Social Security Table » Claimant

Legal Options in Cases of Denied Social Security Claims

admin — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 16:58:09 +0000

Claysphere Rivera asked:

According to a recent study, the denials of initial application of social security benefits are prevalent.

In response, the Granada Hills Social Security Lawyers have made the initiative to impart some basic information regarding social security and relate the judicious option in cases of denied claims for social security.

Cases of denial at the initial application for social security disability benefits or SSI disability benefits of individual claimants are on high.

This is a fact but true in all instances.

Practically, many factors lead to the denials of most disability benefits claims.

Among the varied reasons is the lack of necessary preparation, insufficiency of pertinent documents – particularly the medical records – lack of a sound professional advice and guidance and the proper representation even at this early stage of application.

The factual scenario would lead to the conclusion that the whole process for social disability claims is tough and arduous.

Having been denied of their claims, individual claimants relatively have different reactions.

Some are in the dilemma whether to give up on their case or not. To some, they consider starting over with the filing of a new application. Some claimants have referred to social security lawyers and decided in taking the course of appeal.

From these diverse reactions, a judicious option is worth to expound.

From among the varied reactions, the most sensible option is going through the appeal process. By appeal, the claimant’s will have a better chance of getting their worth. It is the best and smartest choice.

It is worthy to note that in some jurisdictions, a reconsideration of the denial is required before the proper appeal process.

The reconsideration usually takes a relative amount of time before the proper appeal. However, the reconsideration phase may no longer be in effect in recent times. A move to streamline the whole process has been devised.

Going back, the appeal process involves a great deal of perseverance and attention. Taking the appeal course involves time element (to be exact, lengthy) and a lot of paperwork. Not to mention, the financial devastation it could bring to the claimants.

Substantiation of the claims is more sophisticated at this stage. Pertinent documents such as the detailed Medical records and evidences in reference to the disability are highly required at this moment.

Aside from the paperwork, the hearing with the administrative judge needs a lot of preparation so that the desired result would be achieved.

The whole appeal course could be tiresome, stressful and distressing. But on the lighter side, if the same have been smoothly endured it would reap positive results.

Of course, conferring with a qualified social security attorney is paramount at this stage. The need of professional help following this course is crucial.

Appointment of a representative lawyer would ease up the whole process and would freed claimants from discomfort.

The representative lawyer would usually do the work in the claimant’s behalf. The gathering of the necessary paperwork as well as the preparation and attendance at the hearings before the administrative judge are the usual things that a representative attorney does in the representation of the claimants.

In full, it would really be a judicious option to take the course of appeal. Consideration of the appointment of a representative– a social security lawyer is also paramount, at all cost.

To help you with your social security claims and other benefits, you can consult with our experienced social security lawyers by logging on to our website and avail of our free case analysis.

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Attorneys and Fees for Social Security Claims

admin — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 13:14:12 +0000

Greeman & Toomey asked:

Attorneys who represent Social Security disability claimants generally do so under a “contingency fee agreement.” That is, the client does not pay the attorney unless and until the case is resolved and Social Security benefits have been awarded. A representative who wants to charge or collect a fee from a claimant for services provided in any proceeding before the Social Security Administration (SSA) under the Social Security Act (the Act), must first obtain SSA’s authorization. To do so, a representative must use one of two mutually exclusive fee authorization processes: the fee agreement process or the fee petition process. Under the fee agreement process, an attorney can collect no more than 25% of of back benefits recovered, or $5,300, whichever is less. If the attorney is unsuccessful in obtaining benefits, there is no charge.

Fee Agreement Process Before SSA decides the claim, the representative or the claimant may file a fee agreement. Generally, SSA will approve an agreement (under § 206(a)(2)(A) of the Act) if the other statutory conditions are met and no exceptions apply. If SSA approves the fee agreement and no one requests administrative review, the fee specified in the agreement is the maximum fee the representative may charge and collect.

Fee Petition Process After the representative’s services in the case have ended, he or she may petition for a fee. SSA reviews the fee petition and authorizes a “reasonable” fee (under §206(a)(1) of the Act) for the specific services provided.

A fee agreement is a written statement signed by the claimant and his or her appointed representative specifying the fee the representative expects to charge and collect, and the claimant expects to pay, for services the representative provides in pursuing the claimant’s benefit rights in proceedings before the Social Security Administration (SSA). For SSA to approve a fee agreement, the representative must submit it before the date of the first favorable determination or decision SSA makes on a claim after the representative’s appointment. If the representative does not submit a fee agreement by that date, SSA assumes the representative either will file a fee petition or waive a fee.

If the representative submits a fee agreement before the date SSA makes a favorable decision, SSA will approve the fee agreement at the time of the favorable decision if the statutory conditions for approval are met and no exceptions to the fee agreement process apply. Once SSA approves the fee agreement, the fee specified in the agreement is the maximum fee the representative may charge and collect for all services in the claim.

A fee petition is a written statement signed by a claimant’s representative requesting the fee the representative wants to charge and collect for services he or she provided in pursuing the claimant’s benefit rights in proceedings before the Social Security Administration (SSA).

SSA presumes that the representative will either file a fee petition or waive his or her fee if the representative does not file a fee agreement before the date SSA makes the first favorable determination or decision. A representative who elects to use the fee petition process generally files the petition after his or her services in the case have ended. Based on this petition, SSA will authorize a reasonable fee for the specific services provided.

The fee agreement and fee petition process are not interchangeable. However, if a representative elects the fee agreement process but SSA does not approve the agreement, or if an SSA reviewing official upholds a disapproval of a fee agreement on administrative review, the representative must file a fee petition if he or she wants to charge and collect a fee for their services.

The Social Security Act and SSA regulations prohibit representatives from charging or collecting any fee for representational services that SSA has not authorized, or that is more than the maximum amount SSA authorized. Any representative found to have charged or collected an unauthorized fee may be suspended or disqualified from practice before SSA and will be barred from appearing before SSA until full restitution is made. The representative also is subject to fines and imprisonment

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What Types of Social Security Benefits are Available?

admin — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 06:22:51 +0000

Greeman & Toomey asked:

Types of Social Security Disability Benefits

The Social Security Administration has established a number of different types of disability programs. Although the medical rules are similar under each program, the technical rules on eligibility set each program apart. What program you may be eligible for depends on a number of factors, including your work history, age, household income and marital status. You may be eligible for more than one type of benefits, but generally SSA will pay you the higher benefit amount of any one program you may be entitled to.

Disability Insurance Benefits: This program, also known as “DIB” or Title II benefits, awards benefits to individuals who, because of a physical or mental impairment, are unable to work at a “substantial” gainful level, and their condition has existed or is expected to exist for at least a 12 month period. By “substantial,” SSA means the claimant would be unable to earn over $900.00 per month because of their disability. This dollar amount increases slightly every year. To be eligible for DIB, a claimant must have worked long enough and paid enough into Social Security through their FICA taxes to be “insured.” As a general rule, if a claimant worked at least five of the last 10 years, he would be “insured” for purposes of DIB. How much a claimant receives each month if found disabled and entitled to DIB is based on how much he “paid into” the system during his working life. Generally, the longer someone has worked and the higher his earnings, the more he would be paid if found disabled. Individuals found disabled and entitled to DIB benefits may be awarded retroactive benefits. Retroactive benefits can only go back one year from the date of the initial application. There is a five-month waiting period from the date the claimant is determined to be disabled until entitlement to DIB benefits begin. To illustrate this, if a claimant files a claim for DIB on January 1, 2006 alleging disability as of February 2005, and SSA determines he is disabled and his disability began February 1, 2005, he would be eligible for retroactive benefits starting in July 2005. In addition to receiving individual DIB benefits, your minor children may also qualify for auxiliary benefits based on your disability. These benefits are granted in addition to any benefit you receive. To ensure any minor children are awarded any benefits they may be entitled to, it is important you furnish the names and Social Security numbers of any minor children you have to SSA. The children do not have to live in the same household to be eligible for auxiliary benefits.

Supplemental Security Income: This program, also known as SSI or Title 16 benefits, is a “needs-based” program in which individuals with little or no resources or assets may receive disability benefits. The medical criteria for SSI eligibility is the same as that used for DIB — a physical or mental impairment which prevents you from working at a “substantial” gainful level, and the condition has existed or is expected to exist for at least a 12 month period. Effective January 2007 the SSI payment for an eligible individual is $623 per month and $934 per month for an eligible couple. There is no retroactive eligibility for SSI benefits: benefits can go back only to the month in which your claim was filed. Unlike DIB, there is no five-month waiting period for entitlement to SSI, so your eligibility would begin the month in which you filed your claim or were determined to be disabled, whichever is later. A claim for SSI benefits can also be filed on behalf of any minor children with a disability; however, as with Adult SSI claims, to be entitled to SSI benefits the household income must be below certain limits.

Disabled Adult Child: This program provides disability benefits to adult children of deceased or disabled parents. In addition to the medical requirement that you have a physical or mental impairment which prevents you from working at a “substantial” gainful level, and the condition has existed or is expected to exist for at least a 12 month period, you must also show that your condition has existed and has been disabling since before your 22nd birth date. In addition, you must be the adult child of a parent who is currently receiving DIB benefits, or the Adult child of a parent who is deceased and was “insured” for purposes of eligibility for DIB benefits. It is not necessary that the adult child ever worked because benefits are paid on the parent’s earnings record. The adult child must not have worked and earned “substantial earnings” for an extended period at any point after turning 22; however, certain expenses the adult child incurs in order to work may be excluded from these earnings. An adult child already receiving SSI benefits should check to see if benefits may be payable on a parent’s earnings record. Higher benefits might be payable and entitlement to Medicare may be possible.

Disabled Widow’s/Widower’s Benefits: If you are a disabled widow or widower age 50 or older you may be able to receive benefits off your spouse’s (or former spouse’s) Social Security record. If you are a widow or widower from a spouse you were divorced from, to be eligible for benefits you need to have been married to your spouse for 10 years or longer and your disability must have started before age 60 and within seven years of the date in which the worker died. If you were married to your spouse when they passed away, Social Security does not require that you were married for 10 years. In either case, you will need to provide proof of relationship in the form of your marriage certificate or divorce decree, along with your spouse’s death certificate when you file for benefits. If you file a claim for Disabled Widows/Widower’s benefits and DIB or SSI benefits, you will receive only the higher monthly benefit amount of the two programs.

Medical Insurance: Once you are found disabled and entitled to Social Security disability benefits, you will also be eligible for medical insurance though Medicare or Medicaid. If you filed a claim for DIB, Disabled Adult Child or Disabled Widow’s/Widower’s benefits, you may be eligible for Medicare. However, eligibility for Medicare does not start until you have been disabled for 25 months. If you are approved for Social Security benefits under any of the above-listed programs, SSA will contact you approximately two months before your eligibility for Medicare begins. If you have already been disabled for 25 months, be sure to keep a record of all medical bills as you may be reimbursed by Medicare for these expenses. There is no waiting period for Medicaid; however, your income and resources must be very low to qualify. If you have applied for and have been approved for SSI you probably qualify for Medicaid. You may think that Medicaid and Medicare are the same, but actually they are two different programs. Medicaid is a state-run program that provides hospital and medical coverage for people with low income and little or no resources. Each state has its own rules about who is eligible and what is covered under Medicaid. Some people qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid. For more information about the Medicaid program, contact Social Security or your local social services or welfare office.

This article has been written to give you a general overview of the Social Security disability programs and the disability process. As this article may not address all questions you might have, please contact us for further information.

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Do You Need a Local Social Security Attorney?

admin — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 16:49:13 +0000

Meghan DiTolla asked:

Social Security is a federal program, so one might assume that a local California lawyer may not be needed to handle your case. On the flipside, some might believe that they should only hire a lawyer in their immediate vicinity. Let’s take these issues one by one.

It is true that Social Security is a federal program, but case law varies from circuit to circuit. For example, case law in the 9th circuit helps to interpret how the federal statutes should be applied to residents living in the 9th circuit. Thus, there is both a federal and a circuit component to Social Security Disability law. Technically, a lawyer from New York could help resolve a case in California, but he/she would have to be well-versed in the existing case law of that district. It may be unlikely that you would hire an attorney who lives out of state, but it is important to know the legal implications of statutory and case authority, so you can make an informed decision when choosing an attorney.

Finding a Local Social Security Attorney

What this means is that Social Security law is handled on a state basis, not on a district basis. There is no discernible difference between Social Security Law in San Diego or San Francisco. So if you are looking for a Social Security attorney in California, you could very well look out of your immediate vicinity. It is not necessary for the attorney to be local.

That said, there is some very real value in meeting with a lawyer in your immediate vicinity. Though the Internet makes it much easier to remain in contact with your attorney and be updated on your case, person to person meeting are important. It’s important for a claimant to have confidence in his or her lawyer and though a lawyer may be highly experienced and qualified, meeting directly with a lawyer can instill this sense of confidence.

So hiring a lawyer who works hours away is not necessarily recommended. However, if the Social Security lawyer works a reasonable distance away, this is an important consideration. It is not necessary for the attorney to be in the same neighborhood, or even in the same city, so long as you are fully confident of the attorney’s ability. What is paramount is an attorney’s experience with California Social Security law, so this should be your utmost concern.

When researching a Social Security attorney in California you should look for the most qualified attorney in the state – someone who has been working in Social Security law for many years and has represented a wide variety of cases, including a wide variety of possible illnesses that may qualify for benefits. If this means traveling outside your immediate vicinity, you should do so, as you want the most qualified representation available.

In some cases, an attorney will refer you to another attorney in the state. This may be the case if the attorney has too many cases at once and cannot handle the additional workload. This is common and can actually be a good sign that the lawyer wants to devote as much time as possibly to each individual case. If a lawyer is not able to take a case on, it is not necessarily because he or she doesn’t think your case is viable, but because the lawyer has a full workload. If this is the case, you should look for another lawyer within the state of California or seek out a referral.

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St. Louis Social Security Disability Lawyer Discusses Tips on Preparing for Your Hearing

admin — Thu, 07 May 2009 19:20:07 +0000

Jeff Swaney asked:

Our office has been working with “Social Security Claimants” for over two decades. Most Social Security applicants don’t understand what is involved in successfully presenting their case in front of an administrative law judge. First, it is important to understand that it is normally not enough to prove that you can’t work at your last job. Instead you must prove that you have a “medically determinable disability” which prevents you from engaging in any “substantial gainful employment”. The word “substantial” is important because you can earn a small amount of wages and still be eligible for disability benefits. The amount is set by the Social Security Administration and can change from time to time. If you are already engaging in substantial employment, then you are not eligible to obtain disability benefits.

Secondly, there are regulations which Social security attorneys refer to as “the Grid”. The Social Security Administration recognizes different standards for claimants of different ages, levels of education and work backgrounds. Once the appropriate standards are determined, an attorney can determine whether the medical records are adequate to support the claim for disability. If not, an attorney may pose specific questions to a claimant’s treating doctor(s).

Thirdly, it is important for an attorney to help his client quantify his complaints in a specific manner. A claimant may be asked, “How much can you lift”. A bad answer would be “not very much”. An answer like this doesn’t help to describe the claimant’s limitations. It should be noted that Social Security judges refer to something called “The Dictionary of Occupational Titles” for job information. This source describes the exertional requirements of all classified jobs which exist in the national economy. It is up to the claimant’s attorney to prove that his client can’t perform any substantial work for which he is qualified. In addition, “Social Security Judges” will often bring “vocational rehabilitation counselors” into a hearing in order to get clarifications as to the claimant’s “work background”, “work restrictions” and the requirements of various jobs. An attorney must be prepared to effectively challenge the vocational counselor’s testimony through effective cross-examination.

Finally, Social Security Hearings are informal and usually take about an hour, although they can vary in length, depending on the judge’s format and the complexity of the case. Your attorney will know the various judges at the “Downtown SSA Office” and the “Creve Coeur SSA Office”. Be sure to dress appropriately, as it is important to create a favorable impression. In short, preparation is the key to winning your case, so talk to your attorney ask him what you can do to help your cause.

The contents of this article are intended for educational use only in order to provide readers general information and a basic understanding of the law. If you are seeking legal advice, please consult a licensed professional attorney in your state. The information in this article should not be substituted for experienced legal advice.

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