Skip to main content

ALABAMA DISABILITY BENEFITS: HOW TO BE APPROVED

Most Alabama workers are covered by Social Security disability because they pay FICA withholding tax out of every paycheck.  This provides coverage against long term disability and loss of income.

However, Social Security can be difficult to deal with and there are complex rules that must be met before they will part with any money.  It can take anywhere from 4 months to 4 years to get approved.

Here is the sticky part.  Social Security will often agree that you cannot perform the work you once did.  However, they will say that you can still perform some jobs which exist in the national economy.  These jobs are often unskilled minimum wage jobs, such as hand packager, inspector or copy colater.  It doesn't matter that you can't actually find one of these jobs.

 If you file an application and are denied (as up to 75% are), you have 60 days to file an appeal.  The appeal puts you in line for "reconsideration."  Unfortunately, "reconsideration" denies close to 9 out of 10 appeals.  Next step, another appeal and you go before an administrative law judge for a hearing. Your odds before the judge are much better, especially if you are represented by counsel who understands the system and how to navigate it.

 HOW CAN YOU PAY FOR EXPENSIVE LEGAL COUNSEL?

You don't have to.  Social Security forbids an attorney or representative to charge you any fee unless your case is decided in your favor and results in back payments (past due benefits).  In that case, Social Security will withhold a small portion of your back pay and pay the legal fee directly.  You keep most of your back pay and 100 percent of your monthly benefits. (You know from day one what the fee will be because we sign an agreement with you).

If you need help with a Social Security disability application or appeal, please invest 15 minutes in a phone call to our firm for a free initial consultation.  We never ask you for money and our experienced disability advocates have been handling cases like yours for over a decade. 
_________
THE FORSYTHE FIRM
7027 Old Madison Pike - Suite 108
Huntsville, AL 35806
"Across from Bridge Street"
CALL (256) 799-0297

 SOCIAL SECURITY JUSTICE WEBSITE

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

IS IT HARD TO GET SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY IN TENNESSEE?

  How hard is it to get Social Security disability (SSDI) in Tennessee? It can be very difficult.  In the beginning stages of the process, it seems like the agency is out to deny as many claims as possible.  Later--in the appeals process--it takes more technical and legal skill to move through the labyrinth of obstacles. What's the usual reason for an SSDI denial? If you look at all the denial letters, the most comm on reason given is:  You are not disabled according to our rules. The 2 main explanation for finding claimants not disabled are: 1.  You are able to perform some of your past relevant work. 2.  You can't perform any of your past work but you are able to do other work. Those are the two "catch all" reasons Social Security gives for nearly all of their denials.  Both of these reasons fall into the category of a medical denial .  The claimant's condition is not deemed severe enough to prevent all work. There are other reasons for d...
Post a Comment
Read more

WHAT YOU WILL BE ASKED AT A DISABILITY HEARING

Most Social Security disability claims will be denied twice:  First at the end of the Application process, and again after the "Reconsideration" process.  The third stop will be a hearing before a federal Administrative Law Judge (ALJ). It is here at the hearing level that most SSDI claims are paid.  So, what do you need to know about your Social Security disability hearing?     First, the judge will follow the rules established by the Social Security Administration.  His or her job is to determine whether you meet the particular laws and rules to receive disability payments.  So, it is a legal proceeding where you must prove certain things in order to get paid. Among the things you must prove:  Your insured status with Social Security:  You have worked recently enough and paid into the Social Security trust fund to gain the required "work credits" to support your claim.  You have a severe medical or mental impairment supported by adequa...
Post a Comment
Read more

CAN YOU WIN YOUR DISABILITY APPEAL WITHOUT A LAWYER?

The Social Security Administration does not require you to have a lawyer to file an appeal or to appear at a hearing.  However, most people heading for a disability hearing will hire a lawyer or advocate to help them.   Studies have shown that you are about twice as likely to win with a lawyer.  A recent study found that claimants with no lawyer win about 30 percent of the time while claimants with a lawyer or advocate win 60 percent of the time.   " He just cooked his own goose." These statistics cover only one aspect of a disability appear--your odds of winning. The other important aspects are time and convenience. If you prepare and adjudicate your own disability appeal, expect to spend 12 to 24 months working on the case.  You will be collecting, reading and submitting hundreds or thousands of pages of medical records.  These records are complex and often difficult to understand.  And you must know how each medical record helps (or hurts) your dis...
Post a Comment
Read more