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As an American worker, your self-actualization dream probably entails remaining productive until you reach your full retirement age and enjoy your golden years. However, that is not always the case because statistics show that one in four American adults is likely to be out of work for at least a year before full retirement age due to disability.
Second, while payroll taxes fund social security disability to cushion workers against economic ruin after disability, claim approval rates are low. Moreover, the situation is not rosier for individuals that pay disability insurance to insurance companies, but disability attorneys can help as follows.
- Determining Disability Eligibility And Filing The Claim
The Social Security Administration (SSA) is the federal body responsible for social security disability benefits and handles disability claims. While the SSA receives millions of disability claims annually, statistics show that it rejects up to 67% of such claims on technicalities. Moreover, such technicalities often have nothing to do with the applicant’s medical or work history.
While you can appeal a rejected disability claim, filing an initial disability claim is daunting, and the appeal is twice as stressful. However, disability attorneys like the expert lawyers at nicoletlaw, an award-winning injury and accident law firm with offices in Wisconsin and Minnesota, can make filing disability claims less stressful.
Expert disability lawyers begin by assessing your eligibility for a disability claim against the SSA’s benefits eligibility screening tool. A disability lawyer’s familiarity with the screening tool gives you an advantage in drafting the claim.
Second, as stated above, technical errors like incomplete or inaccurate health and employment records and exceeding the statute of limitation on making disability claims can render your claim invalid. However, disability lawyers can help you overcome such challenges by ensuring your claim is made promptly and your paperwork is in order. Their familiarity with the process means they have easier access to the necessary paperwork and documents than you would.
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- A Disability Lawyer Can Prep You For Your Disability Claim Hearing
Once you complete and submit your security disability claim application, an administrative law judge from the SSA will review the application, process it, and adjudicate it. While the process seems straightforward, court proceedings are anything but straightforward and can be intimidating if you are unfamiliar with the court environment and process.
Second, the SSA’s administrative judge will ask you questions about factors like inconsistencies in your documentation, employment history, and disability symptoms. Such questions aim to detect any lies and establish the extent of your disability. Moreover, the judges may also call on vocational experts to testify on hypothetical situations in which you, as the disability claim applicant, can work despite your disability.
Ill preparation for such scenarios can leave you defenseless against damming testimonies from the other side and have your claim rejected. However, a disability lawyer has the foresight to prepare you for challenging questions or damning testimonies that can weaken your case.
Moreover, the lawyer can ask you questions to counter the vocational expert’s testimony. Second, they can also ask questions that help clarify any inconsistencies in your documentation and strengthen the weak areas of your case.
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- They Lend their Expertise To The Process
Besides displaying their prowess in court hearings, disability lawyers have experience and skill sets to increase your chances of winning your claim. For instance, they can use their networks to collect evidence to support your claim and strengthen your case. They ensure they retrieve the evidence via legal channels to hold it up in court.
Second, they can also find willing witnesses and subpoena any witnesses that may be vital to your claim but unwilling to testify. Moreover, they can also source expert witnesses like medical experts to counter vocational expert testimonies. They decide the most viable argument to win your case and back the argument with social security laws.
- Disability Lawyers Can Help You File An Appeal
As stated above, social security disability benefits claims have a low approval rating; therefore, the chances of an initial claim being denied are high. A denied claim is demoralizing as is. The thought of refiling paperwork and queuing at government offices feels like too much to bear alongside your current health condition and financial crisis.
However, hiring a disability lawyer can help make the appeal process easier to handle. Expert disability lawyers can help file the appeal within legally stipulated time frames. The statute of limitation on social security disability cases is three years after the incident and subsequent appeals within the set duration.
Second, some social disability claim appeal cases may move up the court system hierarchy from a district court to a federal court. Having an expert who understands social security case laws and navigating the legal system is helpful in such instances.
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- Saving Resources And Giving Peace of Mind
Most disability lawyers offer free case evaluation before deciding to take up your case. Moreover, they draft fee agreements which they submit to the SSA on how they will charge you and collect the awarded benefit after winning your case. Therefore, they allow you to save time on claim applications and manage your financial resources without paying legal fees until you are awarded a claim.
Conclusion:
Nobody is immune to life, meaning you can fall victim to debilitating health conditions that render you unable to work. While nothing can replace the security and dignity that being able to work and provide for your dependents gives, consulting a disability attorney can make claiming your benefits significantly less stressful.
