APPEALING YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY DENIAL

Have you applied for Social Security Disability (SSD) and been turned down? Appealing your claim can be a long and confusing process, but you do not have to face it alone. We are your advocate. We will guide you through the process, helping prepare your appeal and making sure you have all of the important information put together in a way that will give you have the best chance of getting your claim approved.

The majority of the time initial applications are not approved, so it is not unusual to find yourself in this situation. It is, however, important to have someone in your corner that can find and eliminate those issues standing in the way of approval.

Since you have already done the initial application, you probably applied for your benefits as soon as your doctor verified that your disability would last at least one year. Just a few of the other factors that the Social Security Disability Administration takes into consideration are:

• Have you worked for at least ten years during the course of your lifetime, and at least five out of the last ten years, and paid your FICA taxes?
• Do medical or emotional conditions cause you to be unable to do the work that you did before, or to adjust to other work?
• Will your disability last a full year or more?

You may already know that Social Security Disability will not pay for partial or short-term disability but only for total disability. Primarily, SSD is based on your average lifetime earnings. In certain specific situations, particular members of your family (including your spouse and your dependent children) may also be entitled to benefits.

The SSD appeal process can be perplexing, but we're here to help you through it. If you have filed for Social Security Disability but have been denied, click here to make an appointment with Nancy Jillisky to talk about your specific situation.