Your Social Security Disability Benefits
If you suffer from a physical or mental injury that stops you from being able to work, you might be able to receive disability payments from Social Security. The exact amount of these depends on how much you’ve paid into the Social Security system through your jobs, and whether you have worked significantly during the last ten years. To get an estimate of your benefits, you can visit Social Security’s website.
Qualifying for Social Security disability benefits can be a long and difficult process, and you might not be approved. It isn’t as simple as telling the Social Security Administration that you’re disabled and waiting for your benefits. Even if you’ve paid into the system for decades, Social Security has strict and complicated eligibility rules, and in recent years they have made it even harder to get approved. However, a skilled Social Security disability attorney can greatly improve your chances of approval.
When you file your initial claim for benefits, your paperwork will be reviewed at the state level, and most of these claims are denied if they have even slight doubts about your eligibility.
If your claim is denied at the initial application stage, you have two months to appeal the denial. If you are denied, file your appeal right away and contact a Social Security disability attorney. Only about ten percent of reconsideration cases are approved, but you must apply for reconsideration in order to get a disability hearing in front of a judge.
The hearing stage gives you your best chance of being approved. The waiting time for a hearing varies depending on where you live, but it usually takes between 12 to 30 months. An average of about 45% of cases at the hearing stage are approved, but your odds can be higher or lower depending on your age, type of disability, and which judge is assigned to your case. Claimants who are represented by attorneys have much higher chances of being approved, compared to applicants who choose to act as their own lawyers.
The hearing is your only chance to make your case in front of the judge in person, and because this is generally your best chance for approval, it’s a very good idea to have an attorney representing you.
Before the hearing, a Social Security disability attorney such as myself will help ensure that you obtain all of the appropriate medical records and other evidence that a judge needs to see to decide your case. Most good Social Security disability attorneys also prepare their clients for the judge’s questions before the hearing, including the “trick questions” that can cause your claim to be denied. If you don’t have someone representing you, you’ll have to navigate these complex, high-stakes legal proceedings all by yourself.
If your initial claim for Social Security disability benefits has been denied, or if you’re thinking about applying for benefits, please contact me for a free consultation. There is no legal fee unless we win your case.
Although I am located in the New York metropolitan area, I practice Social Security disability law nationwide, so do not let distance deter you from calling or emailing me for your free consultation.
Contact Me
Email: Thomas@NummeyLaw.com
Call: (516) 500-3529
