In Orlando, Kissimmee and Central Florida
Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) is often confused with Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security. SSDI is a government program that provides financial benefits to people who are disabled, either physically or mentally, and cannot work for the short-term or for the rest of their lives. SSDI is a complicated process that involves a great deal of paperwork and meeting of strict deadlines. If one mistake is made on a form or a deadline is missed, your benefits will likely be denied. In fact, many people are denied benefits on their second, third and even fourth application. For this reason, the Florida Social Security Disability attorneys at Best Law Firm Florida P.A. in Orlando highly recommend you contact us immediately should you find yourself disabled and unable to work.
While it is impossible to tell you exactly how long an SSDI claim will take and when you will begin to receive compensation, we can give you an idea of how the process works and what our role, as your SSDI lawyer, will be.
SSDI Time Frame
A Social Security Disability claim may take less than 30 days or over 2 years to be decided. You begin the disability process by filing an initial disability claim with the Social Security Administration. Once your initial disability claim is taken, it is sent to the state disability agency for a medical determination. Generally, your initial disability claim takes anywhere from 30 to 90 days to be examined and decided. Although most initial claims take 90 days or less, some take longer depending upon availability of medical evidence, need for further consultative examinations, and so on.
Besides contacting our attorneys if you are denied, you can contact Social Security to file an appeal known as “reconsideration.” It is easier to have one of our SSDI lawyers handle your appeals, though, so you never miss your deadlines. All Social Security appeals have a 65 day appeal period, and if you miss this deadline, you may have to begin your disability claim again. Usually, a reconsideration appeal takes 60 days or less to receive a medical decision. However, only 10% to 15% of all reconsiderations are approved. Your chances are so low because your reconsideration is sent to the same state disability agency that denied your initial disability claims. The only difference is that your reconsideration appeal is sent to a different disability examiner for review.
The next appeal level is where you are most likely to win your disability benefits if your initial claim was denied. At this stage, you can appeal the decision by filing a request for a hearing before an administrative law judge. This judge will have more leeway in making medical decisions than state agency disability examiners. The biggest problem with this appeal level is the time it takes to receive an administrative law judge hearing. The backlog can be months or even years long. Again, we strongly recommend letting us handle all of this process for you so you can focus on rehabilitation instead.
If you live in or around Orlando, Florida and need an SSDI lawyer, please contact the experienced Social Security Disability lawyers at Best Law Firm Florida P.A. today to schedule your confidential consultation.
