has suffered a brain injury and is thinking about applying for SSD benefits may want to get more information about the application process.
Source: www.biausa.org, “About Brain Injury,” Accessed May 3, 2015
