Your Chattanooga Social Security Disability Lawyers

While getting Social Security Disability benefits should be easy, the process can be very confusing. An SSD attorney can help you fight for your rights, avoid costly mistakes, and get the benefits you desperately need.

Yes! Statistically speaking, 77% of applications are denied in their initial filing. After a hearing, the approval numbers jump to nearly 50%. Finally, with the help of a qualified Chattanooga, TN, disability lawyer, the approval rates jump to nearly 60%.

Everyone is different, and the amount you can collect each month depends partially on the nature of your disability and the work you did before you were hurt.

Long-term disability insurance policies or other private forms of disability benefits won’t affect your SSDI benefits, but workers’ compensation or other temporary benefits from the state can reduce your federal benefits. You can only get a total of 80% of your prior earning level from federal and state disability sources.

You can work while receiving Social Security Disability benefits, but how much you can work and how much you can earn is strictly limited. These limits change from year to year, and your Chattanooga, TN, disability lawyer can help you work out what they are for you. If you make more than the annual limit, you will be considered able to work and may lose your benefits after a short trial work period. If you’re planning on going back to work, it’s a good idea to discuss this with our lawyers at McMahan Law Firm so you’re aware of the potential effects on your benefits.

If you collect SSDI, your spouse and children or your ex-spouse may be able to also receive benefits as dependents. These benefits will be less than your monthly benefits. Dependents must be spouses, children under 18, or young adults who became disabled before the age of 22.

Spouses who are at least 62 years old and ex-spouses at least 62 years of age that you were married to for at least 10 years can collect benefits. Finally, if your ex-spouse cares for your children, they can collect benefits until the children turn 16, or they can continue to collect indefinitely for a child who became disabled before age 22.

SSI and SSDI are all-or-nothing forms of compensation for disability. You have to be completely disabled and unable to work at all according to the Social Security Administration in order to collect benefits. Partial disability does not allow benefits because the SSA will assume that you can hold a different kind of job even if you can no longer work your former job.

To collect disability benefits, your disability doesn’t have to be permanent, but it does have to be long-term. Your disability must be expected to last at least one year or be terminal in order for you to collect. If you experience a health improvement, which the SSA might see as an increase in your non-Social Security earnings or a return to work, you could lose your benefits.

If, however, you file a claim and get better before it’s granted, you may be eligible for back payments for the period during which you were disabled. Talk to our Social Security Disability attorneys to let us advocate for your rights and get the help you need filing for these benefits.

Far too many honest social security claims are denied every year. This means that you need to collect all the medical proof you can to back up your claim. You may include records from doctor’s visits, surgeries, procedures, medications, therapy sessions, and more. Any reports from doctors and specialists you have worked with can be vital medical proof.

If you end up going before a judge on appeal, your Chattanooga, TN, disability lawyer at the McMahan Law Firm may bring forth medical experts to testify for you, which can weigh heavily in your favor. We will be your fierce and loyal advocates.