When you’re trying to get disability benefits through the Social Security Administration, you should look for a law firm in the Gettysburg, PA, area that can help you through the entire process. Osterhout Berger Daley is here to help you through every step, and we have more than 50 years of experience.
Applying for SSD Benefits
When you’re applying for disability benefits through the Social Security Administration, there are several methods that you can try. First of all, it’s possible to simply apply online, which is a great idea if you’re looking for a convenient method. Another option is to go to the Social Security Administration office in your area, which you might choose to do if you want a way that’s simple and gives you the option to talk to someone in person. A final option is to come to us at Osterhout Berger Daley so that we can talk to you in person and come up with a good plan to optimize your chances of receiving a favorable outcome with your claim. While you don’t technically need to have representation to make a claim, you’re much more likely to be able to get a favorable outcome because we know how to ensure that all of the steps are taken care of and the paperwork is handled properly so that you don’t miss out on the opportunity over a simple error.
Applying for disability insurance requires that you provide plenty of medical documentation to the SSA. For instance, you’ll need to sign off on the release of your medical records about your condition. This will include a list of the doctors that you’ve visited, including those whom you’ve seen for your specific condition on a regular basis. But you’ll also need to provide a list of doctors that you’ve seen if you’ve gone out of your normal list of care providers for an emergency. Additionally, the SSA will need to know all of the hospitals and clinics where you’ve received care, and you’ll be required to provide evidence of your condition and the treatments that you’ve received for it. Finally, when you’re making a claim, you’ll need to explain how this condition impacts your daily living and ability to work.
While there are times when this will be sufficient information to be able to receive disability benefits, there are also times when some people have to get another evaluation called a consultative examination. This is an exam in which the SSA chooses the doctor to further assess your condition.
Appealing a Denial
There are times when even the best claims are denied because the Administrative Law Judge makes a mistake or because the case is unique enough that the exact situation hasn’t come up. When this happens, you should consider moving forward with the appeals process. If your case is approved, you’ll be able to go before the SSA Appeals Council. This is the only stage of the appeals that happens within the SSA system, and the purpose of appealing a denial is to show that the ALJ made a mistake in originally denying your claim. This is often a point of confusion for people because they think that the purpose of an appeal is to give more evidence that supports their claim that they are eligible for disability benefits through the SSA. Instead, the purpose of an appeal is to give evidence that the ALJ made a mistake. For instance, if they weren’t aware of a recent ruling at the federal court level, this might be an instance in which they make a mistake if your case is similar to the one that went to the federal level. You’ll have 65 days from the time that your claim is initially denied to file the appeal, and Osterhout Berger Daley can help you start the appeals process and finish it correctly and on time.
If you don’t receive a favorable judgment at the Appeals Council level, you can also go to the federal court level to receive a judgment. When you take your case before this level of the courts, you’ll still try to show that there was an error made in your case or that there is something unique about your case that warrants further investigation and an overturn of the original decision.
What We Do To Win Your Case
When you come to us at Osterhout Berger Daley, you can be certain that will do everything in our power to present your case in the best possible light and win it for you. That’s why we communicate with your regularly about the status of your case. We want you to always be informed about the latest of what is going on with your claim or appeal, so we’ll do everything that we can to ensure that you get the latest information on your case through a variety of forms of communication, including email, text, phone call, and letter.
We also take full responsibility for explaining to you every step of the process. We know that it can be confusing if you’ve never applied for disability benefits through the SSA, so we make sure that we help you throughout the process by telling you what’s coming next.
Preparing you for the hearing with the judge is also an important job that we take on when you decide to work with us. It causes people a lot of anxiety when they don’t know what kinds of questions they’ll be asked, but we can make everything easier for you by asking you them ahead of time.
We take the time to work with you throughout the process to build your medical history documentation to a level that will likely result in a positive outcome. For instance, you might be interested to learn that we can remind you to follow your treatment plan and ensure that all of your medical histories are submitted to the judge on time.
Having expertise in how to handle a claim or appeal is also of the utmost importance, so we make every effort to ensure that we can help you with all of the technical aspects of filing a claim and talking to the judge on the day of the hearing.
Finally, even when the best efforts are made, there are times when your claim might still be denied. That’s why we can start working on submitting the paperwork for an appeal as soon as we find out about the denial.
What You’ll Need To Do
Taking the time to fully understand how you can make the process go more smoothly will greatly help us at Osterhout Berger Daley. The most important thing to remember is that we need you to remain available to us. That means that we need you to regularly answer phone calls and get back paperwork in a timely manner. There are some things, such as authorization of medical record release, that only you can do, and we want you to make decisions for yourself. That’s why we need you to respond promptly.
It’s also imperative that you comply with your medical treatment plan. This means that you need to go to all of your doctor’s appointments, take any prescribed medications, and do any prescribed therapy. If you don’t comply with your medical treatments, it can give the message that your condition isn’t really that serious or doesn’t impact your life that much.
How We Can Help
There are several ways in which the team at Osterhout Berger Daley can help you receive the benefit you deserve. We help individuals who need to…
- Apply for Social Security Benefits and want to ensure everything is done right the first time
- Appeal a denial of Social Security Disability Benefits
If you are facing one of these situations, please do not hesitate in reaching out. Our team of experienced attorneys are here to help, and your consultation is free.
