Applying for Bloomington Social Security Disability Benefits
According to the Social Security Administration, approximately 3.8% of Minnesota residents are currently unable to work and receiving Social Security disability benefits. This likely includes many in Bloomington, Minnesota. Bloomington, the fifth-largest city in Minnesota, falls within Hennepin county and is a retail and hospitality hotspot.
It’s nearly 83,000 residents enjoy having the world’s largest indoor shopping structure, the Mall of America, in their town, and many of those who live in Bloomington also work there. Ceridian, Wells Fargo, Express Scripts, and Donaldson Company are also a some of the area’s top employers.
Bloomington’s cost-of-living is around 13% higher than the national average, and the median household income in Bloomington is $54,628. Those who receive Social Security disability benefits in Minnesota get an average monthly payment of $1,161, which may seem encouraging to those who are applying for Social Security benefits in Bloomington.
However, what they may not realize is that a large majority of those who apply for disability in Minnesota have their applications denied. Hiring a skilled Bloomington disability attorney can decrease the chances of this happening, as a Bloomington Social Security lawyer can assist in providing the Social Security Administration (SSA) with all of the relevant evidence and can help ensure that it’s being properly evaluated.
In actuality, over 70% of applications for Social Security disability benefits nationwide are denied. Although the SSA does have an appeals process, it is often-lengthy, and progressing through the multiple levels of appeal can be very stressful and difficult for disabled Bloomington workers who are then often forced to survive on little or no income.
The first two stages of the process, the initial application and reconsideration, can take more than 6 months. If a second denial is received (which happens around 90% of the time,) a disabled Bloomington resident can then file a “Request for Administrative Law Judge Hearing.” The good news is that the majority of these hearings result in a favorable decision for the claimant. The downside is that there is a very long wait to have a hearing.
The Social Security office that schedules administrative law judge hearings for Bloomington Minnesota disability applicants is the Minneapolis hearing office. On average, disabled Bloomington workers wait a whopping 416 days for their hearing. This is in addition to the time they spent waiting for their claim to progress through the earlier stages of the process. This wait of two years or more can be devastating for a disabled Bloomington resident.
Hiring a Bloomington Disability Attorney
Although there are two appeal levels past the disability hearing (Appeals Council and a Federal Court case,) very few claims are approved at those levels. So it’s extremely important to prepare for your administrative law judge hearing to the fullest extent possible. A Bloomington disability lawyer can help in many ways. They can give you an idea of what to expect, and what types of questions the judge may ask.
They can also obtain statements from your doctors, family, and friends to submit to the judge, and depending on the specifics of your case, may even be able to write a request that the judge grant your application without waiting for a hearing to take place. While your success at a disability hearing hinges on many factors, including your specific medical condition(s), what type of work you’ve done in the past, your age and education, and even what judge is assigned to your claim, being represented by a Bloomington Social Security attorney can increase the chances of your hearing resulting in a favorable outcome for you.
Since those applying for disability benefits in Bloomington are unable to work, they may be concerned that they can’t afford the services of a skilled Bloomington Social Security disability attorney. Luckily, this is not the case. There’s no upfront payment required to hire a Bloomington Social Security disability lawyer. SSD attorneys are only paid if the claimant they’re representing is awarded benefits. If benefits aren’t awarded, the attorney is not paid. If benefits are awarded, your Minnesota disability attorney will receive a fee equal to 25% of your “back benefit” payments, up to a maximum of $6,000.
Bloomington disability attorneys will also represent other Hennepin county disabled workers, as well as those in cities such as Richfield, Edina, Eagan, Apple Valley, Eden Prairie, Hopkins, and Rosemount and the neighboring counties of Ramsey, Wright, Carver, Scott, and Dakota.
