Social Security Disability Attorney in Jersey City

Social Security Disability Insurance pays benefits on a monthly basis to workers that can no longer support themselves by working a full-time job. The disability an applicant for SSDI lives with can either be an illness or injury. For example, one worker can become eligible for SSDI by living with terminal cancer, while a second worker can no longer work because of severe spinal cord damage.

The SSA calculates SSDI benefits for eligible workers based on past earnings. In addition to the medical requirements listed in the Blue Book for each eligible medical condition, workers also have to meet other criteria to qualify for financial assistance under the SSDI program. One criterion concerns the amount of income a disabled worker receives. You also have to miss 12 consecutive months of work to qualify for Social Security disability benefits.

You might think that filing a disability claim should not require paying money to hire one of the best Social Security disability attorneys in Jersey City. However, the difference between getting a claim approved or denied often comes down to whether an applicant receives legal support during the claim filing process.

One of the Social Security lawyers from Morgan and Morgan can help you in many ways.

Review of Your Case

The primary purpose for scheduling a free case evaluation with one of the Social Security disability attorneys in Jersey City from Morgan and Morgan is to receive a review of your case. One of our experienced SSDI lawyers reviews your case to determine whether there are any weaknesses in the supporting evidence submitted with the application. Your attorney needs to review every medical record, from the results of diagnostic tests to the conclusion issued by a healthcare provider that estimates how long you should expect to live with a disability.

Helps You File a Claim

You have to complete every section of the Social Security disability application with accurate information to be considered eligible to receive financial assistance for a disability. This means you must complete every section that includes updated contact information, as well as the name and contact information of your healthcare provider. If you fail to submit a fully completed and 100 percent accurate claim, expect the SSA to send your claim back denied. One of the SSDI lawyers from Morgan and Morgan conducts a thorough review of your disability claim to ensure it passes the tests applied by the SSA for the consideration of financial assistance.

Monitors the Progress of Your Claim

The SSA receives hundreds of thousands of disability claims each year. Because of the substantial number of disability claims, the system used by the SSA to process claims sometimes falls behind schedule. Hiring one of the Social Security disability attorneys in Jersey City from Morgan and Morgan provides you with constant updates regarding the status of your claim. Your lawyer ensures your claim moves through the SSA system at an acceptable pace, and if the SSA experiences a problem processing your claim, your attorney takes the steps needed to address any processing issues.

Provides Legal Support During the Appeal Process

Since the SSA denies a majority of Social Security disability claims, you should prepare to go through the appeal process. An experienced lawyer from Morgan and Morgan explains the appeal process, which consists of four stages.  The appeal process starts with a reconsideration of your original claim and it can move to more complex stages that require the legal support of one of the best Social Security disability attorneys in Jersey City.

With four opportunities to overturn an unfavorable decision concerning your original Social Security disability claim, do you have a legitimate chance of getting the compensation that you deserve? The answer is the odds are against you unless you hire one of the best Social Security disability attorneys in Jersey City.

Reconsideration

A request to reconsider your original claim most likely results in another denial. The reason is reconsideration examines the same medical evidence, although a different team of medical examiners from the SSA conducts the review. Your lawyer can submit additional medical evidence, such as a second round of diagnostic tests that can pick up more details about the extent of your disability. However, the submission of additional medical evidence must clearly demonstrate the symptoms of one of the disabilities listed in the SSA Blue Book.

Chances are your appeal goes to the next stage of the process.

Hearing in Front of an Administrative Law Judge

As the second stage of the disability appeal process, a hearing in front of an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) represents your best opportunity to get a denied claim overturned. One of the Social Security disability attorneys in Jersey City from Morgan and Morgan argues your case in front of an ALJ. The second stage of the disability appeal process is the only stage that allows your attorney to interact with a judge or another lawyer. An ALJ hearing works similarly to a regular court case, with your attorney submitting evidence and the statements provided by healthcare industry experts.

You have 60 days after receiving notice of a denied request for reconsideration to file the legal documents that initiate an ALJ hearing.

Appeals Council

ALJ hearings result in about half of all denied claims being returned to the SSA for further consideration. An ALJ also can overrule the original decision made by the SAA if the ALJ feels there is enough physical evidence to overturn a denied claim. Nonetheless, you might have to move on to the third stage of the appeal process, which is requesting the Appeals Council review your case. The Appeals Council’s primary responsibility is to determine whether the ALJ committed an abuse of discretion when hearing your case. If the ALJ committed an error of law, the Appeals Council might overturn the unfavorable ruling issued by the ALJ. 

Federal Court Review

A federal judge reviews your case during the 4th stage of the appeal process. The federal judge reviewing your case looks for the presence of any procedural errors that might have diminished the strength of your original claim. Some federal judge reviews end up with the judge discovering one or more disputed facts that tarnished your claim for financial assistance. Two of the most common disputed facts revolve around the review of your medical condition, as well as inaccurate assessments made by the team of SSA medical examiners.

Another benefit of hiring one of the best Social Security disability attorneys in Jersey City is to file a claim before the expiration of the statute of limitations. The SSA has set a generous deadline for filing a disability claim at five years, with the clock starting to click for the deadline on the day when you received the results of the diagnostic tests verifying you live with a disability.

Five years is more than enough time to file a disability claim, but you should move much faster than that to get the compensation you deserve. Living with a disability can quickly put you in a deep financial hole, from paying costly medical bills to losing your source of income. Because the SSA disability claim filing system sometimes bogs down due to the sheer volume of claims, acting with a sense of urgency can help you receive financial assistance before you experience significant financial distress.

What factors should you consider before hiring one of the best Social Security disability attorneys in Jersey City? First, consider a lawyer who can present a proven record of success spanning several years. Second, you want to hire a lawyer who specializes in handling Social Security disability cases. Third, because disability claims can trigger incredible stress caused by the frustration of having to wait months for an answer, you should work with an attorney who is a responsive communicator. Finally, check out the client reviews posted on sites such as Yelp and Google to determine the reputation of every attorney on your shortlist.

The Social Security disability attorneys in Jersey City from Morgan and Morgan meet all the criteria established for finding the best lawyer. Discover why clients turn to Morgan and Morgan by scheduling a free case evaluation with one of our Social Security disability attorneys.