Maryland Injury and Disability Law : Washington DC Metro Injury & Disability Lawyer & Attorney : Greenberg & Bederman : Accidents, Falls, Medical Malpractice : Maryland, DC, Virginia

When a disabled American worker qualifies for Social Security Disability, it often means that this person will be receiving disability payments for the rest of their lives. It is for this reason that the Social Security Administration is very precise and very selective when it comes to determining who qualifies for disability insurance and who doesn’t. These standards prevent people with sprained ankles from claiming that they will need government assistance for the rest of their lives, which, believe it or not, happens more often than you would think.

The standards for qualifying for Social Security Disability are as follows:

·         You have to be totally disabled. Partially disabled is not enough to qualify.

·         “Disability” is based on an inability to do the job that you had before.

·         It is also based on an inability to do any other work due to your medical condition.

·         Your disability has lasted at least one year, or is expected to result in your death.

Bear in mind that these are the standards in the broadest sense. There are all sorts of other deciding factors that need to be determined. And generally speaking, what most newly seriously disabled people  need when attending a Social Security Disability insurance hearing is the assistance of an experienced Social Security Disability attorney.

A very high percentage of initial applications for SSDI are denied. These are denied for any number of reasons, including incomplete forms, missed deadlines or lost paperwork, but many of them are also denied because the applicant didn’t understand the importance of the process and didn’t do a very thorough and complete job of stating his or her case.

This isn’t anything to be ashamed of. The process can be long and confusing for anyone, much less those who have been through a severe and life changing disability or injury.  Having an attorney who understands the disability standards, knows the paperwork and has experience getting a claim approved at Reconsideration, or attending the disability hearings can make all the difference between being approved for Social Security Disability Benefits and getting denied your SSDI benefits leaving you without any government assistance at all.

Another reason for having an experienced Social Security lawyer is that at some point, your case will probably be heard by an administrative law judge. Just as it would be foolish to walk into a court room with no legal representation, it would be equally foolish to have no one on your side in a Social Security Disability Hearing.

Having an attorney to both organize your data and present your case at a hearing makes an enormous difference, particularly if you live in an area with an administrative Judge who is less likely to grant favorable outcomes. If you look at the data from the Social Security Administration website, you can see for yourself that some administrative Judges are not in the habit of offering fully favorable verdicts for those who apply for Social Security Disability benefits. Those who were lacking an experienced Social Security Disability Attorney almost certainly fell into the total denial category.

At Greenberg and Bederman, our Social Security Disability lawyers have specific experience in helping the disabled get their rightfully earned Social Security Disability payments. If you or a loved one in Maryland, Washington, D.C, or Virginia have had their initial SSDI application denied, contact Greenberg and Bederman for a free review of your social security disability application process today.

To learn more about social security disability benefits please read our social security disability FAQ or watch our videos on youtube.

To learn more about our social security lawyers please read about Dory Sutker, or Suja Varghese.

When is the earliest date that SSI can be paid?

The earliest date that SSI can be paid is the date that the application was filed, however, if the child’s impairment or combination of impairments didn’t reach the severity level as determined by Social Security Administration (SSA) regulations, the claim may be granted well after the date of the application.

What happens if the SSI claim is paid from a date other than the application date?

If the SSI claim is paid from a date other than the application date, you may appeal the time period that hasn’t been awarded, but if you do so, the review will be “de novo”, which means that the entire claim can be reversed and you will be forced to pay SSA back for the money they have already paid, if any.

If your child is receiving medical treatment for a condition that is not expected to resolve in twelve (12) months, we encourage you to apply for benefits immediately.

For example, a woman contacted us about her eight year old child, who had been receiving treatment for a combination of physical and mental conditions. The mother described the problems she had had with her son's behavior, both in school and at home, and it sounded rather severe. These problems had persisted despite appropriate medical treatment. So after a few years of dealing with her son's impairments, she finally decided to file for benefits.

Wouldn't you know it, the medical records describing her son's symptoms showed that although he had experienced problems that SSA would find disabling and grant benefits for, the medical records of the current time period --- from the date of the application --- showed that his symptoms had become more manageable, for whatever reason.

Ultimately, his claim was denied.

If you have a child who has been diagnosed with medical condition(s) that limit or prevent them from behaving either physically or mentally like other children of their age, you may want to consider discussing with their treating physician whether these symptoms will last for the next twelve months. If the physician says yes, then you should file a claim for SSI on your child's behalf. If your child's symptoms getting better while the claim is pending, then you can decide to withdraw the application.

As always, we atGreenberg & Bederman are available to answer an questions you may have regarding this or any other Social Security or personal injury question, including medical malpractice issues involving nursing home abuse or neglect, and accident injury cases.  If you want to learn more about social security law, please read our social security disability FAQ page.  If you want to learn more about our social security disability lawyers, please read about Suja Varghese, or Dory Sutker.