Chester County, PA Disability (SSDI) Lawyer

When you are living with a serious and prolonged injury or illness, the resulting pain and set of limitations can make it impossible to maintain a steady income.  This can create an extremely stressful situation in which you cannot work, yet your financial obligations continue to pile up. While a physical or mental impairment may be preventing you from keeping steady employment, you are still left to struggle with steadily mounting medical bills, utility bills, mortgage bills, and other costs.

Fortunately, you don’t have to struggle on your own.  The Social Security Administration, or SSA, projects awarding over $10 billion to nearly nine million disability beneficiaries in 2014, with the average monthly award exceeding $1,000.  These benefits come in the form of SSI (Supplemental Security Income) and SSDI (Social Security Disability Insurance), and are available to disabled adults and children alike.

But while SSI and SSDI are invaluable resources for millions of disabled Americans, they are often extremely difficult to be approved for.  In Pennsylvania, the average approval rate for initial applications hovers around just 30%, leaving the remaining 70% of rejected claimants to embark on the complex and convoluted appeals process.  If you are among the 1,851,000 Pennsylvanians living with a disability, you should have access to the benefits you deserve.  An experienced attorney can help you get there.

To schedule your completely free and private legal consultation with a Chester County, Pennsylvania disability lawyer, call the law offices of Young, Marr, Mallis & Associates at (609) 755-3115 in New Jersey or (215) 701-6519 in Pennsylvania. Claims can take months or even years to be fully processed by the SSA, so don’t delay: call us today to start exploring your options.

As the numbers cited above reflect, the statistical odds of being approved for disability in Chester County are somewhat poor.  This does not mean that benefits are impossible to obtain — it simply means that you need to make your claim as strong as it can possibly be.  The dedicated and knowledgeable social security lawyers of Young, Marr, Mallis & Associates will guide you and advocate on your behalf as you go through the application and appeals process.

Our legal team is equipped with more than 25 years of practical experience.  Over our many years handling these cases, we have worked with thousands of clients, and have successfully claimed millions in rightfully owed SSI and SSDI benefits.  Our attorneys have handled claims across the full spectrum of disabilities, and have represented both adult and child claimants.

Qualifying for Disability Benefits in Chester County, PA

About 506,575 people reside in Chester County, and among them, nearly 44,000 live with a disability.  If you are disabled in Chester County, how does the path toward SSI or SSDI benefits begin?

First, you will need to make your initial application, which can be done in online, over the phone, or in person at a social security office.  Once your application has been submitted to the claims examiners at the SSA, the average processing time ranges from three to five months, but can be shorter or longer depending on the nature of your impairment.  If your application is denied, you can request Reconsideration, and if Reconsideration fails, you can proceed through the appeals process to an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) Hearing, an Appeals Council Review, and even federal court.
Before you apply, you should be aware of the basic guidelines the SSA uses to make its disability determinations:

1. Your impairment must either have lasted for at least 12 months, be expected to last for at least 12 months, or be expected to end in death.
2. Your impairment must be severe.  Mild and easily treatable conditions will not qualify.
3. Your impairment must prohibit you from working.  Not only must you be unable to work at your usual job, you must also be unable to work in any modified, alternative jobs.
4. Your income should not exceed $721 per month for SSI, or $1,070 per month for SSDI.

Once you pass these general requirements, your claim will be evaluated based on your specific medical condition.  This evaluation will follow the criteria contained in the SSA’s “Blue Book,” or Listing of Impairments.  While the Listing is fairly comprehensive and important, it is not the ultimate standard for approval or denial.  Even if your condition does not appear in the Blue Book, or does not precisely match the criteria therein, you may still be able to qualify with a medical-vocational allowance, or a Compassionate Allowance (CAL).

Our Chester County Disability Attorneys Can Help

To schedule your completely free and confidential case evaluation, call the law offices of Young, Marr, Mallis & Associates at (609) 755-3115 in New Jersey or (215) 701-6519 in Pennsylvania, or contact us online today. Applying for disability can be a challenge, but our attorneys are here to help you every step of the way.