“Do I need a Social Security disability lawyer?”
DON’T LOSE YOUR RIGHTS - FIND OUT HOW
The U.S. Social Security Disability Insurance system protects workers under 65 against earnings loss due to disability. In the case of an injury or accident you may have suffered while on the job, your Social Security disability claim is different from a standard workers’ compensation claim, in that the cause of your injury is irrelevant. The main issue is whether your injury prevents you from being able to work in North Carolina. If you have been severely injured and unable to work, or are facing time away from work because of an injury or accident, you may be eligible for benefits under Social Security Disability.
Definition of Disability under Social Security
Social Security Disability Insurance, officially known as old age, survivors, and disability insurance (OASDI), only distributes benefits for total disability. It is based on a person's inability to work, not on their inability to find a suitable job. Partial disability or short-term disability will not qualify for Social Security Disability benefits.
The Social Security Administration will consider a North Carolina worker totally disabled if he cannot do work that he did before his injury and his medical condition makes it impossible for him to adjust to other types of work. A disability must also be expected to last for at least one year, or result in death.
Title II and Title XVI
The Social Security Administration maintains two federal programs to provide assistance to disabled people: Social Security Disability Insurance (Title II), and Supplemental Security Income (Title XVI). Supplemental Security Income provides income support for the elderly poor, blind or disabled poor adults, and blind or disabled poor children, if certain resource thresholds are met.
Both of these benefit programs generally pay monthly benefits to people who have a disability that is likely to either result in death or an inability to work for a year or more. Benefits usually continue until the injured worker is able to work again, subject to periodic continuing disability reviews.
Your monthly disability benefits are based upon your lifetime average earnings as covered by Social Security for Title II, and upon certain assets required For Title XVI. If you have a severe disability or severe impairment, contact a North Carolina Social Security lawyer now to secure assistance with your Social Security disability claim.
Total Disability under Social Security
Some people assume that total disability under Social Security means being completely incapacitated. One does not have to be confined to a bed or a wheelchair to be eligible for disability benefits under Social Security. Also, one does not have to be permanently disabled to apply for Social Security benefits either. Your disability must be expected to last for at least twelve months or more.
Ineligibility
Being a current recipient of another government program such as food stamps or welfare does not make one ineligible for Social Security Disability Benefits or Supplemental Security Income. In fact, in some cases it may even help your case.
Incarcerated felons cannot receive federal benefits even if they are disabled. You also cannot receive disability benefits for any month in which there is an outstanding warrant for your arrest for a felony crime, or a crime punishable by death or imprisonment for a year or more.
Parole violators also cannot receive disability benefits. If you were once charged with a felony and your case was later dismissed or closed, you may have to clear your record before you can be eligible for benefits. It is important to disclose such matters to your NC Social Security Disability attorney when you seek to apply for Social Security disability benefits.
Test for Eligibility
To obtain social security benefits, you must have worked and paid OASDI taxes and prove that you are not physically, mentally or psychologically capable of doing a job that is generally available in the national economy. Furthermore, the totality of the medical evidence, that is, your medical records, must substantiate your disability claim. A medical doctor's opinion should be supported by objective clinical or laboratory findings. When you hire a North Carolina Social Security disability lawyer, he will ask your medical doctors for records that will document your disability claim.
Amount of Benefits
The amount of disability benefits you may receive from Social Security is based on your lifetime earnings and depends upon how much you contributed into the Social Security program through OASDI taxes.
For example, Social Security recipients who die before reaching retirement age do not receive the balance of their OASDI payments back. However, retirees who live many years after they retire may continue to receive a monthly stipend long after they have received much more than they individually contributed.
