Disability lawyers and law firms only get paid if they win your case, so they may reject cases that are unlikely to end in an award for benefits. Get help with your claim now. Our experts have helped thousands like you get cash benefits.
A disability attorney or staff member may feel that your case will be a difficult one to win if any of the following are present: lack of supportive objective medical evidence despite appropriate diagnostic tests the claimant mentioned that other disability attorneys wouldn't take the case, or the claimant is ineligible for SSI or SSDI.
Remember, though, that an attorney can cease to represent you if there is a relapse in your behavior. Claimants who have been represented in the past on a disability case may have difficulty finding a new attorney. This is partly due to professional courtesy.
If you have filed for either Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI), you have probably waited 90 to 120 days for the Social Security Administration (SSA) to make their initial disability decision. The bad news is that up to 70% of the initial disability applications are denied.
about 3 to 5 monthsGenerally, it takes about 3 to 5 months to get a decision. However, the exact time depends on how long it takes to get your medical records and any other evidence needed to make a decision. * How does Social Security make the decision? We send your application to a state agency that makes disability decisions.
1. Arthritis. Arthritis and other musculoskeletal disabilities are the most commonly approved conditions for disability benefits. If you are unable to walk due to arthritis, or unable to perform dexterous movements like typing or writing, you will qualify.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) can expedite processing for disability applicants who have certain medical conditions, face especially trying personal circumstances or served in the U.S. military.
three to four monthsThe average response time for the SSA to reach a decision after you apply for SSDI benefits is three to four months, but this time period could be extended to up to eight months. Reconsideration. If the SSA denies your request for benefits, you will need to file a request for reconsideration of their decision.
OklahomaOklahoma is the hardest state to get for Social Security disability. This state has an SSDI approval rate of only 33.4% in 2020 and also had the worst approval rate in 2019 with 34.6% of SSDI applications approved. Alaska had the second-worst approval rate, with 35.3% of applications approved in 2020 and 36.2% in 2019.
To calculate how much you would receive as your disability benefit, SSA uses the average amount you've earned per month over a period of your adult years, adjusted for inflation. To simplify this formula here, just enter your typical annual income. This income will be adjusted to estimate wage growth over your career.
Retroactive benefits might go back to the date you first suffered a disability—or up to a year before the day you applied for benefits. For SSI, back pay goes back to the date of your original application for benefits.
Applicants can begin to receive benefits starting the sixth month after their established onset date (EOD) due to a mandatory five-month waiting period maintained by the SSA. The purpose of this waiting period is to ensure that applicants have long-term disabilities before they receive any benefits.
While the DDS office reviews applications and makes recommendations to the SSA, it is the SSA which makes the final decision to accept or reject claims for disability benefits.
Making Statements That Can Hurt Your Claim – Unless you are specifically asked pertinent questions, do not talk about alcohol or drug use, criminal history, family members getting disability or unemployment, or similar topics. However, if you are asked directly about any of those topics, answer them truthfully.
Typically, claimants can expect to receive Social Security disability award letters within one to two months from the date they're approved, but in many instances, the wait may be significantly shorter, or longer. The timing of award letters depends on what stage of the process you're at—initial application or appeal.
You can check the status of your application online using your personal my Social Security account. If you are unable to check your status online, you can call us 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778) from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Hiring a disability lawyer to file a reconsideration appeal following receipt of a first-time denial will shorten the time it takes to get approved. Disability attorneys like Joel Thrift specialize in: 1 Completing disability claims that concisely prove you have met SSA criteria for being disabled and unable to perform work 2 Gathering medical documents to clearly demonstrate all your impairments 3 Communicating expeditiously with your physicians in ways that will bolster your claim
Depending on how understaffed or busy your local Social Security Administration office is, you could wait up to six to nine months to receive a reply regarding a reconsideration appeal. Since the majority of reconsideration appeals are denied, you can expect to wait a full year to receive a reply from the SSA after sending your denied claim to an administrative law judge.
There are many disabled individuals hoping that by retaining the services of a disability lawyer, they can quickly get Social Security Disability benefits.
A Supplemental Security Income ( SSI) or Social Security Disability Insurance ( SSDI) process can take a long time.
Many variables potentially affect your disability benefits process and how long it will take for you to get your benefits or approval.
Here is what a disability attorney may do to help you speed up (to a certain extent) your disability claim:
Prepare arguments that for the disability hearing. Challenge the job expert at the hearing if they argue you can perform different types of work. Prepare a brief for the administrative law judge outlining the case.
If you have submitted your appeal for reconsideration (the first step in the appeals process in most states) the SSA states it could take 30 to 90 days to hear back from them. Unfortunately, this is just an estimate and it could be more or less in certain states.
What can the Disability lawyer do? 1 Review your medical records and get more information if they feel that your current medical documentation is not sufficient to prove you cannot perform substantial gainful activity. 2 Send additional information to the administrative law judge prior to the hearing. 3 Prepare arguments that for the disability hearing. 4 Challenge the job expert at the hearing if they argue you can perform different types of work. 5 Prepare a brief for the administrative law judge outlining the case.
Many SSDI applica nts assume that having a disability lawyer will allow them to bypass the thousands of other disability applicants and somehow catapult their disability application to the front of the disability processing line. Unfortunately, that is beyond what the disability attorney will be able to do with your SSDI case.
Although a disability lawyer will not be able to expedite your disability application they will give you a better chance of winning at every appeal step, thereby potentially saving your time. For instance, if you are scheduled for a SSDI disability hearing the disability lawyer can do the following, which can give you a better chance ...
Unless you have added additional medical information to your claim, it is unlikely your claim will be approved. The request for reconsideration may take 30 to 90 days to complete. If you are approved for benefits the SSA will send you a letter detailing your payment amount and the estimated date of payment.
For instance, SSDI denials can be made if the SSA determines you have not worked long enough to be considered insured, your condition is not expected to last for at least 12 continuous months, you are currently working.
The next procedural step for that two-thirds of applicants who are denied at the initial level is a process called “reconsideration,” where a different employee of the state’s Disability Determination Services (DDS) agency (not the federal Social Security Administration or SSA) reviews the claim to see if it can be paid.
Nevertheless, the vast majority of reconsideration requests result in a “rubber stamp” confirmation of the initial denial. When this happens, the next step is to request a hearing before an “Administrative Law Judge” (ALJ).
If you’ve been denied Social Security disability benefits, a North Carolina disability lawyer at Riddle & Brantley may be able to help. Our team is led by attorney Scott Scurfield, a Board-Certified Specialist in Social Security Disability law who has helped hundreds of clients over the years get the benefits they need and deserve.
Your odds of winning at a disability hearing before a judge are about 50%. If you have a lawyer with you, however, your odds increase to 62%, making your claim statistically more likely to be approved than be rejected.
If the approval is deemed to be faulty, it will be sent back as a return, which is considered a black mark on the supervisor’s records. Quality control can deem a disapproved case approved, but the reverse is far more common. Because of this, supervisors often reverse approvals before cases even reach quality control.
Disability compensation is essential if your disability keeps you from working and making ends meet. Unfortunately, the Social Security Disability system is one of the most overworked systems in the country, so getting the compensation you need may be difficult. In fact, most people are denied their initial claim and forced to appeal at a hearing.
Statistically speaking, according to the Social Security Resource Center, you only have a 30% chance of being approved after your initial application is submitted. When you submit an appeal, that number decreases even further to 15% approved for reconsideration.
Disability cases are based almost entirely on medical evidence. A lawyer by your side will be able to get the necessary evidence, such as medical records, as well as collect witnesses who can support your claims as extra ammunition for your case.
Although disability lawyers work on a contingency fee basis and are only paid if you win, if you think you can win without a lawyer it would be a waste of money to hire one. The main consideration is whether or not you can effectively perform the tasks that disability lawyers generally do and win your case on your own.
Whether or not you win your SSDI or SSI case can be based on many factors, many of which are not under the control of the disability lawyer. The disability lawyer cannot, therefore, guarantee any type of outcome.
Considering whether or not you will get an automatic approval by hiring a SSDI or SSI lawyer should be only one consideration before determining whether or not to hire one.
If you have a disability that makes it so you cannot engage in substantial gainful activity, contact an experienced Baltimore SSI lawyer for help evaluating your case to determine if you may likely qualify for benefits.
Applying for Social Security disability benefits is often a difficult task, and sadly, most disability applications are denied the first time around. If you would like to increase your chances of having your disability application approved, contact a Baltimore SSI lawyer at the Law Office of Emmett B.
Concerns about disability applicant. An attorney or law firm may decline to take a case if they feel the client may be troublesome or is not trustworthy, which may be evident if any of the following factors are present: inconsistent statements from the claimant, or dishonesty.
It is also because clients who have had issues with a previous firm or advocate are more likely to have the same issues even with a new attorney.
This usually happens when a claimant has not had access to health insurance or is ineligible for medical assistance. If the claimant has older supportive medical records that indicate a disability, an attorney or firm may decide to take the case and help the claimant get further testing either by requesting a consultative examination by the SSA or by helping the claimant find affordable community healthcare.
Disrespectful Behavior. The disability process is stressful and attorneys and their staff members well understand this. However, attorneys will not tolerate abusive or disrespectful language directed at themselves or their staff no matter how good the case.
Lack of Medical Evidence. If there are legitimate reasons that a claimant has not had consistent medical treatment, an attorney or law firm could still decide to take the case. This usually happens when a claimant has not had access to health insurance or is ineligible for medical assistance. If the claimant has older supportive medical records ...
Therefore, if you have behaved inappropriately towards an attorney or firm staff member, you should apologize directly to the attorney or staff member and provide a written letter of apology. Remember, though, that an attorney can cease to represent you if there is a relapse in your behavior.
Also, the SSA is generally unwilling to reschedule hearings unless the claimant can demonstrate a good reason to do so (such as illness).