This year alone the Social Security Administration is expected to be inundated with more than three million claims for Social Security Disability. The individuals who are filing disability claims have been faced with severe and permanent disabilities that have left them unable to work, which means a loss of income and a lack of medical insurance. With no income to meet their daily living expenses and no insurance to cover disability-related medical bills, the financial situation can quickly spiral out of control. These applicants are relying on Social Security Disability payments to make ends meet.
Unfortunately, actually obtaining disability benefits from the Social Security Administration isn't as easy as one might think. If you live in the Hillsboro area and are planning on filing a Social Security Disability claim, you may want to retain the services of a Hillsboro Social Security Disability attorney to increase your chances of obtaining the benefits you need.
Manufacturing plays the primary role in the economic well-being of the Hillsboro area, with 24 percent of the workforce being employed in manufacturing-related jobs. Education, health care and social services are also vital to the Hillsboro economy. A large number of Hillsboro manufacturing companies are in the technology sector, making Hillsboro the center or Oregon's “Silicon Forest”.
The largest site of the Intel corporation is located within the city limits. The median household income in Hillsboro is approximately $60,000, while the cost of living is just above the national average.
Hillsboro is the fifth-largest city in Oregon and is home to nearly 100,000 residents. Of the 2.4 million residents living in Oregon, approximately 93,000 receive Social Security Disability benefits with an average Social Security Disability payment of $1,067.50 per month.
Although it will take a disability applicant approximately three to six months to complete the initial application process, it takes the average Hillsboro disability applicant more than two years to complete the entire Social Security Disability claim process. This means that the average disability applicant in Hillsboro will not see their first disability payment until two years after they submit their initial application for Social Security Disability benefits.
Applying for Hillsboro Social Security Disability Benefits
Why do Hillsboro Social Security Disability applicants have to wait so long before receiving their first disability payment? The extensive wait times are largely due to the fact that nearly 70 percent of disability claims are denied during the initial stage of the application process, resulting in the need for a disability appeal.
A disability appeal normally consists of a Request for Reconsideration and a Disability hearing. These hearings are processed by the SSA's ODAR offices. The ODAR office responsible for processing hearings for Hillsboro Social Security Disability applicants is the Portland SSD hearing office. It takes this office an average of 679 days to schedule a Social Security Disability hearing before an administrative law judge.
Is there any way for Hillsboro Social Security Disability applicants to speed up the time that it takes to begin receiving Social Security Disability benefits? The truth is, the only way to get payments faster is to be approved for disability benefits during the initial stage of the application process. In many cases, the services of a Hillsboro Social Security Disability lawyer can help you do just that.
Hiring a Hillsboro Disability Attorney
When you hire a Hillsboro Social Security attorney, he or she will go over your disability claim with you. They will review your disabling condition and will help you gather the medical evidence that will be needed to prove your case to the Social Security Administration. Your Hillsboro Social Security lawyer can also help you prepare your application paperwork, prepare for the consultative examination, make sure that all of the questions are answered properly and that your claim is presented to the SSA in the best light possible.
If, for some reason, your application is still denied even though you have had the help of a Social Security lawyer or if you had submitted your claim prior to consulting with a disability attorney, you can appeal the SSA's decision to deny your Social Security Disability claim. The first stage of the appeal process is called a Request for Reconsideration.
It is important to note that this request is normally just a formality since more than 80 percent of these are also denied by the SSA. It is a necessary step, however, in order to move on to the second stage of appeals – the Social Security Disability hearing.
A disability hearing is when you take your disability case before an administrative law judge. While this is where the extensive wait comes into play, this is also when you have the greatest chance of overturning the SSA's decision to deny your disability benefits. Nearly two-thirds of Social Security Disability applicants are awarded benefits as a result of their disability hearing. Proper legal representation increases your chances of a favorable hearing outcome even more.
