When you need a law office that has over 50 years of combined experience and has helped thousands of people obtain the disability benefits from the SSA that they need, talk to Osterhout Berger Disability Law. We’re here for people in Cameron County, PA who need legal counsel for their disability claim.
Applying for SSD Benefits
If you’re trying to find a place where you can get advice when you file your disability claim with the Social Security Administration, talk to us at Osterhout Berger Disability Law. We’re invested in seeing you have a positive outcome with your disability claim, and we’ll walk you through every step of the process, from putting together your claim to filing an appeal if the claim doesn’t go in your favor. But there are a couple of other routes that you could take. The first is to fill the application out online at home. This option is for people who value the convenience of never leaving home, but it’s not a great option if you’ve never gone through this process because you have no one to ask for help from. Another option is to go to the Social Security Administration office in your area to fill it out and ask questions from the office workers. The problem with this is that they aren’t invested in seeing you win your claim, and that’s why so many people choose to come to us at Osterhout Berger Disability Law.
When you fill out the paperwork, there are several types of information that you’ll have to provide, including a list of all of the doctors that you’ve seen for your condition and a list of all of the facilities that you’ve been treated at or gone to appointments in. You’ll also be asked to tell about your condition and how it impacts your daily life. For instance, you should tell about how it affects your ability to do daily life activities, including walking and taking care of your personal hygiene. You should also tell about how your condition impacts your ability to do your current job.
While not everyone will have to go through a consultative exam, there are some people who have to because the SSA needs more information to make a decision on their claim. A consultative exam is done by a doctor of the SSA’s choosing, and if you receive a letter telling you to go, you have to in order to retain the possibility of receiving disability benefits. When you go, you might have to do more tests or speak in more detail with the doctor about your condition.
Appealing a Denial
If you made a claim for your disability and have been denied, you can still appeal the denial. This is often the best option for people who believe that their claim was denied in error. There are a few times when a claim is denied for reasons that would warrant the denial being overturned. For instance, if your claim is similar to another claim that was recently ruled on at the federal district court level, there’s a chance that the Administrative Law Judge didn’t hear about this ruling that would also apply to your case. Another reason that a denial might be overturned is if there was a change to the Blue Book after you made your claim and you didn’t supply certain pieces of evidence because they were irrelevant at the time that you made a claim.
When you start the appeals process, the first place that you have to go is the Appeals Council, which is within the umbrella of the Social Security Administration. If your claim is also denied at this level, there’s the possibility of making your claim at the federal district court level. While most appeals are denied at this level, they take appeals seriously, so you’ll get a fair shot.
You should remember that appealing a denial isn’t the same thing as making a claim for disability benefits. When you appeal a denial, the point isn’t to show that you have a condition or that this condition makes it impossible to work. Instead, you’re trying to show that the ALJ made a mistake when denying your claim. This means that you won’t submit any new information about your condition unless it’s information that wasn’t previously submitted because it wasn’t relevant to your case at the time that you originally made the claim.
What We Do To Win Your Case
When you come to Osterhout Berger Disability Law for your disability claim, we’ll communicate with you regularly about the status of your claim, including what you can expect next. We’ll explain the entire process at the beginning, and we’ll be available for questions whenever you need us.
Building your case is priority number one in the beginning phases of the claim process, and we can work with you to put together the information that you need, including obtaining medical records that we’ll need to submit to the judge. We’ll make sure that all of this information is submitted to the judge by the deadline, and we’ll remind you to follow your medical treatment plan so that the judge will know that your condition is serious.
When you need someone to represent you, we’re the best option because we can deal with all of the jargon that typically confuses people who have never been through the process. We also fully prepare you for your hearing by asking you the questions that the judge is probably going to ask you. This way, you can prepare your answer beforehand rather than feeling caught off guard on the day of the hearing. We’ll explain to you the most important points of focus for your case so that you have a better understanding of what the ALJ will be looking for in your answers. And if you need any expert witnesses for your case, we’ll also take care of finding them and making sure that they’re ready for the hearing.
We’ll start the appeal process if you get an unfavorable response on your claim and we determine that an appeal is your best next step. You can be assured that the claim will be filed promptly and well within the 65-day deadline.
What You’ll Need To Do
One of the most important things that you need to do to optimize the likelihood that you’ll win your claim is to continue with the treatment program that’s been laid out by your doctor. When you fail to go to appointments or continue with treatments like medication and therapy, you send the impression that your condition isn’t nearly as bad as what you say it is. A judge might also wonder if your condition would improve if you did all of the treatments that you were told to do by your doctor.
You should also stay in contact with us, especially when we send you a text message, phone call, email, or another form of communication. Sometimes we’ll just need to update you on your case, and other times we might want your input on what you want to do next. Sometimes we might have a question for you, and other times we’ll have something that only you can sign that needs your attention. For instance, you’re the only person who can sign the release forms for your medical records. If you don’t sign them in time, the judge won’t have access to them, which means that your case would be likely to get denied.
How We Can Help
There are several ways in which the team at Osterhout Berger Disability Law 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.
