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Six Things You Need to Know About SSD in Michigan

Six Things You Need To Know About Michigan SSD

If you can’t work because of a disability, you may be eligible for financial help in the form of Michigan Social Security Disability benefits. But just what are SSD benefits, and how do you go about getting them if you qualify? Here are six things you should know to help you understand what SSD benefits are all about – what they offer, who can receive them, and what it takes to get them.

1. What Are Social Security Disability Benefits?

Social Security Disability benefits are monthly cash payments to an eligible person, and sometimes members of the person’s family, when the person cannot work because of a disability. The disability has to be based on a medical condition or injury that is expected to last at least a year or result in death. That is, SSD benefits are to help with your financial needs during a long-term disability. Short-term disability benefits may be available for other medical conditions and injuries.

SSD benefits aren’t charity. They are a type of “insurance” benefit that most workers earn by paying taxes on their wages. To qualify, the person must have worked recently enough, and long enough, under standards set by the federal Social Security Administration. The person also must have paid Social Security taxes on his or her earnings.

2. Getting Social Security Disability Benefits Should Be Easy, But It Isn’t

For someone who qualifies, it should be easy to get much-needed Social Security Disability benefits. If you’re disabled because of a serious medical condition or injury, you need financial help right away to replace your lost income and help with your medical bills.

Unfortunately, though, getting SSD benefits isn’t easy. For many people it’s very hard. Applying for benefits can be confusing and require that you fill out many pages of forms. Even then, your entire claim for benefits can depend on how you answer some of the federal government’s questions. Your answers can be used to deny your claim at many stages of the claim process, so if you don’t understand what’s being asked, or how to answer accurately, completely, and correctly, your mistake can come back to hurt your claim later.

You also have to provide a lot of medical and work information. You’ll have to pull together medical records, work-related papers, and other evidence in support of your SSD benefits claim. That can take a lot of effort and time, just when you’re dealing with all the other difficulties that arise when you’re seriously sick or injured.

You don’t have to have an attorney help you when you file your claim for Michigan SSD benefits, but in our experience you’re better off if you do. Having an experienced SSD lawyer assist you can make all the difference, ensuring that your claim application is put together accurately and quickly the first time, all while taking the burden off of you and your family.

You don’t have to go it alone. At our firm, SSD lawyers J.B. Bieske and Jennifer Alfonsi work every day to get clients’ claims approved fast. In many cases, we often win our clients’ claims very early in the claim process, even right away, because we know how to put together complete and accurate claims with all the evidence you need to prove your disability. We can make a difference and help you make your first step toward SSD benefits the right one.

3. You Can Afford An Attorney’s Professional Help With Your Claim

Michigan SSD attorneys, J.B. Bieske and Jennifer Alfonsi, Attorneys at Law handle clients’ SSD cases on a contingency fee basis. That means we only receive our fee if we recover benefits on your claim. If we don’t win your claim, you never owe us any attorney fees on your case. And, we don’t require any up-front retainer fee, so you don’t pay any attorney fees out of pocket.

The law limits attorney fees that can be collected in SSD cases. Attorney fees are restricted to 25 percent of a claimant’s recovery, or $6,000, whichever is less. That means in many cases our attorney fees are less than 25 percent of the benefits we recover for our clients.

As is required by the State Bar of Michigan, clients can expect to pay the expenses incurred in winning their case. Fortunately, the expenses in SSD cases are usually very low as compared to other types of cases. Often they include only costs for copies of medical records and other minor expenses.

In short, you don’t need to let worries over fees and expenses prevent you from having professional help with your Michigan SSD benefits claim.

4. Almost Any Serious Medical Condition Or Injury Can Qualify As A Disability

Are you uncertain whether you have a disability that would entitle you to monthly Social Security Disability benefits? Any physical disorder or injury that keeps you from being able to work full-time can qualify.

These can include:

  • Spinal diseases and injuries
  • Degenerative joint disease
  • Upper and lower extremity injuries
  • Carpal tunnel syndrome or other repetitive motion injuries
  • Hip pain
  • Coronary artery disease
  • Congestive heart failure
  • Heart attack
  • Angina
  • Peripheral vascular disease (pvd)
  • Peripheral arterial disease (pad)
  • Deep vein thrombosis (dvt)
  • Chronic venous insufficiency
  • Lymphedema
  • Asthma
  • Copd
  • Emphysema
  • Low vision
  • Stroke
  • Kidney disease
  • Multiple sclerosis (ms)
  • Liver disease
  • Crohn’s disease
  • Diabetes
  • Peripheral neuropathy
  • Lupus
  • Raynaud’s disease
  • Cerebral palsy
  • Cancer
  • Scleroderma
  • Rheumatoid arthritis

Those are just examples. Any serious medical condition or injury may qualify you for SSD benefits if it prevents you from working full-time.

If you’re uncertain whether you may be entitled to Michigan SSD benefits, contact one of the SSD benefit lawyers at our firm today. J.B. Bieske and Jennifer Alfonsi, Attorneys at Law, offer free consultations – they can discuss your case and let you know whether you may be eligible for monthly SSD benefits to help during your long-term disability.

5. You Can Still Receive Michigan SSD Even If You Get Other Disability Benefits

If you receive workers’ compensation or private-insurance disability payments, that doesn’t mean you can’t receive Michigan Social Security Disability benefits. In the case of workers’ compensation benefits, the government might reduce your SSD benefits according to complicated rules it uses to calculate an “offset.” That’s so that your total monthly benefits aren’t too high. Almost always you’ll still get more every month, than if you didn’t apply for SSD benefits in addition to your workers’ compensation benefits.

If you get disability payments from a private insurance company, then the insurer probably will reduce your payments according to what you receive in monthly SSD. You won’t get any less per month in total, however, and you and your family can still be better off in the long run if you receive SSD now.

It’s important to apply for and receive Social Security Disability benefits when you qualify. If you have concerns about how that might affect other benefits you already receive, talk to one of our experienced SSD attorneys today to get answers to your questions.

6. It’s Possible To Return To Work While Still Receiving SSD Benefits

In almost every case, our SSD disability clients want to work. That means they’re interested in getting back on the job as soon as they can, if their illness or injury improves and allows them to do so.

If you receive Michigan SSD benefits and are later able to return to full-time work, that’s great, and we hope you do. You’ll no longer receive SSD benefits, but that’s only because you’ll be rejoining the work force and earning your full-time paycheck.

But what if you’re unsure how much you can do, and whether you can return to full-time work? You’re entitled to what’s known as a trial work period. This is a period of nine months in which you can continue receiving your SSD benefits while you determine your ability to work again.

There are important rules about how much you can earn during the trial work period, however. If you earn too much, you may lose your eligibility for the trial work period. That makes it critical to talk with your SSD lawyer about your trial work in advance, so you can plan how your trial work period will proceed.

We Hope You’ll Make Your First Step Toward Benefits The Right One – Contact Us Today

Contact us today to schedule a consultation with an SSD lawyer to talk about your claim. We can answer your SSD benefits questions and let you how we can help you with your case.

J.B. Bieske and Jennifer Alfonsi, Attorneys at Law, have convenient local offices throughout Southeastern Michigan – in Macomb Township, Livonia, Novi, Troy, Downriver, and Detroit. That makes it easy to visit with us in person, but if you can’t come by, just let us know and we’ll meet with you by phone.

Whether you’re in Farmington Hills, Ann Arbor, Lansing, Adrian, Jackson, Ypsilanti, Eaton Rapids, or anywhere else in Southeastern Michigan, simply call us at at (800) 331-3530, or use our convenient online contact form, to schedule an appointment. We can help you now – let us make a difference for you and your family today.

J.B. Bieske & Jennifer Alfonsi, Attorneys at Law

19991 Hall Road, Suite 202
Macomb, MI 48044
Phone: 586-977-8100
Fax: 586-977-8444

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