Many people know that Social Security Disability benefits will be there to help them if they ever suffer from a permanent or long-term disability which prevents them from continuing their employment activities. What they do not know, however, is that the Social Security Disability claim process is a very complex and oftentimes lengthy ordeal.
Proving that you are entitled to disability benefits from the Social Security Administration is not often an easy task. While the initial application process only takes three to six months to complete, nearly 70 percent of applicants are denied during the initial application stage, resulting in the need for a disability appeal. A disability appeal can take a year or more to complete, which means no income until your case has been decided.
If you are in need of Social Security Disability benefits in the South Bank, California area and want to increase your chances of obtaining a hassle-free approval of your disability claim, you need the services of a qualified South Bank Social Security Disability attorney.
Disability Benefits in South Gate, California
Many people do not understand why it takes more than two years for the average South Bank disability applicant to receive their first disability payment. While the initial application process for Social Security Disability benefits only takes three to six months to complete, nearly 70 percent of disability claims are denied by the SSA during the initial stage of the application process.
These applicants must then pursue a disability appeal in order to obtain the benefits they may be entitled to. This appeal, which usually consists of a Request for Reconsideration and a Disability hearing, is why the average South Bank disability applicant must wait so long before they begin receiving Social Security Disability payments.
When a disability applicant is first denied Social Security Disability benefits, their attorney must file a request for Reconsideration. Unfortunately, while it takes approximately four months to complete this appeal, nearly all of these requests are denied. The next stage of appeals is a hearing before an administrative law judge.
It is the hearing stage of the appeal process that results in the significant processing times. These hearings are scheduled by ODAR offices (Office of Disability Adjudication and Review) and the significant number of appeals that these offices have to process has resulted in an extraordinary backlog of disability hearings. The ODAR office in charge of processing the disability hearings for South Bank disability applicants is located in Santa Barbara, California. It takes this office an average of 408 days just to schedule a hearing before an administrative law judge. Then the applicant must wait another 60 to 90 days before being notified of the outcome of their hearing.
What many people don't realize is just how significant a 408-day wait for a hearing can be. By the time a Social Security Disability applicant requests such a hearing, they are already seven to ten months into the claim process, at a minimum. Waiting an additional 408 for a disability hearing can wreak financial havoc on a disabled worker. Fortunately, the services of a South Bank Social Security Disability lawyer may be able to help increase an applicant's chances of receiving an approval of their disability benefits during the initial stage of the application process, thereby avoiding the need for an appeal altogether.
When you retain the services of a South Bank Social Security attorney, your attorney will go over your disability claim with you in detail. He or she will point out any weak spots in your claim and will help you gather the medical evidence that you will need in order to prove your disability to the Social Security Administration. Your South Bank Social Security lawyer will also help you fill out your application paperwork, ensuring that your claim is submitted properly and in the best light possible to the Social Security Administration.
If, for some reason, your application for disability benefits is still denied by the Social Security Administration, your South Bank disability attorney will be able to represent you through each stage of the disability appeal process. The hearing stage of the process is what you and your attorney will be focusing on. Fortunately, your chances of obtaining benefits as a result of this hearing are significantly increased with legal representation. In fact, nearly two-thirds of disability applicants are awarded benefits as a result of this hearing.
For more on disability benefits in California, see How To Qualify For Disability In California.
