Disability in West Virginia

In West Virginia, anyone who is eligible for social security disability insurance or supplemental support income may also be eligible for several other West Virginia programs. To be considered for these, you must first have a medically determined disability (either physical or mental), be unable to work at your previous job, be unable to find and hold new employment because of your disability, and have a disability that will last for at least one continuous year.

Applying for Disability

To apply for disability in West Virginia, you may go to any social security office in the state. Be sure to take things such as means of identification (birth certificate, driver's license, etc.), any medical records you have, the contact information for all of the doctors you've seen, and information about your disability (when it occurred, the last day you worked, etc.). Having all of this information with you will help get your disability application into the system faster and will expedite the entire process.

The Need for More Information

Even though you turn in all of your medical records to the social security office, they may not be enough to tell if you are disabled. If that's the case, the office will pay for you to have another medical exam. If your doctor is qualified to carry out the necessary exams, you may go to him or her instead of going to a new doctor. Also, social security will pay for these additional tests.

Appealing

If your request for social security disability is denied, you may appeal the decision within 60 days. To appeal, return to the social security office and ask for an appeal form. You may be required to answer many additional questions and provide more medical information during the appeals process.

Additional Programs

In addition to the two forms of disability offered by the social security office, West Virginia offers a number of community services. These include transportation to and from doctor's appointments, meals delivered to your home, and even personal assistants if necessary. These assistants may be medical personnel who come to your home to help you with therapy or to administer medicine, or they may be non-medically trained assistants who help you with cooking, light house keeping, bathing, and other personal tasks that you are unable to do alone.