Social Security Disability Lawyers in Ohio

Do I Meet the Disability Qualifications in Ohio?

Proving you have a qualifying disability so you can get any of the forms of assistance available through SSDI or SSI isn’t simple as it should be.

“Disability” to Social Security is different from what a lot of people, or even doctors, often think. For SSI or Social Security Disability Insurance eligibility, the definition of disability is the inability to work. These are the disability qualifications:

• You must have life-altering health problems.
• You must be unable to work because of your medical conditions.
• Your condition must be severe enough to last at least a year.

Social Security measures how much you can work using a standard called “substantial gainful activity,” or SGA.

SGA is a monthly amount you’re allowed to earn from working. If you go over that amount, you won’t qualify for disability benefits. The line shifts over the years.

To evaluate your health, Social Security compares your illness to its list of impairments, looks at medical records from your doctors, and weighs your ability to carry out basic tasks needed for jobs—such as lifting, standing, walking and concentrating for extended times—in a rating it calls your “residual functional capacity” or RFC.

Qualifying for disability benefits is complicated. Your Social Security Disability lawyer from HNB tackles the tough parts so you can rest easier.

Get in touch with HNB today.

How to File for Disability in Ohio

When you’re ready to apply for SSDI or SSI, you have a lot of tasks to complete:

• Keeping up with medical appointments
• Collecting medical records from your doctor’s visits describing your symptoms
• Providing dates of treatment plans, medical procedures, surgeries and hospitalizations
• Describing the medications you take
• Explaining any assistive devices or equipment that you need
• Writing down your past jobs and duties
• Listing your training and education
• Submitting financial information
• Filling out pages of forms
• Asking friends, family and others in your life to provide statements of how they’ve seen your health struggles affect you

You can file for disability benefits online, over the phone or by mail. But the Social Security Administration is difficult to deal with.

Instead of wrestling with it, have an Ohio SSDI attorney from HNB deal with them for you.

Our disability attorneys have been through this process with thousands of Ohioans and know what information you need, what you don’t need, how to get the right documentation, and how to present everything to Social Security in a way that works for getting benefits.

We can help you avoid mistakes in your disability benefits application. Working with a disability lawyer can improve your chances of winning benefits in the end.

Call the HNB disability lawyers in Ohio when you need to apply for SSDI.

Signs that You Will Be Denied for Disability Benefits & What to Do Next

You may have heard that Social Security Disability denies most people. It’s true. In an average over several years, about 80 percent of first-time applications for disability benefits get denied.

You can be denied disability benefits for many reasons:

• You’re earning too much from work.
• Social Security doesn’t think your health problems are severe enough to qualify.
• They don’t think your health problems will last at least a year.
• The information on your application forms wasn’t strong enough.
• You had errors in your application.
• Or Social Security got something wrong.

Next you should appeal your denial of disability benefits. Really, Social Security appeals are an expected part of the process.

In your disability appeal, you get the chance to update and add medical evidence to your file. You can update Social Security on your work situation. You can point out where Social Security missed something. You can strengthen your arguments for benefits.

The first step to a Social Security Disability appeal is asking for a simple reconsideration. Most of the time, people still get denied.

Then, however, you can ask for a hearing with disability judge. It’s a chance to explain your situation one-to-one. More people win benefits after disability hearings.

If you’re still denied, you still have options. You can ask Social Security to review the judge’s decision at a group called the Appeals Council. And you can take your claim to federal court.

You absolutely want an experienced disability lawyer to handle this process. For appealing, talk to the Ohio SSDI attorneys at HNB.

When Should You Get an SSDI Attorney for Your Social Security Disability Claim?

You may wonder if you need a lawyer for your disability claim. You should know this: a skilled disability attorney can increase your chances of winning benefits, and you don’t pay an attorney fee until you win benefits.

When should you get an attorney?

• When you’re first ready to apply. Your lawyer can help you build a better application from the very beginning.
• As soon as you’re denied disability benefits. You HAVE 60 DAYS TO START YOUR APPEAL, so talk to a lawyer right away.

When you work with an HNB disability attorney in Ohio, they will:

• Keep you updated on your claim
• Ask the right questions to get the information you need
• Help you fill out the required forms
• Work with your doctors to gather medical evidence
• Make sure everything is properly filed with Social Security
• Develop a legal strategy for your claim
• Handle any issues that come up
• Keep you on top of all deadlines
• Prepare you testify for a disability judge
• Present your arguments to a disability judge
• Take your case to federal court if needed

At HNB, our Ohio disability lawyers want to see you get the benefits you need for relief in a difficult time.