If you live and work in Greenville, North Carolina, you know that taxes are taken out of each paycheck that you receive. If you look closely at your payroll deductions, you will notice that a portion of your earnings go to the Social Security Administration. The payments that you make through your payroll deductions are intended to protect you from financial devastation should you become disabled or when you reach full retirement age.
Unfortunately, actually obtaining the benefits that you are entitled to isn't always easy. In fact, the SSA has been known to make it downright difficult. This is why, if you are considering a disability claim in the Greenville, North Carolina area, you need to consider the services of a Greenville Social Security Disability attorney before you file your initial claim for disability benefits.
Greenville's economy has changed over the years. What was once an economy that centered around tobacco is now an economy that is ruled by education, manufacturing and health care. Some of the city's top employers include Pitt County Memorial Hospital, East Carolina University, Pitt County Public Schools, NACCO Materials Handing Group, Pitt Community College and the Greenville Utilities Commission. The median household income in Greenville is approximately $34,600 while the cost of living index is two percent below the national average.
Back to topApplying for Greenville Social Security Disability Benefits
The city of Greenville is home to nearly 85,000 North Carolina residents. In the State of North Carolina, approximately 5 percent of the residents living in the state receive Social Security Disability benefits. The average monthly disability benefit in the State of North Carolina is $1,051.00 per month. Unfortunately, while this monthly benefit can significantly offset the financial stress caused by a disabling condition, it will take the average Greenville applicant well over two years before seeing a single disability payment from the Social Security Administration.
Why does it take Greenville residents so long to be approved for Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income? The reason is due to the fact that the Social Security Administration denies nearly 70 percent of the claims that it receives each year. This results in the need for a disability appeal.
When a Social Security Disability applicant pursues the disability appeal process, they normally have to go through a Request for Reconsideration and a disability hearing. Due to the severe backlog of disability appeals that are currently in the Social Security system, the office that is in charge of scheduling the hearings for Greenville disability applicants, the Raleigh ODAR office, takes an average of 548 days to schedule a disability hearing.
Back to topHiring a Greenville Disability Attorney
If you want to avoid the complex and extremely long disability appeal process, your best bet is to retain the services of a Greenville Social Security Disability lawyer. A Greenville Social Security attorney will know what the SSA needs to see in order to approve your claim for disability benefits. They will go over your claim with you and will help you fill out your application paperwork. Your attorney will also ensure that you have gathered sufficient medical evidence to prove your disability to the adjudicator who will be reviewing your disability application.
If, for some reason, your Social Security Disability claim is still denied despite the efforts of your Greenville disability attorney, you should not give up hope. Your Greenville disability lawyer will work with you to ensure that you have the best chances of a successful Social Security Disability appeal and your lawyer will do everything in his or her power to expedite the appeal process for you.
The first thing your Greenville Social Security Disability attorney will do is file a Request for Reconsideration. Just be prepared to have this request denied, as nearly 90 percent of the reconsideration requests that are received by the SSA are denied. This means that you and your lawyer will need to focus on the hearing stage of the appeal process.
To prepare for your disability hearing your Greenville Social Security Disability lawyer will begin to gather additional medical evidence to present to the administrative law judge who will be overseeing your case. Your attorney may request that you go for additional testing and may retain medical and vocational experts to testify on your behalf. Your lawyer will also prepare you for your hearing on a personal level, telling you what you should expect at this hearing and how to answer the questions that you will be asked by the administrative law judge.
If you are worried that you cannot afford quality legal services for your Social Security Disability case, you will be happy to hear that these lawyers work on a contingency basis. When hiring a Greenville Social Security attorney that attorney will not require any up-front fee. Instead, they will collect 25 percent of the back pay that you are awarded by the Social Security Administration (up to a limit of $6,000). If you do not win your case, your attorney does not collect a fee.
A Greenville Social Security lawyer can also help disability applicants in the areas of Ahoskie, Durham, Elizabeth City, Goldsboro, Henderson, Kinston, Raleigh, Roanoke Rapids, Rocky Mount, Washington and Wilson.
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