Disabled individuals who live in Merced, CA (Merced County) who can no longer hold a job may be eligible to receive Social Security Disability benefits. Although navigating the Social Security Disability application process can be stressful, there are many experienced legal professionals in the Merced area who are knowledgeable of the system and can get applicants the financial assistance they need. In December of 2011 alone, legal professionals helped approximately 5,565 Merced County residents to receive SSDI and helped another 11,172 Merced County residents to receive SSI.
If you aren’t familiar with the two different Social Security Disability programs, you can learn more here. Any other questions you may have can be directed to your local Social Security field office. Listed below is an office near Merced:
600 W Olive Ave
Merced, CA
Telephone: 209-723-2072
Hiring a Merced Disability Attorney
As previously mentioned, the process of applying for Social Security Disability benefits can be stressful. It is important to remember that there is much more to getting benefits than simply filling out some paperwork. If you would prefer to be approved for disability benefits the first time around, we suggest you retain the services of a qualified Merced attorney.
An attorney can help you avoid costly mistakes or errors that might cause you to be denied. To learn more about the advantages of hiring legal representation, click here.
A Merced California, Social Security attorney will also assist claimant’s located in nearby cities such as Fergus, Hoff, Tuttle, Cuba, Lingard, Castle Gardens, Atwater, and Planda as well as Mariposa, Madera, Fresno, San Benito and Santa Clara counties.
If you would like to receive more information about the legal professionals in your area, contact the Stanislaus County Bar Association:
Stanislaus County Bar Association
804 14th Street,
Modesto, CA 95354
Merced Disability Hearings
If you find that your initial application is denied, you will have to schedule an appeal hearing. The majority of Merced appeal hearings are held in the Fresno Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (ODAR). The Fresno ODAR currently has a processing time of 361 days and a backlog of 3,455 claims waiting to be determined.
Below you will find more important statistics regarding the Fresno hearing office. This information may come to be useful should your claim move on to an appeal hearing. These numbers concern the hearings held between October 2012 and January 2013 in the Fresno ODAR:
- 1,187 total appeal hearings were scheduled to be handled in the Fresno Office of Disability Adjudication and Review.
- 87.78 percent of the total hearings were resolved—meaning they were approved, partially approved, or denied.
- The Fresno hearing office employs 10 administrative law judges who hear Merced disability appeal hearings.
- Each judge in the Fresno ODAR hears approximately 2.0 dispositions each day.
- The Fresno office as a whole hears around 20 dispositions daily.
- All of the Fresno office disability hearings were held in person. None were conducted through video conferencing.
Do not worry if these numbers do not make sense to you now. If your claim proceeds to the Fresno hearing office, your attorney or advocate will be able to use this information to better prepare you for your hearing.
Many applicants find that they are unable to wait the standard three to four month period between scheduling their hearing and actually appearing in front of a judge. This is often due to financial or health complications. In extreme circumstances, applicants can contact their local congressperson to request that he or she intervene with the Fresno hearing office to move your hearing to a sooner date.
Your congressperson's contact information is:
698 Emerson Street
Palo Alto, California 94301
Telephone: 650-323-2984
For more on disability benefits in California, see How To Qualify For Disability In California.
Complete the following form to speak with a Merced attorney or advocate free of charge:
