Livonia Social Security Attorney
Applying for Livonia Social Security Disability Benefits
Each year thousands of taxpaying Livonia, Michigan residents make regular payments to the Social Security Administration. In exchange for these payments, these hard-working citizens are supposed to be covered by disability and retirement benefits. If a worker develops a serious long-term or permanent disability, Social Security Disability benefits should kick in and help this disabled worker meet his or her living expenses. Unfortunately, the way the system actually works isn't the way these disabled workers often image it would be.
The fact is, the Social Security Administration denies approximately 70 percent of the disability claims received each year. This results in the need for a disability appeal. With each denied disability application, an applicant who appeals the denial is added to the already-overwhelming backlog of Social Security Disability cases. Because of this, it can take years before a disability applicant sees a single payment from the Social Security Administration. If you want to increase your chances of being awarded benefits during the initial stage of the application process, thereby avoiding the need for a long and drawn-out appeal, your best bet may be the services of a Livonia Social Security Disability attorney.
Livonia is a part of the Detroit metropolitan area. As such, it has seen a significant impact from recent economic difficulties. However, the area's economic status seems to be rebounding. The high-tech, automotive, government, educational, finance and private sectors all play a role in the city's economic well being. Ford Motor Company, Comercia Bank, Madonna University and The Harvard Drug Group all provide significant employment opportunities in the area. While the unemployment rate in the entire Detroit metropolitan area is currently above 12 percent, the rate of Livonia itself is much, much lower coming in at only 6.3 percent. This number shows that the unemployment rate of Livonia is even below the national average.
The city of Livonia is home to nearly 100,000 Michigan residents. In the State of Michigan, approximately 4.8 percent of the population receive Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income. These beneficiaries receive an average benefit amount of $1,121.80 per month. Unfortunately it can take these applicants a year or more to receive their first disability payment. This is due to the fact that the majority of disability applicants are denied benefits during the initial stage of the application process, resulting in the need for a disability hearing in front of an administrative law judge.
The offices in charge of scheduling disability hearings for Social Security Disability applicants are known as ODAR offices (Office of Disability Adjudication and Review). Fortunately, applicants who are applying for benefits in the Livonia area can benefit from the recent opening of the new Livonia ODAR office that was opened in 2010. This office was opened to make it easier for Livonia-area residents to obtain a disability hearing before an administrative law judge. It takes this office approximately nine months to schedule a hearing for a disability applicant
Hiring a Livonia Disability Attorney
While the Livonia ODAR office has made the hearing process faster, it will still take more than a year for a Livonia applicant to complete a disability appeal. If you hope to avoid the appeal process altogether, your best bet is to retain the services of a Livonia Social Security Disability lawyer. This professional will help you fill out your claim forms in their entirety, ensuring that all questions are answered properly, and will help you obtain the medical evidence that will be necessary to prove your case to the Social Security Administration.
If, for some reason, your Livonia Social Security Disability claim is still denied, your attorney can represent you through each stage of the appeal process. The first thing your Livonia Social Security attorney will do is file a request for reconsideration. It is important to note, however, that nearly 90 percent of these requests are denied. This means that you will most likely need to appear at a disability hearing before an administrative law judge.
Your Livonia Social Security lawyer can help you prepare for your disability hearing. He or she will gather additional evidence to support your disability case. Your lawyer may also retain expert witnesses to testify on your behalf. You can also benefit from the advice that your lawyer will provide to you regarding how to present yourself at this hearing and how to answer the questions that are asked of you by the administrative law judge.
Many Social Security Disability applicants are tempted to represent themselves at their disability hearing in order to save money. This could be detrimental to your disability claim. Statistics show that applicants who attend a disability hearing with proper legal representation are much more likely to be awarded benefits than those who do not. When you combine these statistics with the fact that a Livonia disability lawyer works on a contingency basis, only collecting 25 percent of the back pay you are awarded by the Social Security Administration (up to a maximum of $6,000) it is readily apparent why the services of such a professional are crucial to the success of your case.
A Livonia disability lawyer can also help disability applicants in the areas of Inkster, Ann Arbor, Farmington Hills, Northwest Detroit and Pontiac.
If you are interested in obtaining an evaluation of your Social Security Disability case, simply fill out the form for a free evaluation of your free Social Security Disability evaluation and to get more information about hiring a Livonia Social Security Disability attorney.
