Lawrence Social Security Attorney
There are millions of severely disabled Americans living in the United States today. However, only a fraction of these individuals are actually receiving Social Security Disability payments. Many of these people are suffering from severe financial hardship due to the way the Social Security Administration handles the majority of disability claims it receives. The truth is, nearly 70 percent of the claims that are received by the SSA each year are denied. The applicants who file these claims must then go on to appeal the SSA's decision to deny their Social Security Disability benefits. Unfortunately, this appeal process is anything but fast and easy. If you live in the Lawrence, Kansas area and you want to increase your chances of being awarded benefits during the initial stage of the disability claim process or want to overturn the SSA's decision to deny your disability claim, you need the services of a Lawrence Social Security Disability attorney.
Lawrence benefits from a solid and stable economy. The unemployment rate of Lawrence is only 5 percent, which is less than half of that of the national average. The retail sector plays a large role in the area's economic well-being, as do the educational and tourism sectors. The streets of the city are lined with many small businesses such as gift shops, music stores and art studios. The median household income in Lawrence is $39,826 and the cost of living index is nearly ten percent below the national average.
Applying for Lawrence Social Security Disability Benefits
There are more than 91,000 people who call Lawrence home. In the State of Kansas, approximately 3.9 percent of the population receives Social Security Disability benefits. The average disability payment that a Kansas Social Security Disability recipient receives is $1,036.00 per month. Unfortunately, while this disability payment can significantly offset much of the financial burden that can be caused by a disability, it will take the average Lawrence disability applicant more than two years before seeing their first disability payment from the Social Security Administration.
While it is true that the initial disability claim process only takes three to four months to complete, only about 30 percent of claims are approved by the SSA during the initial stage of the claim process. This leaves the other 70 percent of applicants with the need to pursue a Social Security Disability appeal if they hope to get the financial assistance they need from the SSA's disability program. This appeal process usually consists of a Request for Reconsideration and a hearing before an administrative law judge. The Request for Reconsideration will add another three to six months onto an applicant's wait time and the hearing itself will take well over a year to be scheduled. The applicant then has to wait another two to three months after the having to find out whether or not the administrative law judge decided in his or her favor.
Hiring a Lawrence Disability Attorney
Fortunately, many Social Security Disability applicants can increase their chances of being awarded disability benefits during the initial stage of the disability claim process by utilizing the services of a Lawrence Social Security Disability lawyer. This professional can help you in the preparation of your disability claim forms and can ensure that your application is presented in such as way so that there is no question regarding your eligibility for disability benefits from the Social Security Administration. If your application is still denied despite these efforts, your Lawrence Social Security attorney can represent you through each stage of your Social Security Disability appeal.
When you hire a Lawrence Social Security lawyer to represent you in your Social Security Disability appeal, your attorney will help you gather the medical evidence that will be needed to prove your disability to the Social Security Administration. He or she will gather medical records and written statements from your doctors. Your lawyer may even call in expert disability witnesses to testify on your behalf. Statistics show that applicants who hire an attorney to help them through the appeal process are much more likely to be awarded benefits than applicants who do not.
If you are worried about the cost of legal representation, you will be pleased to know that these professionals work on a contingency basis. Instead of paying your Lawrence disability attorney an hourly rate, he or she will collect 25 percent of the back pay that you are awarded by the Social Security Administration, up to a maximum amount of $6,000.
The exact amount that your Lawrence disability lawyer collects will vary depending on the amount of back pay that you are awarded and how much your monthly benefit amount is. For example, if you are awarded 12 months of back pay and your monthly benefit was the Kansas average of $1,036.00 per month, you would be entitled to $12,432 in back pay from the SSA. However, your attorney would receive $3,108 for his or her services out of this amount (25 percent of your back pay amount), so you would collect $9,324 instead of $12,432. No matter how much you back pay amount is, however, you lawyer's fees will never exceed $6,000. If you do not win your case, your attorney does not collect a fee.
Click here to request a free evaluation of your Social Security Disability claim and to learn more about hiring a Lawrence Social Security Disability attorney to represent you in your disability case.
