Abilene Social Security Attorney
Each year more than three-million disabled workers will apply for Social Security Disability benefits. Of these applications, a mere thirty percent are approved by the Social Security Administration during the initial stage of the application process. The remaining 70 percent of disabled workers must undergo the complex and exhausting disability appeal process in order to obtain the benefits they need. If you are thinking about filing an application for Social Security Disability benefits in the Abilene, Texas area, the services of an Abilene Social Security Disability attorney can greatly increase your chances of a successful disability claim.
In its beginning, Abilene's economy was based almost entirely on agriculture, but these days the economy of the city is much more diverse. Today the economy of Abilene is influenced by the oil, agriculture, commerce, service, and light manufacturing sectors. Dyess Air Force Base is the city's largest employer, providing jobs to more than 6,000 employees. Hendrick Health System, the Abilene Independent School District, Abilene State Supported Living Center, and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas also provide Abilene residents with a number of the area's job opportunities.
The City of Abilene is home to more than 115,000 Texas residents. In the State of Texas, approximately 3.4 percent of the population receive Social Security Disability benefits. The average disability benefit for a disabled Texas worker is $1,050.30 per month. While this monthly disability payment can help offset the financial burden caused by a disabling condition, the fact that it takes an Abilene disability applicant an average of 253 days to complete the disability claim process is less than ideal.
Applying for Abilene Social Security Disability Benefits
The reason for the extensive processing times for Abilene disability applicants is due to the fact that the majority of disability claims are denied by the Social Security Administration during the initial stage of the disability application process. This results in the need for a disability appeal, which will most likely involve a hearing before an administrative law judge. Because there are so many appeals backlogged in the Social Security system, it can be months before an Abilene disability applicant is scheduled for this hearing.
Hiring an Abilene Social Security Disability lawyer to assist you in your disability claim will increase your chances of having your disability application approved during the initial stage of the application process. Your lawyer can help you prepare your disability application and present it in the best light possible to the Social Security Administration. If your application for benefits is still denied by the Social Security Administration, your Abilene Social Security attorney can represent you in your disability appeal, increasing your chances of overturning the SSA's decision to deny your disability benefits.
Hiring an Abilene Disability Attorney
If you have already applied for Social Security Disability benefits and have been denied, you may still be able to obtain the benefits you need. In order to do this, you should hire an Abilene Social Security lawyer as soon as possible. Your lawyer will begin the appeal process by requesting a disability hearing before an administrative law judge. Although there is a “reconsideration” stage of the appeal process and your Abilene disability attorney can represent you through this stage of appeals, fewer than twenty percent of appeals are won at this level. In contrast, two-thirds of appeals are won at the hearing stage of the appeals process. This is most likely due to the fact that many applicants are represented by attorneys at their disability hearing.
If your initial application and request for reconsideration have been denied by the Social Security Administration, your Abilene Social Security Disability attorney can help prepare you for your disability hearing. He or she will advise you regarding how to answer the questions you will be asked at this hearing, how to respond to the administrative law judge presiding over your case, whether or not you will need witnesses and what you should and should not say during the hearing process. Statistics show that your chances of being awarded benefits at the hearing stage of the disability appeal process are significantly increased with proper legal representation.
Many disability applicants avoid hiring an Abilene Social Security Disability lawyer because they feel that they are unable to afford quality representation. The truth is that the services of an Abilene Social Security attorney are affordable to almost everyone. Abilene Social Security lawyers work on a contingency basis. If an Abilene disability attorney is willing to take your case, he or she will receive 25 percent of the back disability payment that you receive from the Social Security Administration (up to a limit of $6,000). If you do not win your disability case, your lawyer does not get paid. This means that it is in your lawyer's best interest to win your case for you and get you the benefits you deserve.
Click here if you would like to request a free disability case evaluation and to learn more about hiring an Abilene disability attorney to represent you in your claim for Social Security Disability benefits.
An Abilene Social Security Disability lawyer will also handle disability claims in the following cities located in Taylor County, Jones County, Callahan County, Coke County, Runnels County, Nolan County, and Fisher County: Impact, Hawley, Anson, Merkel, Trent, Sweetwater, Caps, View, Potosi, Eula, Clyde, Baird, Buffalo Gap, Tuscola, Albany, and Breckenridge.
