How to Apply for Social Security Disability in Atlanta
Your disability application in Atlanta begins with checking your eligibility for benefits. You will need to collect your medical records, including documents showing:
- Your diagnosis
- Test or imaging results
- Treatment plans and medications
- Doctor notes and reports
- Statements about your symptoms’ effects on your quality of life.
You will need to collect an overview of your work history, which may include:
- Pay stubs
- W-2 tax forms
- Job titles
- Job descriptions
- Dates of employment
- Name and addresses of employers
Once you’ve gathered your foundation evidence, you can begin filling out your disability application.
You’ll be required to complete a series of forms. These range from basic information that proves your identity, citizenship, marital status and more, to questions about how your health problem negatively affects your life and ability to function day to day.
The paperwork quickly becomes a maze. Missing one form—or leaving an answer blank—can derail your application.
Give yourself a break and find some help. The Atlanta disability lawyers at Silver & Archibald can guide you. We have helped thousands of Atlantans gain the benefits they need to stabilize their lives when illness strikes.
Silver & Archibald is the top-ranked disability law firm in Georgia according to the total amount of benefits we secure for our clients.
What To Expect After You Apply for Social Security Disability Benefits
The application process for Social Security Disability benefits is long. Apply as soon as you can no longer work because of your health condition.
This gets your claim started as soon as possible. When you’re approved, you receive back pay for some of the time you spent waiting.
It’s better to start that clock sooner rather than later. If you can’t work now, apply. Don’t speculate about when you might return to work, causing you to hesitate to file for disability benefits. If you start working again, you can always withdraw your application.
You should be aware that Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits come with a mandatory five-month waiting period, meaning you can’t start receiving monthly checks until five months after the date Social Security decides you officially qualify for benefits.
It often takes longer than five months to win benefits, so by the time you get the news, you may already have credit for the five months and start getting benefits soon. But the five months do come off our back pay.
Supplemental Security Income (SSI)—the other one of two major disability programs run by Social Security—doesn’t have this gap in coverage.
Social Security’s evaluation process in Atlanta can take months. Recently it’s typically taken about eight months.
During that time, Social Security may come back to you, requesting you to fill out additional forms, send more detailed information in your medical records, or require you to be assessed by another medical provide to prove your condition is severe enough to keep you from working.
Winning disability benefits takes longer after your application is denied. You will go through a series of steps to push Social Security to reverse its decision.
The Atlanta Social Security Disability lawyers at Silver & Archibald deal with this system all the time. We can help you avoid mistakes that may complicate your application. We can help you appeal a denial.
Get to Know Silver & Archibald Disability Attorneys
Legal cases involving your health struggles are highly personal matters. When you’re looking for help, you want someone who treats you with the personal care, respect, and dignity this moment requires.
Answers to Common Questions About Social Security Disability
Social Security Disability is a huge program with a vast set of rules. As a resource for you as you sort out your disability claim, the disability lawyers at Silver & Archibald have prepared answers to some of the most common questions people have.
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