GRAND RAPIDS DENIED
From applying to appealing, Levine Benjamin Law Firm has helped 80,000 people win disability benefits.
Denied Disability in Grand Rapids
Grand Rapids is home, and you’ve enjoyed your life here. Then your health takes a bad turn, and you find yourself unable to work.
You turn to Social Security and apply for disability benefits to give you some stability at a challenging moment.
Next, you wait, and you hope.
Then that letter shows up in your mailbox, and all that work seems to be for nothing. Social Security has denied your disability claim.
It can feel personal, but you’re not alone.
Social Security denies 80 percent of benefits applications, and that holds true for Grand Rapids residents.
But you’re not powerless. You have options.
Whether asking Social Security to reconsider or taking your case to a judge, you have several options to appeal your disability denial.
A Social Security appeal is more challenging than an application. You’ll need to sort through your documents, find mistakes and omissions, and gather more evidence you may not have included at first.
This takes time, energy and close study of your claim—things that may be hard to muster when you’re sick and worried about the future.
The denied disability lawyers at Levine Benjamin Law Firm take the confusion out of appealing, so you can know someone highly capable is handling your Social Security appeal and giving you the best chance of winning in the end.
We’ve been helping hardworking people in Grand Rapids since 1964. Levine Benjamin is the leading disability law firm in Michigan by the amount of benefits we win for clients.
From applying to appealing, we help you every step of the way.
What would you like to do?
Common Reasons for Denied Social Security Disability Benefits in Grand Rapids
Being denied Social Security Disability can be devastating, especially when you are counting on those monthly checks to help manage your medical bills and daily expenses.
Some common reasons for denied disability applications include:
Your application was denied before. When faced with a denied disability letter, it seems like common sense to apply again. But this raises a flag for Social Security, who may just deny the second claim without giving it a look. Instead, you should file a disability appeal of your original denied claim.
Insufficient medical evidence. You have to show that your health problems keep you from working. If there’s not enough evidence, Social Security will say you don’t qualify for disability benefits. You may have to undergo a fresh, comprehensive medical exam to prove your case.
You earn too much money. When you’re seeking Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), you’re allowed to continue to bring in income by means other than working, including investments and rental property. But any money you get from working can’t total more than $1,620 a month. That’s considered “substantial gainful activity,” and Social Security will deny benefits if you make more than that, thinking you don’t really need the help.
You miss your deadlines. The Social Security process has many steps. If you fail to show up for an appointment or you didn’t turn in additional paperwork on time, the government can deny you benefits.
You interrupt your treatment. If you don’t stick to your treatment plan for your health condition, Social Security can deny your benefits because you don’t have enough medical evidence or because they don’t think you’re taking your illness seriously.
No one wants to see a Social Security denied disability letter. But that letter is important. It could give you hints on why a Social Security claims examiner denied your claim.
This becomes your starting point for a Social Security appeal.
The Grand Rapids denied Social Security disability lawyers at Levine Benjamin have seen thousands of denial letters. We know what to look for, and we can help you build a stronger disability appeal.
Contact us as soon as you’re denied. YOU HAVE 60 DAYS FROM THE DENIAL LETTER TO FILE YOUR APPEAL.
Steps to Your Disability Appeal in Grand Rapids
Social Security has several steps to appealing a disability denial, with each step becoming more involved as you go.
A skilled disability appeal lawyer can help you through each step:
Reconsideration. You can ask Social Security to reconsider your denied disability claim. You’ll send new supporting medical evidence and information to build a stronger case.
Request a hearing. If you’re denied on reconsideration (as most people are), a disability judge will look at your case. You will testify for them in a hearing. In Grand Rapids, the judges can be tough, and it’s in your best interest to have a local, experienced disability denial attorney with you when you go.
Request a review of the disability judge’s decision. If the judge again denies your claim, you can ask the Appeals Council at Social Security to review the judge’s decision. You need to know disability law, so you can point out how the judge ruled wrongly. Your disability attorney handles this.
File a federal lawsuit. Suing to win your disability appeal is the last option. A denied disability attorney is required to navigate federal courts. In Grand Rapids, talk to Levine Benjamin.
We’ve won cases for thousands of Grand Rapids and Michigan residents.
We know what you need to prove disability and what you don’t. We know what judges look for, we know how they typically rule on similar cases, and we know how the doctors, the administrators, and the medical experts can testify at your hearing and support (or hurt) your case.
When you’re with Levine Benjamin, you’ve got strong reinforcements.
We take a personal approach to every client, and we’ll walk you through all the complicated bends and turns of a Social Security Disability appeal.
If you live in Grand Rapids, make the call to start toward stability so you can focus on feeling better.