Receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits can make the difference between becoming a true burden on family and friends and living independently with a debilitating illness or an incapacitating physical or mental condition. Federal budget pressures and constantly evolving administrative rules, however, continue to make securing SSDI benefits increasingly difficult.

This is the number one reason to hire a Cleveland SSDI attorney to advise and represent you as you apply to the Social Security Administration: The process is tough to navigate. Bureaucracies are impersonal and uncaring. The person on the other end of the phone or sitting across the desk at the Social Security office may truly feel for you and want to help. Regardless, rules must be followed. Your disability lawyer in Cleveland will ensure you follow all the rules and give the Social Security personal every reason to approve your application.

Following all the rules means, among other things,

  • Reading and understanding the rulebook
  • Filling out forms completely
  • Delivering forms to the right people in the right offices by the designated deadlines
  • Ensuring that the doctors and other health care providers who submit diagnoses and evaluations of the nature and extent of the claimed disability are fully qualified to do so

Doing all the right things the right way will still only get you so far toward being approved to receive Social Security Disability Insurance payments. A large number of first-time SSDI applications get declined. When the application packet raises no technical red flags (e.g., the applicant never paid into Social Security, the diagnosis does not appear on the list of covered disabilities), the reason for rejection is usually insufficient medical evidence.

This points to the second significant reason to work with a disability lawyer in Cleveland while applying for SSDI: You can expect to file at least one appeal. Several levels of appeal are available, and most turn on the collection and presentation of additional information on how the applicant became disabled and remains incapable of working enough to cover all of his or her living and health expenses. Your Cleveland SSDI attorney will connect you with a network of skilled physicians and therapists who can provide ongoing care and generate the reports the Social Security Administration needs to see to approve your SSDI application.

The final level of appeal of a Social Security Disability Insurance rejection is a federal civil lawsuit. We have now arrived at the third reason you need protection from a Social Security lawyer: Getting the federal disability benefits you require can take a long time and be very discouraging. You will want to abandon your SSDI case if you try going at it alone. In fact, you may not even realize there is a way to proceed after a denial of benefits. Your Cleveland SSDI attorney will not quit when encountering obstacles. Nor will your lawyer get thrown by the legalese and medical jargon used in many communications from the Social Security Administration.

Disability lawyers in the Cleveland offices of Agee Clymer Mitchell and Portman welcome opportunities to help people apply for SSDI benefits. You can request a free consultation by calling (800) 678-3318 or using this online contact form.