Being unable to work and provide for your family or yourself is one of the hardest things that can happen to a modern human. Luckily, there’s a thing called Social Security Disability Benefit or SSDB, that helps people who are affected by a disability in any way and are therefore unable to work.
However, the application process can be quite complicated and stressful, so a helping hand is always welcome. One of the worst things about applying for an SSDB is that the chances of being denied are almost 60%. So, what can you do about it? Well, the best thing to do would be to hire a professional attorney that can help you with the application and the whole process. On that note, let’s take a look at a couple of reasons as to why you should hire one.
1. They Can Help You Understand What Benefits Are You Entitled To
As we’ve already said, the process of applying for a disability benefit is quite complex and it’s not helping that there are two different disability benefit programs offered through the SSA. SSI or Supplemental Security Income is designed for those people with a low annual income or no previous work experience along with limited resources (less than $2000 in assets). SSDI or a Social Security Disability Insurance is not designed for those in need, but for those people who have previously worked and qualified for a sufficient number of work credits (contributions to Social Security trust fund through taxes).
The main difference between the two lies in the origin of the funds. SSI comes from general tax fund and SSDI comes from the Social Security trust fund. That’s why some people are eligible for one or the other or in rare cases both. Knowing in which group you belong and which option provides you with the most benefits can be a little tricky. That’s where a lawyer comes in play. They can and will evaluate your work history and overall financial situation (assents and income) and then advise you which route to take.
2. They Will Make Sure Your Application Is Thorough And Satisfactory
As we’ve said, the chances of being denied are greater than being approved, so you’ll have to ‘stand out’ based on your application. When you do apply for an SSD benefit, you ought to ‘prove’ that you’re, in fact, disabled. We’ve put special emphasis on ‘prove’ because SSA’s definition of ‘disabled’ is quite narrow. The general rule of thumb is that you have to prove that you have a severe medical issue that’s been present or is expected to be present for at least a year. It’s becoming clearer as to why most of the applicants end up being denied, right?
In addition to proving you’re disabled by the SSA’s standards, you absolutely must make sure every piece of paperwork and documentation is complete and properly filled out, which is what the attorney would help you with. On top of all that, make sure your medical records come from a licenced medical professional. You wouldn’t want to get denied on a technicality, so cover all of this with your attorney as well.
According to reputable SSD lawyers like www.savinosmollar.com it’s in your best interest to seek professional legal help with your application because even a single, minor, technical error could result in you being denied the help you absolutely need.
3. They Will Keep The Application Moving
One would think that after strenuous application filing you would be finished, but one would be wrong. For starters, once you apply, you have to wait. The average waiting period is anywhere from four to six months and that’s just to hear whether you’ve been approved for a disability benefit or not. Unfortunately, more often than not you’re denied and that just means you’ll wait even longer.
What you don’t want to do is make the waiting period even longer because you’ve failed to submit all the required documentation or you haven’t responded to a request from the SSA. To make sure errors like that never happen, an SSD lawyer will stay on top of the case and help you out with all things SSA. Some attorneys can even help you speed up the process of getting medical records from the physicians that have treated or diagnosed you.
4. They Can Help You Reap All The Benefits
A solid, reliable SSD lawyer will do all in its power to help you get all of the benefits available to you based on your disability when it began and how long will it last. In case of an SSDI benefit, you may even receive retroactive compensation starting from the time the disability started, not based on when you filed the application.
However, that’s going to be challenging – proving when the medical issue started that is. In most cases, if without legal representation, you won’t be able to prove when the problem initially arose and you might lose out on the benefit for that period. With the help of a lawyer, however, the odds are shifting in your favour.
5. They Will Represent You In Case You Need A Hearing
As we’ve said, more often than not applications are being denied by the SSA. If a situation like that occurs, you have the option of requesting an SSD hearing with an administrative law judge. It would be an informal meeting, where the aforementioned judge will review your claim and ask you a serious of questions in order to determine is there a ground for the case ruling to be overturned. How you respond to those questions is crucial here and it would be highly advised to have a legal representative by your side so you can avoid any mistakes that could jeopardize your case.
6. You Only Pay If You Win The Case
The best thing about SSD lawyers is that they won’t charge for their services unless you win the case and you get your benefits. That makes the whole thing less stressful, as you know that the outcome of the case won’t affect your already tedious financial situation in a negative way. On top of all that, you can expect your lawyer to be motivated to win the case for you because it is also in his best interest.
Hopefully, this article has shed some additional light on the SSDB situation and has helped you realize how you can benefit from a legal representative in these cases.
