An Interesting But Motivational Case Of Disability

Disability is something that nobody wants in his or her life. Because, when it comes, it not only hampers your daily schedule but also gives you a financial jolt. Your most of the savings would be used in a matter of few months. And even after you recover from the disability, you may or may not be in the condition to earn from the source you used to. If you are working for a firm, it might happen that the employer could terminate you because you were on leave for long time. You could even go for filing a disability claim against your employer but rather than giving you money quickly this could take more of your money and also you would have to wait for some time before you could get your claimed money. This could give you money but that sum of money would be helpful for few months or few years. But after that your struggle could continue unless you have found other way of earning. Below is the case of disability of a young and enthusiastic girl who was disabled permanently but found her own way of earning. The story goes something like this:

"Stephani Victor is an American girl with vibrant spirit and unstoppable desire to learn. This characteristics of her landed her in a highly competitive film school at the University of Southern California in 1995, where she graduated with honors.

She was well on her way to a successful career in film when she met with a devastating accident. She was hit by an out of control car that crushed her into a parked car while standing in the driveway. In an emergency effort to save her life, doctors removed both her legs. At 26, Stephani was left disabled with whole life ahead.

After 3 years and 11 surgeries, she was left in a very deep financial crisis. Also, she was not able to return to her previous job and she has very limited savings. Her medical bills showed a staggering amount of well over $250,000.00 even with full coverage health insurance. This was too much for someone who had just graduated from the college. But this could not bring her confidence down and even with this disability she decided to make most of her remaining life. In 1999, she tried skiing for the first time with a mono-ski since the accident. This is where she found an opportunity and decided to become a skiing champion. With her utmost dedication and confidence, in 2000, she won her first U.S. National Title in Slalom. Currently she is the reigning World Champion, Paralympic Champion and Overall World Cup Champion.

Thanks to the success in skiing, film and motivational speaking, she is currently in a financially stable position. She considers herself very lucky because nobody could be as fortunate as she was after a life-changing injury. She was not aware of disability claim before the accident. Having a disability claim could really help in reducing the financial burden."

In such cases, even long term disability claims could not help you out and one would have to find his or her own way of earning as in this case she found skiing as her way of earning.

About the Author

Julian Booth writes regularly for disability benefits and disability claims. He has written many articles for long term and short term disability claims.

Facing a Disability? Choose Disability Claims Type Wisely

Brief Overview on Various Disabilities

Disabilities can be of many different types, some mental and some physical. People are not always born with a disability. They might acquire it during the course of their life.

 There’s a long list of physical disability including walking, hearing, sight or even failing to move a certain part of the body. Some of the cases might seem trivial like poor vision or inability to hear out of both ears but they are definitely considered as disabilities.

Even if a person has hard-time talking and conversing with different people, he/she might be at a risk of facing mental disability. If you cannot think for yourself easily then it also counts as a type of mental disability. Individuals suffering from dyslexia have trouble with letters and numbers and they certainly have hard time thinking as compared to average human being. Thus, dyslexia is counted as a disability.

Types of Disability Claims

When it comes to disability claims, there are two types: Long term disability claims and short term disability claims. Depending on the medical condition, you may be eligible for both types of insurance through your employer in the form of a group plan. If your employer doesn’t provide you with these benefits, you can claim the benefits directly through an insurance company on an individual basis.

Short-term Disability or Long-term Disability? Confused?

The application of claim is quite uniform amongst majority of the insurance companies. They require a completely filed application, an insurance medical exam, a telephonic interview and a proof of income tax returns. An average duration for a policy to get the approval is 3-8 weeks. However, the dilemma that many individuals face is whether to claim for short-term or long-term disability.

Conventionally, a short-term disability policy has 7-14 days of waiting period and 3-6 months of benefit period. In most situations, short-term disability claims are intended to pay the benefits while a person is waiting for his/her long-term disability policy. Additionally, short-term disability insurance pays for the expenses for relatively shorter periods and serves as a protection against minor injuries or sickness but not something major.

On the other hand, as per the terms of long-term disability insurance policy, a person becomes eligible for benefits only after 90 days of disability. He/she will continue to get the benefits for five years, ten years or till retirement depending on what was opted during the filing of the claim. A long-term disability program is a life-line for persons who are struggling to pay for their medical and other daily expenses.

Importance of Disability Policies & Choosing a Disability Lawyer

Amid our daily professionals and personal life, most of us never expect or assume that we can face disability. Image a scenario when your daily source of income ceases due to disability. And as a result, we are no longer able to support our everyday expenses and loans. In such grim circumstances, it is these disability policies that help a disabled individual to sail through.

It is advisable that if you do not get benefits from your workplace and opt for individual coverage then you should hire a specialist lawyer who can trust and helps you throughout the entire claim process. A professional attorney can assist you by finding and advising about the best and rightful policy for your disability.

Source: http://socyberty.com/law/facing-a-disability-choose-disability-claims-type-wisely/

Role of disability attorney during different stages of disability claim

Social Security Disability (SSD) Benefit is covered under the Federal Social Security Act. Social Security program includes monthly disability compensations as well as other benefits to disabled individuals and their families. Disability benefits program can offer monetary payments and medical coverage.

Filing a disability claim can be puzzling and strenuous process as there are different checkpoints one needs to go through like eligibility, application, maintaining documents and if needed, appeal for reconsideration amongst others.

The average amount of time for an SSD can be around 120 days. This duration can vary depending on the nature of your disability, medical evidence received by the Social Security Administration and the state in which you reside.

Mistakes you must avoid

Because of many different factors that can affect the outcome of the claim, it’s often observed that people are left confused. Individuals facing disability tend to confide in friends and family and get influenced by hearsay. While many people opine that it is not easy to get disability benefits, it’s not advisable to avoid filing for disability and reconcile to your fate. There have also been cases when disabled person has filed the claim long after the accident. This is a mistake and can reduce the chances of getting your claim approved. Don’t be lost in the lengthy process of the Social Security Disability claim. Consult a reputed disability attorney in your area who will guide and support you thoroughly.

Claim Application

To begin with the claim procedure, you need to fill application form which requires detail about your recent work history, salary and other relevant information. This form is very important and should be filled with utmost care and correctness. Even a minor slip up can result in rejection of your application. When you hire a lawyer he/she takes care of this form and thus probability of rejection decreases.


Maintain Records

After receiving your application form the SSA forwards it to the Social Security Administration of your state. The administration will then thoroughly ascertain the details, available medical records, consult your attending physician and also cross examine you to verify information and determine the severity of disability. Hence, it is necessary that you visit your physician regularly and maintain all records of the visits, medications and note if there’s any update in the status of your disability. You must also keep record of the medical expenses of your disability. This will immensely help your claim and serve as a proof.

Correct and timely information

When you hire a disability lawyer, he/she will help you collect required proofs and medical certificates. You must share with him/her the problems that you encounter in your daily life due to your disability. The lawyer will use all this information to present your claim and thus, increase the chances of approval.

Not only it’s important to provide required information correctly but it is equally essential to furnish it on time to meet deadlines. It is possible that if you miss your deadlines, your claim could be disapproved.

In spite of your efforts if your claim is rejected the first time, you can appeal for reconsideration. Don’t file a fresh application as it’ll delay the process further. Your disability attorney plays a vital role during the appeal process. His/her experience in such cases is significant.

Choosing a right disability lawyer for your case

If you have incurred injuries and are now facing disability then you can rightfully file a disability claim under the Social Security Law. However, if you are not familiar with the legal procedure and lack knowledge regarding such law then it becomes difficult to get favorable results for your disability benefits claim. And when you face rejection of your claim it may further add to your trauma.

But, it is in your hands to have the positive outcome of your disability claim case. You should consider hiring a reliable Social Security disability lawyer as his/her expertise in this field will be of tremendous advantage to you and it will make the progress of your case even quicker. Disability claim lawyers will perform necessary tasks like filing up of claim forms and other required paperwork which you may not be able to do anymore because of your disability. They will also collect all your medical records and certificates required to further attest your claim from your attending physician.

Furthermore, your attorney will also confirm what benefits you are eligible for. After duly completing these tasks, he/she will then file your case. If your case goes for a court hearing in front of an Administrative Law Judge, he/she will also represent you accordingly. His/her expertise can thus give you assurance that acquiring your rightful benefits won’t be an impossible thing. However, finding the right lawyer for your case can be a difficult process. Some people find a lawyer through their family member or a friend who has had to go through the similar process and had experienced success. Some other individuals go through local phone book or the Internet and then make calls to different law firms and lawyers. There’s yet another group of people who ask for recommendations from the state bar association.

When you contact disability lawyers you need to ask some key questions. Inquire about their experience in this particular kind of case that you are bringing and also their success rate. Also ensure that the lawyer is not located too far otherwise communicating and arranging meetings would be another hassle. You must even consider certain eligibility criteria before you hire the lawyer. He/she should be a part of a reputed law firm and if not, then at least he/she should have history of winning legal battles in the court.

Last but most important factor with regard to filing a disability claim is the time. Start the process of searching a professional lawyer as soon as you know about your disability. This is because the entire legal process can be very long and trying. The officials of the Social Security Administration take their time to properly verify your eligibility criteria, medical records and many more such things. Hence timely hiring of an attorney is also necessary so that he/she can start examining your case and thus can handle it efficiently and effectively.

Deciphering the complex process of disability claims

A disability claim refers to the request made for the financial assistance filed with the Social Security Administration (SSA). Generally, an individual can file for disability claims when he/she believes that he/she is facing physical or mental disability leading to inability to find a job or live a normal life. This claim is also referred to as employment disability claims. Two major factors on which your disability claim depends are your financial and medical history.

The entire process of filing claim usually has 5 stages. The first step is the initial reconsideration followed by hearing and later on to appeals council hearing and the appeal in federal district court. You need to fill the forms for either SSI or SSDI under the initial reconsideration. This application can be approved or rejected by the SSA within duration of 3 to 5 months.

Now, don’t stress yourself if your claim is denied as you still have up to 60 days to file for reconsideration. The rejection of disability claims is common; almost 60% of claims are denied. There can many reasons that can lead to denial including filing wrong information in the form, legitimacy of the claim etc. But, good thing is you can always do something about the denied claim.

While filing for reconsideration you can correct the errors if you found the reason for the denial. If you cannot, you can contact the SSA and request for explanation as you need to find out the actual reason why your claim was denied. You may even hire disability claims lawyer as without knowing the real reason you will not be able to amend the errors. When you re-file the claim you need to be extra careful with the details and provide additional relevant documents and medical reports that can support your claim.

During the entire process of filing of disability claims you need to be very patient. Each stage can take quite some time. In most cases, the request for reconsideration can take up to 2 week to 6 months before it gets approved. But it all depends on the number of cases the SSA has up their sleeves.

Meanwhile, if unfortunately your reconsideration is also denied, you can then proceed to appeals stage and under this stage an appeal judge will hear your case. To successfully win the appeal you will need the expertise of an experienced disability lawyer. If for some reason your disability claim is rejected at this level, you can still take your case to the SSA Appeals Council and subsequently to the Federal District court.

In all these stages the most essential thing is you must never lose hope. You have to fight for your rightful disability benefits till the end.

For More Information Visit :- http://www.leckerslaw.com

Why should you file a disability claim and how can a lawyer help you?

No one can predict future. You never know if you may perhaps encounter an accident and incur serious injuries. If the odds are against you, you might face disability for shorter or longer duration. You might possibly have to undergo surgery to recoup and medical recovery is general quite expensive. And if the cause of injury is other individual’s carelessness or unfortunate accident at workplace then you might wonder why you will have to spend when it wasn’t your fault in the first place. In such circumstances, you not only suffer from physical and mental trauma but financially as well you can have tough times. When you have such dilemma it’s best to hire the services of a disability claim lawyer as an attorney can be your safest option to represent your case most effectively and help you get the medical compensation. With their skills and experience in legal matters, disability lawyers can assist you in every possible manner whether you are applying for short-term or long-term disability claims.

As a victim you have complete right of filing a disability claim and sue the guilty. When you claim for medical benefits you will not only be covered for medical costs but it will also include compensation for your other losses endured due to accident.

Now, before you hire any professional lawyer you must ensure that the law firm or the attorney is reliable as today; there are many firms and professionals out there claiming to be the best. Hence, it becomes critical that you pick out the most trustworthy lawyer for successful outcome of your case. It is recommended that you conduct thorough research by surfing the Internet and examine the database of the disability or accident lawyers. Check the experience, success rate and fees before hiring any lawyer.

Once you hire the services of an experienced lawyer, he/she will ascertain that you are compensated with rightful benefits for your injuries. He/she will strive hard to ensure that the client gets justice for the losses. Lawyers patiently listen to the history of your case, understand it and then prepare all the documents and evidences that are required to win the case.

When you have met with any unfortunate accident a lawyer can help you with your case but why wait for the compensation? Research have concluded that the percentage of people suffering from disabilities have increased in recent years. Hence, to be on safe-side consider buying an insurance policy for disability. This is something which you should ponder upon seriously. In the time of crisis such insurance policies can be of great help to you and your family.

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Don’t delay; hire a reputed disability lawyer today!

At a work place, injuries and accidents can happen any time and due to many unfortunate reasons. It can be a consequence of medical negligence, lack of security or it can be an accident. Whatever the cause maybe, chances are you will need compensation for your physical injuries as well as for the lost time at work or for your inability to fulfill the daily tasks at the job.

There have been incidents when people have become partially or completely disabled due to such accidents at their workplace. And in spite of experiencing mental trauma due to disability, these people are hesitant to hire an experienced disability claims lawyer who can help them to get benefits they are entitled to. This can have terrible consequences as they might miss out on their rightful compensation due to their lack of understanding in disability claims procedure and other legal formalities.

Before it’s too late, let’s understand why hiring an attorney is better and wiser move than fighting one’s own legal battle. It is very obvious that when an individual is facing disability on account of an accident or negligence, he/she is most likely under physical and/or psychological stress. Under such state it is understood that the person is not capable of making sound judgment. Good professional disability lawyers can be of great help in this situation as they can give unbiased advice to the client who hired them to deal with disability laws or the Social Security matters.

When a healthy working rapport develops between Toronto disability claims lawyer and the claimant, both the parties can work out the best possible solution to get fair compensation based on the facts and details of the case.An attorney with vast experience in handling similar cases can quickly look in to specific details and particulars of disability case and can thus speed up the procurement of claim settlement.

During the initial stage of finalizing the right disability lawyer try to get a sense of what the lawyer is intending to offer. If you feel anytime that the equation between you and your lawyer isn’t smooth or you do not get the vibes you expected, give it a serious thought before jumping to conclusions right away. Discuss the issues with the lawyer and understand what he wants to convey. However, if the comfort level is still missing then consult another reliable and reputed lawyer soon as time is vital in such cases. You don’t want to risk the opportunity of receiving disability benefits by delaying the application procedure of claims.

For More Information Visit :- www.leckerslaw.com