When a person gets sick or injured and can’t work, there are no government programs available to help them immediately. For the first 12 months they are expected to live off of their savings, use a long-term disability program from their work, or have family and friends support them. After that, they can apply to the Social Security Administration to be covered by the Social Security Disability program. Although this is a program that the disabled person may have paid into for decades, it is extremely difficult to be accepted into the program. Many people are denied benefits because of technical problems with their applications.
Anyone who is considering applying for these benefits should hire a social security attorney in Evanston. A lawyer who has helped many people obtain these benefits knows how the system works and what the government reviewers look for in an application. Many people and their doctors don’t realize that it’s not about being sick, it’s about not being able to do their job. There are people who have chronic illnesses or who are disabled and can still function to make a living. The disabled person attempting to get into this program has to show that the disability prevents them from doing their job.
Therefore they have to carefully outline their job responsibilities and what physical, intellectual, and emotional skills were necessary to accomplish the task. They will have to document the exact aspect of their illness that prevents them from doing their job. They will have to itemize all of the equipment that they were required to use on the job. It is also necessary to state if they were standing or sitting to do the job. They will have to describe what parts of their body they used to run the machinery. Any accommodations such as sitting on a stool to ring sales as a cashier have to be noted.
If the initial application is denied, the applicant only has a short time to request an appeal. An administrative law judge will hear the appeal. A lawyer from the Social Security Administration will be on hand to defend the agency’s position. The applicant, their attorney and any witnesses will also be there.
Jeffrey A. Rabin & Associates, Ltd., has social security attorneys experienced in helping people in Evanston file a successful application for obtaining the benefits. Browse Rabinsslaw.com for more information.
