Norfolk Social Security Disability Lawyer

If you've been contributing to Social Security throughout your working years, you should be able to start receiving benefits once you retire. It's only fair that if you've worked long enough but have become unable to continue working due to injury or illness, you should be able to access your social security benefits. This is known as Social Security Disability benefits.

WHAT DOES "DISABILITY" MEAN?

In relation to Social Security Disability benefits, "disability" is defined as:

"The inability to engage in any substantial gainful activity (SGA) due to medically determinable physical or mental impairment(s) that can be expected to result in death or have lasted or are expected to last for a continuous period of at least 12 months."

The Social Security listing book provides a comprehensive list of conditions that may prevent you from performing your job. These conditions include, but are not limited to:

• Anxiety disorders
• Arthritis
• Back and neck problems
• Bipolar disorder
• Cancer
• Chronic pain syndrome
• Degenerative disc disease
• Depression
• Diabetes
• Fibromyalgia
• Mental impairments
• Mental retardation
• Pain impairments
• Personality disorders
• Physical impairments
• Seizure disorders

Types of SSDI Benefits

Four major types of Social Security benefits include:

• Disability Insurance Benefits: The most common Social Security benefit, disability insurance benefits are issued to those who have worked at least five out of the last ten years and are now disabled. If your claim is denied, you have about two months to appeal and ask for a hearing to present it to an administrative law judge.
• Disabled Adult Child Benefits: If you are 18 or older and have become disabled before age 22, you may be able to collect disabled adult child benefits if your parents are entitled to retirement or disability benefits. In cases of deceased parents, the guardian must have worked long enough under Social Security for you to be eligible to collect survivor benefits. These benefits are called disabled adult "child" benefits because they are paid on your parent's Social Security earnings record.
• Disabled Widow's/Widower's Benefits: If you are age 50 or older and become disabled within seven years of your husband or wife’s death, you may be able to collect disability benefits. Your late spouse must have worked the specified amount of time for you to be eligible to collect benefits.
• Child SSDI Benefits: Benefits may also be paid to the child of a disabled adult if that child is under 18 or between 18 and 19 and a full-time high school student. These benefits are also paid on the parent’s Social Security record.

Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI)

You've been contributing a portion of your paycheck to Social Security for as long as you can remember, relying on that money to be there when you need it. However, now that you're disabled and unable to return to work, the benefits you expected are not materializing. What can you do? 

SSDI Eligibility

The first step in getting your SSDI benefits is establishing your eligibility. You are eligible for SSDI if you have a qualifying disability, which is a physical or mental impairment that is expected to result in death or that has lasted or is expected to last 12 straight months. The Social Security disability attorneys at Kalfus & Nachman PC will help you determine if you’re eligible.

The SSDI Application

If you’ve suffered a personal injury that renders you eligible for SSDI benefits, you can then apply with the Social Security Administration. You can file online or at your local Social Security office.

Whichever route you decide to take, you should allow the experienced attorneys at Kalfus & Nachman PC to assist you with this complicated application. It will enhance your chances.

Do Doctors Make Decisions about SSDI Claims?

Are you wondering whether it was a doctor or some sort of bureaucrat who decided to deny your claim for SSDI benefits? The answer is somewhat complex. Doctors do have input into approval or denial of SSDI benefits, but they are not the only ones.

When you file a claim for Social Security Disability Insurance, the Claims Representative who receives your paperwork forwards it to the state disability agency. In Virginia, this agency is Disability Determination Services, a division of the VA Department of Rehabilitative Services. In North Carolina, your claim goes to division of the NC Department of Health and Human Services of the same name.

Disability Determination Services then assigns your case to a Disability Examiner, who is charged with making the evaluation whether you have injuries or medical conditions that qualify for SSDI benefits. Here is where the doctor comes in. The Disability Examiner can order a consultative medical evaluation in which a doctor, psychiatrist, or other medical professional determines if your injury or medical condition truly makes you unable to work. These medical evaluations are most often required in SSDI claims involving mental health or psychiatric disabilities.

Based on the doctor’s evaluation of your disability, the Disability Examiner writes up your approval or denial of SSDI benefits, which is sometimes, but not always, reviewed by another doctor.

SSDI Appeals Process

If you do not fill out your initial SSDI application correctly or lack sufficient documentation to support your claim, you may be denied regardless of the legitimacy of your disability.

If you believe your first SSDI claim was wrongfully rejected, there are four levels of appeal:

• Reconsideration: Your claim will be examined by a new Social Security caseworker, and additional evidence supporting your claim may be submitted
• Hearing: If you are not approved during Reconsideration, you may request that an administrative law judge review your application
• Appeals Council: If the administrative law judge rejects your claim, you can ask for a review by the Social Security Appeals Council; while the council looks at all requests, it may deny your claim if it believes the Hearing decision was just
• Federal court: If you believe your claim is valid despite previous denials, you may file a lawsuit in a federal district court

Why Do I Need a Social Security Disability Lawyer?

Even with qualified representation by a Virginia Social Security lawyer, most individuals who apply for early Social Security benefits are initially denied at least twice. If you're injured, unwell, and struggling to secure the disability benefits you desperately need, you don't need ambiguous explanations. You need a prompt resolution.

Before you can receive your disability benefits, your claim will be heard by an administrative law judge. It is highly recommended that you have an attorney by your side during this stage. Although there is no guarantee that your benefits will be awarded, having an experienced social security lawyer in Norfolk, Virginia will ensure that your case is appropriately developed for the hearing.

Given that the majority of claimants lack the knowledge and skills to advocate for themselves, prepare their case for the hearing, gather the necessary records, or comprehend the complex maze of Social Security Disability rules and regulations, having an attorney can be invaluable in winning your case. Additionally, the "date of onset," which is the date when your disability payments begin, can be influenced by the length of time you have been suffering from your disability.

A social security lawyer in Norfolk, Virginia who is familiar with disability claims understands this and knows that persuading the courts to accept the earliest date of your symptoms as the beginning of your disability could result in more "back pay" for you. Kalfus & Nachman PC can assist you in addressing your Social Security Disability concerns.

Overall, while having an attorney is not obligatory, it is highly unwise and could potentially result in the loss of your benefits.

What Expenses Will a Social Security Attorney Charge in Addition to the Fee?

The Social Security disability process allows people filing for disability to hire an attorney or a non-attorney representative to represent their case. Attorneys represent disability cases for a fee amount. SSA regulates the fee and is one-fourth of the claimant's back payment, up to $6,000.
When a disability claimant signs the fee agreement with an attorney, they sign a legally binding contract agreeing to pay the attorney or representative the agreed-upon fee and any incidental expenses outlined in the fee agreement.

Incidental expenses could include medical records, vocational experts, phone calls, travel, copying, etc. Some attorneys ask that the expenses be paid whether an individual wins or loses the claim, while others collect only if they win the disability claim. The cost of getting medical records is usually an expected expense. Attorneys or representatives require the claimant to pay for the cost of medical records, or they ask for repayment of the cost once a decision has been made.

A fee agreement could contain just about any agreed-upon expense, and as long as both the attorney and disability claimant sign it, it is valid. That is why it is so important for disability claimants to read their fee agreement carefully before signing it. If a disability claimant has difficulty reading and comprehending, they should take it to someone who can read and understand so they know what they are agreeing to pay the representative or attorney.

Social Security allows attorneys and representatives to collect a fee and allowable incidental fees to encourage them to represent disability claimants who often have little or little money. Most disability claimants could not afford a representative if they had to pay a retainer or a regular hourly legal fee to an attorney or representative.  Naturally, this would greatly disadvantage disability claimants who were not able to keep up with their paperwork or who had to attend an administrative law judge disability hearing.

How Our VA Disability Lawyers Can Assist

At Kalfus & Nachman PC, we have helped numerous individuals obtain the disability assistance they are entitled to. If you are currently or expect to be totally disabled for a period of 12 months or longer, you may qualify for disability payments from the Social Security Administration.

The process of applying for early Social Security Disability benefits can be lengthy and frustrating. Without legal assistance, it can take up to 2 ½ years to receive benefits. Hiring Kalfus & Nachman PC to help you obtain these benefits can significantly reduce this waiting period. We possess extensive experience and understanding of the complex federal regulations governing Social Security Disability claims. We will guide you through the system to secure the benefits you require.

We proudly serve clients in Norfolk, Hampton, Newport News, Portsmouth, Roanoke, and Virginia Beach, Virginia.

To commence the filing process, contact us online or call us at today. "Tell Them You Mean Business."