Tampa SSDI Lawyer

Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) is intended to help disabled Americans meet their financial needs. In many instances, claims are unfairly rejected. If you are dealing with this complicated system, contact a Tampa SSDI lawyer. A distinguished personal injury lawyer knows this program inside and out and can help you get the benefits you have earned.

There are certain hurdles that must be cleared in all cases such as gathering and submitting the crucial medical evidence, obtaining a formal statement from a physician, drafting a brief that an administrative law judge can review, and prepare the individual to answer questions at the hearing.

Defining SSDI

SSDI is the federal insurance program that provides benefits to qualified workers who can no longer work. To be eligible, the person must be insured under the program, meaning that the person worked long enough and paid Social Security taxes and must meet the Social Security Administration’s definition of disabled. A Tampa SSDI lawyer can help potential clients assess their qualifications before applying.

“Disability” under Social Security is based on the inability to work. The federal government considers individuals disabled under Social Security rules if:

• They cannot do work that they did before
• The government decides that they cannot adjust to other work because of their medical condition
• The disability has lasted or is expected to last, for at least one year, or to result in death.

Pursuing a Claim

Claims can be denied for unfair reasons, and the system has become so complicated that many people find it hard to get their claims heard at all. The most important reason to hire an attorney to help with a disability case is that the probability of getting a claim approved substantially increases. Social Security is more likely to approve an applicant who is represented by legal counsel than one who is not.

From the initial application, to the hearing level, and all the way to an appeal (if it goes that far), disability attorneys understand how to present a case in a favorable manner. On the initial application, a Tampa SSDI lawyer can offer advice on the alleged onset date of the disability, demonstrate that the individual’s medical condition meets one of the listed impairments in Social Security’s manual, and keep the proceeding focused on facts that will be most persuasive to the Social Security bureaucrats.

Disability attorneys charge a fee regulated by federal law, which is usually a percentage of the back pay that the attorney wins for the individual. Little or no money is required up front.

Benefit of a Lawyer

An experienced SSDI attorney can help with all of these things. Some individuals might choose to file the initial application on their own and only hire a lawyer if there is a problem. But in matters like these, the earlier you can get professional advice, the better. Your attorney can help evaluate the strength of the case and help the applicant present the facts in such a way as to make the strongest submission possible.

Although SSDI distributes money earned by workers before they became disabled, all too often, they deny obviously valid claims for assistance. Hiring a skilledTampa SSDI lawyer to represent your interests in these complex proceedings is the best decision you can make.