Can a person with a terminal illness qualify for Social Security disability benefits?
A. Persons with terminal illnesses qualify for Social Security disability benefits in the same way as those who have illnesses that are not terminal. However, Social Security will take special measures to expedite such cases to final adjudication under its Quick Disability Determination Process. A certain subset of these cases that involve rare and terminal conditions are known as “Compassionate Allowances.” At the initial level, an attorney may be able to be especially helpful to make sure that you receive an expedited consideration of your application. The same benefit from legal representation would apply at both the reconsideration and hearing levels as well.
