Hiring an attorney does not automatically speed up the Social Security disability application process, but there are ways that a Social Security disability attorney can make sure that your claim is not delayed. Our staff of attorneys, paralegals, legal secretarial assistants and legal clerks is dedicated to keeping your claim running smoothly.
Specifically, our Social Security disability attorneys can:
Additionally, we can answer all of your questions in a timely manner and make sure that you are well informed about the status of your case.
The SSA has professionals working hard on its behalf and you deserve the same advantage. To find out more about the difference a board certified Social Security disability lawyer can make for you, please read our FREE report, Social Security Disability: What You Need to Know, or contact us directly via this website or by phone to schedule an initial consultation.
Once you are approved for Social Security disability, you will receive Social Security disability benefits beginning in the sixth full month after your disability began. Your monthly benefits will likely be directly deposited into your bank account.
The amount that you receive each month is unique to you and is based on a complicated formula used by the Social Security Administration. The exact amount that you will receive will depend on your:
In 2017, the average Social Security disability payment is $1,171 per month. However, it is important to note that many workers get more than or less than this average payment.
Social Security disability is not an entitlement program and your financial need should not be taken into account when determining the amount of your benefits.
Each year, the Social Security Administration considers cost of living adjustments according to a specific formula. Thus, at the beginning of each calendar year you may (or may not) see a small increase in your monthly deposits.
Our firm’s payment department exists solely to ensure the accurate payment of benefits to our clients. Many other law firms discontinue their services after you have won your case, but Morgan & Weisbrod continues to help clients even after claims are approved. We make sure that any benefits payable to you are computed and paid correctly.
We understand that your Social Security disability payments are important to you, that you’ve earned them, and that you depend upon them. Thus, we will do everything we can to help you get your initial application for Social Security disability benefits approved, to help you win an appeal if your application has been wrongly denied, and to make sure that you get the fair monthly benefits to which you are legally entitled.
To learn more about your rights, please download a free copy of our report, Social Security Disability: What You Need to Know.
You ask a good question. Before you can decide whether or not to hire a Social Security disability lawyer, you need to weigh the costs and benefits so that you can make an informed decision.
Our fees are governed by the Social Security Administration (SSA) and, therefore, we charge no more than 25 percent of your back benefits, up to a maximum of $6,000, if we are successful. Because the fees are set by the SSA, it will not cost you more to be represented by an experienced Social Security disability attorney at our firm than it would cost you to be represented by a lay advocate who is not an attorney.
The majority of Social Security disability applications are denied. The SSA requires very specific information to be provided in a very precise way by Social Security disability applicants. Any application that fails to meet the SSA’s requirements will be denied and the applicant will be unable to recover Social Security disability benefits even if the applicant has a disability that qualifies him for such benefits—unless the applicant is successful on appeal.
You risk nothing by hiring a board certified Social Security disability lawyer, but you risk quite a bit if you fail to hire an attorney to protect your rights. Without Social Security disability benefits, you may find it difficult to pay for your medical bills and living expenses.
You don’t have to take this risk. Instead, we encourage you to contact us for a free, no obligation consultation. We will review your case and give you information about how we can help you so that you can make an informed decision about whether or not to hire a board certified Social Security disability lawyer to protect your rights. For more information, please contact us via this website or by phone to schedule your free consultation.
We can help you get the benefits you deserve by assisting you in all aspects of your Social Security disability claim. The specific actions we take depend on where you are in the Social Security disability claims process.
Our experienced board certified attorney may help you:
Regardless of the specific stage of your Social Security disability claim, our attorneys can help you by reducing the stress you are under. You will no longer have to worry about whether your rights are being protected or about whether you are going to get the fair Social Security disability benefits you have worked for and deserve.
Instead, you will be able to trust that our board certified Social Security disability lawyers will protect your rights. To learn more, please read our free report, Social Security Disability: What You Need to Know, or contact us directly to schedule a free consultation.
In many cases, the answer to this question is “yes,” you can automatically qualify for disability benefits if you suffer from lymphoma. Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma is a condition that is listed in the Social Security Administration’s blue book of disability listings. This means that some patients may automatically be approved for disability benefits.
When lymphoma symptoms prevent patients from being able to support themselves financially, Social Security disability benefits can be a valuable lifeline. Examples of some of the more common symptoms of this condition include the following:
Social Security disability benefits can also help lymphoma patients focus on their treatment rather than worrying about how they are going to pay their bills. Some of the treatments that victims may have to endure include the following:
In order to qualify automatically for disability benefits as a result of lymphoma, your Social Security disability application should:
It is also important to note that if your lymphoma required that you obtain a bone marrow transplant or a stem cell transplant, you can automatically qualify for disability benefits for a time period of one year.
As is the case with all Social Security disability eligibility determinations, your application must be complete in order to recover benefits.
If you are interested in learning more about Social Security disability benefits, we encourage you to view our free guide, Social Security Disability: What You Need to Know or to start a live chat with us at your convenience.
It can take several months for your disability claim to be decided, and during that time you may have questions about the status of your claim. It is important to be proactive about tracking your Social Security disability claim as it moves through the system, but first you need to know how and why to do it.
You can check the status of your Social Security disability claim by:
You, or your lawyer, can usually get the most information by contacting DDS. When you call the DDS office, tell them you are calling to check the status of your application. The disability examiner will be able to tell you if your case is pending or if a decision has been made. If your claim is still pending, ask if there is any way you can help move the process forward. Remember not to say anything that could hurt your chances of obtaining Social Security disability benefits, and instead, keep any conversations with the SSA or DDS limited to the status of your case.
Now that you know how to check the status of your Social Security disability application, it is important to know why you should do so. You should check on your application’s status because:
The approval of your claim may be just part of another workday for the government worker assigned to your case, but it is critically important to you, and the wait for an answer can be excruciating. If you are handling your claim yourself, on the day you file your initial claim or first appeal, make a note on a calendar to remind yourself to check the status of your claim in 30 days. That way you won’t forget to follow up on this important matter.
If you are working with a disability attorney, you should trust that your lawyer will stay on top of your claim. An experienced Social Security disability lawyer will already be in communication with your disability examiner and can keep you up to date on the status of your claim. It’s just one of the services a legal representative will provide for you. Call Morgan & Weisbrod at (214) 373-3761 today to learn more.
If you are disabled and not working, finding adequate health insurance and medical care can be challenging if you are not covered by a spouse’s insurance plan. The cost may be prohibitive, but failing to get medical care can result in significant harm.
While health insurance and medical care is expensive, it is important to understand your options so that you can get the health care you deserve. You may be able to afford medical care by:
It is very important to any disability case to get regular treatment in order to have medical evidence which shows the severity of your condition. However, even more important than medical evidence is the pain relief or life-extending treatment that you might receive if you visit a doctor.
For these reasons, you should make every effort to find some way to get to a doctor to be treated so that you can protect your health and your potential Social Security disability claim now.
It is also important to keep in mind that if you are eligible for Social Security disability, you will also be eligible for Medicare beginning two years after your Social Security disability entitlement date—which may be sooner than two years from now. This can make a significant difference in the amount you pay for health care and can help ensure that you get the medical care you deserve.
Contact the Board Certified Attorneys at Morgan & Weisbrod today for further suggestions on how to get the medical care you deserve and how to protect your Social Security disability claim. We are available to you via this website or by phone at (214) 373-3761.
There are a number of serious consequences to committing crimes—and many people don’t realize that the extent of those consequences go beyond jail time and fines. In some instances, your criminal record or your criminal status could affect your ability to receive Social Security disability benefits.
Generally, you cannot receive Social Security benefits if you:
Specifically, you may be eligible for Social Security disability benefits if you:
We have all made mistakes. You may have paid the price for your mistakes and learned important lessons from these mistakes. In many cases, if you serve your time and follow the conditions of your probation or parole, your criminal past will not affect your ability to secure Social Security disability benefits. To learn more about your specific case, contact Morgan & Weisbrod today via this website for a free, confidential consultation.
If you have become disabled and are no longer able to work at your current occupation, it is important to know if job retraining will hurt your chances of receiving Social Security disability (SSDI) benefits.
At Morgan & Weisbrod, LLP, our Social Security Disability attorneys advise clients to participate in job retraining programs if they are able to do so. In many cases, the approval or denial of your Social Security disability benefits comes down to the issue of whether or not you could perform some different kind of work than the jobs you had in the past.
Participating in a job retraining program through the Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services (DARS) may help establish that you are unable to perform any type of regular job. DARS may also pay for examinations and testing to help determine what kind of retraining would be suitable for you. This is valuable documentation that can help your SSDI application or appeal.
If you participate in a rehabilitation and job retraining program and you find out you are able to work, you will most likely make more money through employment than you would collect in Social Security disability benefits. In these cases, our disability benefits attorneys may still pursue payment of benefits for the time during which you were unable to work. Your chances of receiving these benefits may be enhanced because, in most cases, we will be asking for benefits for a year or two and not for the rest of your life.
If you have questions about receiving Social Security disability, please start a free live chat with us today.
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From offices in Dallas/Fort Worth and Houston, the Social Security Disability Claims attorneys of Morgan & Weisbrod, LLP help disabled people throughout Texas receive the disability benefits they deserve. Cities we serve include Tyler, Longview, Austin, El Paso, Lubbock, San Antonio, Waco, Amarillo, Bryan, College Station, Angleton, Galveston, Sugar Land, Beaumont, Arlington, Irving, Denton, McKinney, Plano, Carrollton, Amarillo, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, and Abilene.
People who have applied for Social Security disability benefits as well as those currently receiving benefits may work—up to a certain limit. It can be beneficial financially and psychologically for people to work and earn money, even if it only amounts to a few hours of work a day or a couple hundred dollars a month.
That point is known as the point of substantial gainful activity (SGA). Very generally, substantial gainful activity is just a fancy way to say the word “work.” If you are unable to work at all, or if you are not able to work enough to earn a substantial amount of income, you are eligible for disability benefits. Taking a closer look, the Social Security Administration defines SGA as:
The specific amount that you can earn changes regularly according to the national average wage index. In 2016, substantial gainful activity is a monthly income of $1130 for non-blind Social Security disability recipients and $1820 for blind Social Security disability recipients.
Social Security disability recipients who earn the SGA amount or more may no longer be considered disabled under the Social Security Administration rules. It is important to note that if you are performing services that the SSA values at the SGA amount or more, you may be disqualified from receiving benefits even if you do not receive wages for your work.
If you would like to return to Substantial Gainful Activity after a disability but you are unsure if you will be able to support yourself, you may take advantage of the SSA’s trial work period.
Going back to work after being on Social Security disability can be confusing. If you have questions about your eligibility for Social Security disability benefits or about how substantial gainful activity could affect your disability payments, you may wish to speak to an experienced lawyer. The Social Security disability lawyers at Morgan & Weisbrod offer free, private consultations. Call us today to learn more.
Free Consultation ∙ Handicapped Accessible ∙ Se Habla Español
From offices in Dallas/Fort Worth and Houston, the Social Security Disability Claims attorneys of Morgan & Weisbrod, LLP help disabled people throughout Texas receive the disability benefits they deserve. Cities we serve include Tyler, Longview, Austin, El Paso, Lubbock, San Antonio, Waco, Amarillo, Bryan, College Station, Angleton, Galveston, Sugar Land, Beaumont, Arlington, Irving, Denton, McKinney, Plano, Carrollton, Amarillo, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, and Abilene.
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