With millions of Social Security Disability (SSD) claims processed throughout the nation each year, it should be no surprise that the review process can take anywhere from 6 to 16 months for the initial application in the state of Tennessee. Only about 24 percent of the SSD claims filed in Tennessee are approved following the initial review.
The other 76 percent of applicants who are denied their initial claim must then complete a Request for Reconsideration. After words, most must then file for an appeal, which will send their case before an administrative law judge (ALJ) for evaluation. However, this process will often take many, many months of waiting. Although about 60 percent of the claimants reviewed by an ALJ in Tennessee are eventually awarded benefits, the percentage of applicants found eligible for Social Security Disability Benefits is favorably higher for those applicants that employ the assistance of a Jackson Social Security attorney.
Jackson, TN is located in Madison County, the economy of which is primarily driven by skilled trades and other manual labor jobs. Administrative, education and government jobs are also big in the region. The population of the Jackson metropolitan area was about 65,000, of which about 61 percent of individuals fall within the prime working years – between the ages of 18 and 64. About 15 percent of the population of Madison County individuals between the ages of 21 and 64 are disabled.
The SSD application process starts with the initial application, and those individuals who seek legal help from a Jackson Social Security lawyer are more likely to be approved at the initial review stage. Many individuals decide to file their initial claim on their own without any legal help, primarily because they don’t realize how complex the process is and how much help a Jackson Social Security disability attorney can provide.
Many also decide against seeking legal help because they believe it will not be financially feasible. In reality, a Jackson Social Security disability lawyer does not charge any upfront fees for his or her services and is only paid if and when you’re approved for SSD benefits. If you are found eligible for SSD, you will receive retroactive benefit payments at which point the Jackson disability lawyer you hired would be entitled to 25 percent of the retroactive SSD amount up to a maximum of $6,000.
Having the help of a Jackson disability lawyer in your initial SSD application can increase your chances of being found eligible without further reviews or appeals. After all, before you are even eligible to file an initial claim for Social Security Disability benefits, you must have been unable to work for a period of 12 months or longer, which means you have already been without employment income for a significant period of time. Anything you can do to increase your chances of being found eligible for SSD during the initial review, and thus prevent months of waiting, will be in your best interest. Since a Jackson Social Security attorney charges nothing upfront, you have nothing to lose in hiring one.
If you have not yet started the initial claim, you may wish to seek legal help from a Jackson Social Security lawyer now. He or she can oversee your claim and help you process the initial application, ensuring that all of the proper documentation is present to result in a more favorable outcome from the Disability Determination Services office’s review of your case.
Even if you’ve already been denied benefits and are planning to request a reconsideration review or an appeal, it’s not too late to hire a Jackson Social Security Disability attorney. Simply click here to learn more about hiring a Jackson Social Security Disability lawyer and to request a free evaluation of your disability case.
