West Texas Social Security Disability FAQs

Under Social Security rules, you’re only considered disabled (and eligible for benefits) if a medical condition or injury is expected to keep you from working for at least 12 months (or result in death). Your disability can be a physical condition, a mental condition or a combination of both.

After a Social Security Disability claim is filed, the case is sent to a disability examiner. The examiner makes the initial decision on your claim.

Yes. Mental illnesses are often used as a basis for getting Social Security Disability benefits.

INITIAL FILING — You need to apply for Social Security Disability benefits within a certain time frame (usually five years) after you’re unable to work. However, every month you wait will reduce the total amount of benefits. If you wait longer than five years to apply, you may not qualify for any benefits. We strongly recommend that you apply for Social Security Disability benefits as soon as you are unable to work.

APPEAL — The next important deadline is the appeal. If your initial claim is denied (and most are), you’ll only have 60 days from the date of your decision letter to file an appeal with Social Security. The 60 days start after you receive your denial letter. Social Security assumes you received the letter 5 days after the date on it unless you show them that you did not get it within the 5-day period. If you don’t file an appeal within 60 days, you give up your rights to the appeal process or you must have good reason for delaying more than 60 days to file your appeal. Even worse, you may have to start the application process all over again. We strongly recommend you engage an attorney to help you file your appeal.

FEDERAL APPEAL — Even if you’ve been denied at the hearing level and on appeals, you can still appeal in federal court. If this happens to you, please contact Baynetta M. Jordan, P.C., Attorney at Law, and let us see if we can help you appeal to federal court.

It can take approximately four months to receive a decision on your initial application. If your application is denied, it can take an additional year and a half to get a decision as your claim works its way through the appeals process. However, certain circumstances can shorten that time period, so let us determine if any are applicable to your case.

That depends. If you’ve been eligible for Social Security Disability benefits for two years – whether you’ve actually received the benefits or not – you qualify for Medicare. If you’re awarded Supplement Security Income (SSI), you won’t receive Medicare, but rather Medicaid, a needs-based program that provides for a number of prescriptions and doctor visits each month.

Now you file a written request for reconsideration within 60 days of the denial notice. After that there are four levels of review: Reconsideration, Hearing, Appeals Council, and Federal Court.

If you were denied, we strongly recommend you contact an attorney. The appeals process is complex so you should contact someone who knows the law of the Social Security system.

It’s not up to your doctor to determine whether you are disabled. It’s up to Social Security to make their own decision regardless of what your doctor thinks.

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a program for people with little or no income or resources who have not paid enough money into the Social Security system to qualify for Social Security Disability benefits.

If you have a disability and have not paid enough into Social Security, you may qualify for SSI. The monthly amount for SSI is based on financial need and determined by several factors including household income, your entitlement to SSD benefits, long-term disability benefits and/or Workers’ Compensation benefits.

The Social Security Disability system is laced with pitfalls and involves thousands of different rules, regulations, and procedures. You can be denied benefits if your doctor doesn’t know the legal definition of disability. You can also be denied benefits if Social Security doesn’t receive enough evidence on your behalf. Your case can be dismissed altogether if an appeal is handled improperly.

An experienced attorney – like Baynetta Jordan – who knows the Social Security system can help your doctor explain your disability to you, submit important supporting medical evidence, analyze each part of your Social Security file, prepare your testimony before a court hearing, and even cross-examine medical experts who may testify at your case hearing.

You should contact an attorney before you file a claim with the Social Security Administration. Baynetta M. Jordan, P.C., Attorney at Law, can help you plan a strategy to have your case approved from the beginning. If you wait to get an attorney after your claim has been denied, you may harm your case with different damaging statements or other information. This information can be used against you on appeal.

Yes. A lawyer can help you file a civil action in the United States District Court or appeal your claim to the United States Court of Appeals.

At Baynetta M. Jordan, P.C., Attorney at Law, we’re with you at each stage of your claim. Should you lose your case during your hearing, we can help appeal in federal court by submitting written legal arguments and attending oral arguments if necessary.

Baynetta Jordan has years of experience helping people in Texas secure benefits. She understands that every case is unique so she’ll treat your case with the highest level of care.

If you try to get disability benefits on your own, you’ll quickly learn that it’s harder than you thought. Most people are denied. But Social Security’s own statistics show that you have a better chance of securing disability benefits when you’re represented by an attorney.

If you need to apply, or if you were denied, give us a call today for a free case evaluation.

The law regulates attorneys’ fees in Social Security Disability cases. So virtually every disability lawyer works on the same fee basis. The lawyer’s fee is 25% of the past due disability benefits you get. There is no fee if you don’t win.

Contact our office today. We’ll arrange a consultation to determine whether you qualify for Social Security Disability benefits. If you do, we’ll help you start the proceedings for the best chance to secure disability benefits.