How to Apply for Social Security Disability Benefits in Philadelphia?

If you need to apply for Social Security Disability benefits in Philadelphia, you may be confused about how to go about filing the appropriate documents. There are several ways to apply for Social Security Disability (SSD) benefits. This blog post explains the most effective and the most common way to file your SSD benefits application and to improve your chances of getting approved.

Do You Need a Advocates to File for Social Security Disability Benefits?

You are not required to work with a licensed attorney to file for disability benefits. But it is wise to get some knowledgeable guidance from professionals who can guide you through the process and make sure that your SSD benefits application is as complete and as compelling as possible.

At London Disability Advocates for Social Security, our expertly trained Social Security Disability advocates are ready to help you get your disability application filed in Philadelphia and throughout the U.S.  London Disability Advocates is overseen by Scott London, Esq., a long-time attorney who has devoted his life to getting disabled people the Social Security benefits to which they are entitled. London Disability’s staff of professional SSD and SSI advocates are not all attorneys, but they are thoroughly trained, and they have extensive experience helping people like you get your application and avoiding the common errors self-filers often make that cost them months of delay or a denial.

What Are the Possible Ways to File for Social Security Disability Benefits?

The Social Security Administration has an informative website about How to Apply but read this blog post further before deciding to file your own SSD application. The SSA also provides a toll free number on the site that you can call for directions, and you can call your local Social Security office to speak to someone who might help you.

But there is no substitute for getting the best professional guidance from trained advocates or attorneys when you are filing so important an application as your Social Security Disability claim. Here’s why we urge everyone to speak to either a disability advocate or a lawyer before filing their SSD claim themselves.

Preparation Is Essential – Let Your Attorney / Advocate Do It for You

Remember that before the government approves disability benefits for you, it needs to be convinced by medical documentation that you meet the strict criteria to receive disability benefits. Social Security defines a disability as,

“a medically determinable physical or mental impairment that lasts or is expected to last for 12 months (or result in death) and prevents the person from performing substantial gainful activities (meaning earning income above a cap set by the SSA).

The “medical determination” is key. The Social Security Administration wants you to submit every medical record generated by any treatment facility, lab, or therapist detailing the onset and progression of your disabling impairment. All of your doctors and other healthcare providers’ records need to be collected and reviewed. The documents should be analyzed before they are submitted to Social Security so the clearest, most informative, and most authoritative records can be highlighted for the Social Security representative who will determine if you are disabled. Without assistance from a team of trained advocates, you may need to do all the leg work, pay records copying fees, and keep calling records keepers who are slow to respond to your request.

London Disability Advocates for Social Security do all that for our clients. We collect, analyze, and summarize the most significant facts and prepare a disability claim package designed to make the evidence of your disability easy to find, clear to read, and likely to persuade the government representative on your case to grant benefits.

Clarifying Vague Doctor’s Notes or Medical Records

One of the most valuable services professional disability advocates or lawyers can provide in helping someone submit a quality disability application is identifying important medical records that are unclear in their conclusions or observations. Often, a treating physician will make significant observations during a physical examination and record their observations in hard-to-read or vague language. Trained disability advocates can contact the healthcare provider and ask them to clarify their notes to make them more easily understood by the Social Security case reviewer.

There is no suggestion that the information is changed in substance, but only that the words used to describe the facts as they observed them be clearer.

Completeness Is Essential to Be Approved for Social Security Disability

Unfortunately, many self-filed applications are denied at the initial stage due to necessary documents missing from the claim package. When a disability claim is filed, the first desk the application goes to is the state office of Disability Determination Services (DDS). This is a state-fun affiliate of the federal Social Security Administration where disability claims are screened for basic eligibility and completeness.

In many of these state DDS offices, hard-working conscientious people will often contact the claimant to notify them that they are missing a needed medical record, and they may even reach out to collect the documents themselves. But some of the DDS offices are overwhelmed with work and understaffed, so it becomes impossible for a DDS worker to spend too much time on a single claim.

In these cases, an incomplete claim can be returned for incompleteness or even wrongly denied. Get help from people with extensive experience preparing and filing successful Social Security Disability claims.