It is an unfortunate fact that over 70 percent of all Social Security Disability (SSD) claims are denied. Although it is assumed that all of the people making the applications consider themselves to be disabled and struggling to work at full capacity, they for one reason or another were not considered eligible for SSD as their application stands.

This does not mean that their SSD claim will never be accepted. More often than not, the reason why a person has his or her claim denied is because of an administration error that can be fixed. The following are some of the most common reasons why SSD claims are denied.

You are not following the doctor’s recommended treatment

If your doctor has found a treatment that they believe will help improve your condition, you may have a possibility to live your life as a nondisabled person again. However, if you refuse to take this line of treatment, you will not be eligible for disability benefits unless you can provide a good reason why you cannot accept this treatment.

Your disability was caused by drug or alcohol abuse

If the Social Security Administration (SSA) believes that your condition was caused primarily by the abuse of drugs or alcohol, then you will not be entitled to SSD. Causation is very difficult to prove, so you may want to dispute this.

If you are struggling to successfully claim SSD benefits, then it is important to identify the reason why before questioning what can be done about it. You may then want to consider an appeal.

Source: Disability Guide, “9 Common Reasons Social Security Disability Claims Are Denied,” accessed Feb. 15, 2018