When a debilitating injury affects not only your health but your ability to make money, hope may seem lost. Depending on the severity of the injury, you could go months at a time without work or an income. Fortunately, social security can provide a monthly source of income while you are out of work. Unfortunately, 70% of SSD claims are denied after the first claim. While that is a high percentage, there are ways to make the most of your claim to ensure a notice of decision in your favor.

Before applying for social security benefits, you must prove you are disabled by evaluating your injury. There are five steps* to determine if you are disabled. They are as follows:

1. Are you Working?

If you are working and your earnings average more than a certain amount each month, you will generally not be considered disabled. This amount changes every year.

2. Is Your Medical Condition “Severe”?

Your medical condition must significantly limit your ability to do basic work activities—such as walking, sitting, and remembering—for at least one year.

3. Is your Medical Condition on the List of Impairments?

Conditions on this list are considered so severe that they automatically mean that you are disabled as defined by law. If the severity of your medical condition meets or equals that of a listed impairment, the state agency will decide that you are disabled. If it does not, the state agency goes on to step four.

4. Can you do the work you did before?

At this step, the state agency decides if your medical condition prevents you from being able to do the work you did before. If yes, you qualify, if not you go to the last step.

5. Can you do any other type of work?

The agency evaluates your medical condition, your age, education, past work experience and any skills you may have that could be used to do other work. If you cannot do other work, the state agency will decide that you are disabled.

*List and information from lawfirms.com, Applying for Social Security Disability.

Once your disability is determined, you can file your claim. SSD claims go through four stages of an evaluation process: making a claim, requesting an appeal, request for a hearing, notice of decision. As stated before, the majority of claims do not make it past the first two stages. However, “your chances of winning your benefits claim are greatly increased when you are represented by an experienced disability attorney” (www.Nationaldisabilitylawyers.com).

Having an attorney ensures the completeness of medical bills and records, which are imperative to the success of your claim. While you can represent yourself in an SSD claim, attorneys pay special attention to due dates, signatures and medical verification. Also, attorney’s have a better chance at getting copies of medical bills and records from doctor’s office, which only strengthen your claim.

Also, being sure to record all disabilities and treatment plans increases the validity of your claim. Disabilitysecrets.com says, “When a Claimant does not properly list every treatment source on an disability application or SSD appeal, the effect can be dramatic. A case can literally be slowed down for weeks or months as a result or, worse, be decided without crucial evidence being reviewed. Typically, this results in a denial. Cases that are properly represented, of course, stand a much better chance of avoiding such scenarios and eventually being won.”

It is also beneficial to your claim to have the support of your physician. Regardless if a doctor says he supports you getting disability benefits; it is more advantageous to receive that support in a written letter which can be presented during the hearing.

When filing your appeal, be sure to keep track of important deadline and hearing dates and always maintain a nice relationship with those working on your case.

When filing an SSD, the time before a notice of decision is made is indefinite. Because of this, it is encouraged you budget your finances to prevent debt and are discouraged from making large purchases during this time.

Should you be disabled and looking for an attorney to represent your disability claim, consider the attorneys at Ronaldson and Kuchler. We have only your best interest at heart and want you to receive the benefits you deserve during this most unfortunate time.

<a href=”http://www.linkedin.com/companies/ronaldson-and-kuchler-law-office” ><img src=”http://static.linkedin.com/scds/common/u/img/webpromo/btn_cofollow_badge.png” alt=”Ronaldson and Kuchler Law office on LinkedIn”></a>