You will receive a Notice of Award setting forth your “date of entitlement,” the amount of past-due benefits, and the total amount of benefits. It will also set forth the amount of money held back to pay your attorney’s fees. The Notice might also provide information about your eligibility for Medicare and Medicare premiums. It may also set forth a date on which your Social Security disability benefits will be reevaluated. If you have any questions about the Notice, contact a Greenville disability lawyer.

When Should I Expect the Notice of Award?

You should receive the Notice of Award after you receive your check or direct deposit (if applicable) for past-due benefits.

When Will My Benefits Begin?

Many claimants believe their disability benefits will be paid as of the date they were deemed disabled. However, not only does the Social Security Administration require a five-month waiting period, but payment of back benefits is limited to twelve months before the application date. Thus, your benefits will begin on the later of:

• Twelve months before your application date; or
• Five months after you were deemed disabled.

This is your “date of entitlement.”

How Much Will My Monthly Benefits Be?

Your Social Security file sets forth your first month’s benefits. However, the Social Security Administration might adjust this amount if, for example, all your earnings were not accounted for when the amount was initially computed. Thus, your benefits may be higher. In addition, each December, benefits are raised due to a cost of living increase.

For questions about your Social Security disability claim, contact the dedicated and experienced Greenville disability lawyers The Dennison Law Firm.

If your Social Security disability application process has advanced to the hearing level, you will get your day in court to prove to the administrative law judge (ALJ) why you deserve Social Security disability benefits. Although this is your chance to provide the ALJ with as much detail as possible, you do not need to give a detailed testimony about your medical history. Your Greenville disability attorney will have already submitted your medical records for the ALJ to review prior to your hearing.

One of the major requirements established by the Social Security Administration to qualify for disability benefits is that the applicant must suffer from a disability for at least 12 months prior to receiving disability benefits. Thus, the ALJ may ask you questions regarding any dramatic changes in your condition during that time. Your Greenville disability attorney will prepare you as to how much detailed information you need to provide the ALJ in answering such questions.

The amount of time spent questioning you regarding your medical history will vary by case and depend largely on your medical condition. In general, if your disability involves an unusual impairment, the ALJ will most likely ask you several questions regarding your medical history in order to have a better understanding of your particular condition.

Additionally, if it is apparent that the ALJ needs more clarification or information about your condition, your Greenville disability attorney will also ask you questions regarding the current treatment you are receiving for your condition.

If you have been denied Social Security disability benefits and would like assistance with your appeal, contact an experienced Greenville disability attorney at The Dennison Law Firm for a free initial consultation.

By the time you appeal your claim for Social Security disability benefits the second time, to the level of the administrative law judge, you will probably be somewhat tired of the process and unsure of what to expect. However, you should not be frightened or intimidated by the prospect of sitting at a hearing. A qualified Greenville disability lawyer can help prepare you for what to expect at your hearing so there are no big surprises.

The hearing will be held in a small conference room. There may be a few official trappings around the room such as the seal of the Social Security Administration or an American flag. There will probably be a conference table in the room, as well as a small table for the judge’s assistant. The judge’s desk will sit on a small riser that is slightly above the level of the conference table where you sit, but do not get the impression the judge will be towering over you from above.

The room will also have recording equipment present in order to record your hearing. For this reason, make sure you speak clearly when you answer the questions. The microphones will be able to pick up your answer from anywhere in the room provided you speak loudly enough. But do not use inaudible gestures to answer such as shaking your head or pointing to your body. Answer yes-or-no questions with a clear “Yes” or “No.”

If you have further questions about what to expect at your hearing, contact an experienced Greenville disability lawyer at The Dennison Law Firm today to schedule a free initial consultation.

One possible way that an applicant may qualify for Social Security disability benefits is via the Listing of Impairments.

The Listing of Impairments is a large list of common medical disabilities, and the Social Security Administration grants benefits to applicants who either meet the listings (that is, have a disability that is on the list) or have a medical condition that is “medically equal” to a disability on the listing in terms of how it impairs them.

Meeting the Listing of Impairments is relatively straightforward, and once the Social Security Administration verifies your health care provider’s diagnosis of your condition, you will be found disabled and qualify for benefits. However, many of our clients have trouble understanding what it means to “equal” the Listings.

Typically, applicants equal the Listings when: (1) they have an impairment that is similar in nature and severity as an impairment of one the listings or (2) when they have a group of impairments that cumulatively result in symptoms similar in nature and severity to an impairment on the listings. While the Social Security Administration sometimes allows your health care provider to make this evaluation, more often than not, it will hire a third party medical examiner to evaluate your condition.

This solution is not a perfect one. The medical examiner may not even examine you directly, but rather, he or she may simply inspect your medical records. Mistakes may be made. This is just one of the reasons why it is such a good idea to have a Social Security disability attorney on your side. Call one of the dedicated Social Security disability attorneys at The Dennison Law Firm today for a free initial consultation.

The threat of fraud is frequently cited by Workers’ Compensation insurance companies as justification for some of their more obtuse policies. They might claim that their reluctance to pay you is due to their compliance with policies that protect them from fraud. They may even claim that their obstinacy protects you, the insured, as well.

However, Workers’ Compensation fraud is not the threat that Workers’ Compensation insurance companies make it out to be. In fact, independent studies have found that less than 2 percent of all Workers’ Compensation claims are fraudulent. The Workers Injury Law and Advocacy Group reported in a study that there were only 178 fraudulent claims in the 55,854 Workers’ Compensation claims filed in Florida in 2005. Only 80 fraudulent claims were filed in Kansas in 2006, a year when 66, 469 Workers’ Compensation claims were filed in the state.

Moreover, employers and insurance companies have far worse tendencies towards insurance fraud. 89% of fraud accusations are made against employers rather than employees. The state of Tennessee has collected over $300,000 in fines from employers and insurance carriers in relation to Workers’ Compensation insurance fraud. The state of New York reports that 25-30% of employers are not providing their employees with proper coverage as per state regulation.

If you have been injured in a South Carolina workplace, an experienced South Carolina Workers’ Compensation attorney can get you the settlement you deserve. Don’t accept the insurance company’s excuses. Call The Dennison Law Firm today for a free initial consultation.

If you are interested in receiving legal advice about your Social Security hearing, please contact The Dennison Law Firm for a consultation with a skilled Greenville disability lawyer. Here’s a brief overview of the Social Security hearing process:

As stated in the Social Security regulations,“…[a]t the hearing, the administrative law judge looks fully into the issues, questions [the claimant] and the other witnesses, and accepts as evidence any documents that are material to the issues…even though the evidence would not be admissible in court under the rules of evidence used by the court.”

However, the way that your hearing will be administered will depend on who your administrative law judge (ALJ) is, since each ALJ handles hearings differently. But generally, you can expect to see the ALJ permit the parties to question witnesses who will be testifying under oath. What may be different is whether or not your ALJ will ask witnesses to remain in the waiting room while you testify.

One thing to be aware of is that if you plan on going to your hearing without the representation of a lawyer, your ALJ may use a different approach. For instance, if you have chosen a Greenville disability lawyer to represent you the timing and degree of questioning by your ALJ could be different. In that case, the ALJ may refrain from questioning you until after your lawyer has had an opportunity to ask questions.

While your ALJ will ultimately determine when the issues will be argued and when the evidence will be admitted, there are standard procedures set forth in the HALLEX (a Social Security Administration manual), which most ALJs around the country follow.

If you have any additional questions about your upcoming Social Security hearing and are interested in having a Greenville disability lawyer represent you, please contact The Dennison Law Firm for a free consultation.

You may have questions about what is expected of you after you apply for and are granted disability benefits. You may worry that your benefits may be in danger of stopping or you need to check in regularly to keep them coming. A Greenville disability attorney can tell you what to do.

Do not worry that the Social Security Administration is going to make it difficult to keep your benefits going. For the vast majority of claimants, their disabilities are found to continue at the initial evaluation, and very few claimants have their benefits stopped.

You might still receive contact or materials from the Social Security Administration. For the most part, you will not have any problems with your case after you are found disabled, but sometimes, complications arise. It is a good idea to keep all decisions, notices, and letters you receive from them for your personal file and read everything closely. The award letters and notices will provide you with valuable information. Pay especially close attention to anything that tells you what kind of information you are required to report to the Social Security Administration and when. Make sure you report promptly and keep a copy for your own files. Finally, instead of relying on the Social Security Administration’s 1-800 number, it might be better to visit the local Social Security office for more reliable information.

If you have any questions about how to keep your disability benefits going, contact an experienced Greenville disability attorney at The Dennison Law Firm today for a free initial consultation.

When a patient is filing for Social Security disability benefits, he or she may ask a treating doctor for some help in order to make the claim more credible. Subjective descriptors of pain and suffering are one thing, but it is a requirement that patients have an objectively identifiable impairment in order to qualify for disability benefits, and the testimony or record of a doctor is critical in establishing that. A Greenville disability attorney can help you understand the role of a treating doctor in the process.

The fact is objective medical findings are extremely important to disability claims. Medical findings will help determine the range of possibilities of the patient’s abilities. If a patient’s condition does not meet the Listing of Impairments, then the patient can look to a combination of medical findings to try to equal the Listing of Impairments instead. Some medical findings are inconclusive; for example, the Social Security Administration has found that there is a lack of correlation between X-ray findings and the function of a joint.

If you are a doctor and have been asked by a patient to prepare an opinion as to the patient’s ability to perform work, the best method is to talk to your patient about his or her ability to do work-related activities. But exercise your own professional judgment to determine if what the patient says is reasonably consistent with what you know about the patient’s medical condition.

If you have further questions about the role medical findings play in a Social Security disability claim, contact an experienced Greenville disability attorney at The Dennison Law Firm today for a free initial consultation.

If you have applied for Social Security disability benefits and been denied twice, you may appeal to the hearing stage, during which you will sit before an administrative law judge (ALJ). This hearing may seem intimidating, and a Greenville disability attorney may be able to advise and prepare you for the hearing.

The hearing may begin with the ALJ reciting the case history of your claim from the beginning and stating the issues to be decided in your case. The ALJ will describe precisely what it is up to you to prove in your case, although his or her explanation will probably not be clear and simple. The ALJ may recite the Social Security Regulations’ definition of “disabled,” which is that you must be “unable to perform substantial gainful activity which exists in significant numbers in the economy, considering your age, education and work experience.” This may sound like you must be permanently bedridden to be found disabled, but it is not as stringent as that.

The ALJ may ask you questions or give your Greenville disability attorney an opportunity to ask you questions. Whether you are asked questions by the ALJ or your attorney, answer them as if the ALJ knows nothing at all about your case. Do not assume that just because your lawyer is the one asking you the questions that you don’t need to explain your answers in detail because he or she already knows your case.  The hearing is your one chance to personally describe to the ALJ how your impairments prevent you from working.

If you have further questions about preparing for your disability hearing, contact a Greenville disability attorney from the Dennison Law Firm today for a free consultation.

In order to qualify for Social Security disability benefits, your impairment has to last for at least a full year. In practice, this means that if your impairment has not lasted for a full year prior to when you applied for benefits, you must have evidence that it can be expected to continue at least a full year.

Claims are denied based on the duration requirement when the impairment in question is likely to improve or heal entirely within a year. If it is unclear whether or not your impairment will improve within this timeframe, your case may be delayed until a clearer answer can be found. Furthermore, the Social Security Administration can be extremely slow in scheduling and holding hearings. If the duration requirement is in question when you apply, it may have been met retroactively by the time you are granted a hearing.

If you have an impairment that is reoccurring or sometimes goes into remission, you typically do not have to worry about the duration requirement. The impairment just has to keep you from working for a sustained amount of time. However, there must be at least one impairment that continually prevents you from working. The law expressly prohibits stringing together unrelated impairments that would not last one year individually in order to meet the duration requirement.

If you have unfairly been denied Social Security disability benefits for this or any other reason, an experienced South Carolina disability attorney can help you get the benefits you deserve. Call the Dennison Law Firm today for a free initial consultation.