Each and every year millions of people file for Social Security Disability benefits. Statistics have shown that between 60 to 70 percent of these disability applicants will be denied during the initial stage of the application process. These denials result in the need for a disability appeal, which can take some applicants more than two years to complete.
Fortunately, the services of a Schaumburg Social Security Disability applicant can help increase your chances of a favorable outcome when filing an initial application for Social Security Disability benefits. If you are thinking about applying for Social Security Disability benefits in the Schaumburg area or if you need to file an appeal of your denied Social Security Disability claim, you need to consider the services of a Schaumburg Social Security Disability lawyer.
Schaumburg benefits from a diverse economy. The manufacturing, retail, educational, technology, government and finance sectors all play a large role in the village’s economy. Some of Schaumburg’s top employers include Motorola, Woodfield Mall, Community Consolidated School District 54, IBM, Comcast, Genworth Financial and the Village of Schaumburg. The median household income in Schaumburg is approximately $92,000 per year while the cost of living index is just five percent higher than the national U.S. average.
Applying for Schaumburg Social Security Disability Benefits
If an individual wishes to qualify for Social Security Disability benefits in the Schaumburg area, that individual must suffer from a disability that prevents them from performing any type of work activity and that disability must be expected to last for a period of at least one year. However, it is up to the Social Security Disability applicant to prove that his or her disability actually prevents any form of work activity. This proof is furnished in the form of documented medical evidence and, in some cases, an exam that is performed by a third-party medical professional.
Many Social Security Disability applicants wait until their application for disability benefits has been denied before hiring a Schaumburg Social Security attorney or disability advocate. Unfortunately, this decreases the applicant’s chances of being awarded benefits during the initial stage of the application process.
A denied disability claim will result in a disability applicant needing to pursue the SSA’s disability appeal process – a process that can take more than two years to complete. To make matters worse, some statistics have shown that the initial award ratio in Illinois is lower than that of other stages, making the services of a Schaumburg Social Security lawyer even more vital. Hiring a Schaumburg disability lawyer to represent you in your disability claim and to help you with your initial disability application will help you ensure that your application is filled out properly and that it is presented to the Social Security Administration in the best light possible.
This can increase your chances of approval during the initial disability application process, thereby eliminating the need for a disability appeal.
Hiring a Schaumburg Disability Attorney
If, for some reason, your initial claim for Social Security Disability benefits is denied by the Social Security Administration, the services of a Schaumburg disability lawyer can increase your chances of successfully appealing the SSA's decision to deny the disability benefits that you may be entitled to.
If your initial disability claim is denied by the Social Security Administration, you will likely need to attend a disability hearing. Although there is a stage of appeals prior to a disability hearing (referred to as a Request for Reconsideration), fewer than 15 percent of these requests are awarded by the Social Security Administration. You and your attorney will be focusing on the hearing stage of the appeal process. It is at this stage that nearly two-thirds of disability appeals are won by disability applicants.
Unfortunately, it will take quite some time for a disability hearing to be scheduled for a Schaumburg disability applicant. The office that is in charge of scheduling disability hearings for Schaumburg Social Security Disability applicants is the Peoria ODAR office.
It takes this office an average of 688 days to schedule a disability hearing, and this time period is not counting the time that it takes an applicant to complete the initial application process and the request for reconsideration. Once the hearing is conducted, it then takes another 60 to 90 days for an applicant to discover whether or not the judge overseeing the hearing decided in the applicant’s favor.
While the outlook may seem bleak, the truth is that your chances of a successful Social Security Disability hearing are greatly increased if you retain the services of a Schaumburg Social Security Disability attorney. Your Schaumburg Social Security Disability lawyer can help prepare you for your Social Security Disability hearing and will help you understand what you should do to increase your chances of a successful appeal and what you should expect during the hearing process.
