Carmel, Indiana—located in Hamilton County—has many local Social Security Disability attorneys who are available to help disabled individuals qualify for benefits. As of December 2012, in Hamilton County, there were 1,228 Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients and 3,430 Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) recipients.
Learn more about SSI and SSDI here or contact your local Social Security field office:
5515 N. Post Road
Indianapolis, IN 46216
Telephone: 1-800-772-1213
Room 685
575 N. Pennsylvania St.
Indianapolis, IN 46204
Telephone: 1-800-772-1213
Hiring a Carmel Social Security Disability Lawyer
Applicants for disability benefits are advised to retain the services of an attorney or advocate for several reasons. Among these reasons—having an attorney can actually increase your chances of being approved. An attorney can ensure that your claim is filed completely and correctly and can also prevent you from making mistakes that could cause your application to be denied.
If you are worried about paying for an attorney, you should keep in mind that you won’t be required to pay your attorney unless you are actually awarded benefits. Even then, the Social Security Administration has established a limit to the amount an attorney can charge.
A Carmel legal professional will also handle claims in the following cities: Westfield, Fishers, Noblesville, Zionsville, Lawrence, Speedway, Indianapolis, Brownsburg, Beech Grove, Lebanon, Greenfield, Plainfield, Anderson, Greenwood, and Elwood.
For more information about hiring an attorney or advocate, click here.
Any questions you have regarding the legal professionals in your area can be addressed to the Hamilton County Bar Association:
Hamilton County Bar Association
255 E. Carmel Drive
Carmel, IN 46032
Carmel Disability Hearings
Ultimately, many initial disability claims will be denied. When this happens, the applicant can choose to file an appeal. The appeals process is made up of two stages—the Reconsideration and the Appeal Hearing.
If your case proceeds to the hearing level, you will be required to appear in front of an Administrative Law Judge. At this time, we suggest that you consult with a Social Security Disability attorney if you haven’t already.
Because there is no hearing office—or ODAR—located in Carmel, Carmel residents will likely attend appeal hearings in the Indianapolis office. Listed below you will find statistics and facts regarding the Indianapolis office and the hearings held there. Although these numbers may not currently be relevant to your claim, they will become relevant if your claim ever proceeds to the appeals phase of the application process.
(Note that this data was collected for the months between September 2012 and July 2013.)
- The Indianapolis ODAR scheduled 4,552 appeal hearings.
- 85.59% of hearings were resolved— meaning they ended in approval, partial approval, or denial.
- The Indianapolis ODAR has 13 Administrative Law Judges.
- Each judge handles an average of 1.7 dispositions daily.
- The entire Indianapolis ODAR handles an average of 22.1 dispositions daily.
- 96.32% of Indianapolis hearings were held in person; the rest were handled through video conference.
- As of July, 2013 the Indianapolis ODAR had 7,960 pending cases and a wait time of 358 days.
Contacting your Congressperson
When you receive a hearing date, be prepared to see that it is not for another several months to a year away. During this time you may find that your health deteriorates and that your financial instability worsens. If this is the case, you may wish to contact a local congressperson to request that he or she intervene with the Indianapolis hearing office on your behalf. If successful, this can move up your hearing date. If unsuccessful, this will not negatively impact your claim in any way.
11611 N. Meridian Street, Suite 415
Carmel, IN 46032
Telephone: 317-848-0201
Fax: 317-846-7306
Complete the following form for a free legal evaluation with a Carmel disability attorney or advocate.
