Experienced Social Security Disability Insurance Attorney
Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) is a federal income-generating program that is available to workers with a qualifying number of work credits. SSDI payments are for severe impairments that are expected to last 12 months or more or result in death. How much you receive each month depends upon your average lifetime earning prior to the disability, not on how severe your disability is or how much income or savings you already have.
Every claim is unique, because the Social Security Administration (SSA) considers your age, education, past 15 years of work experience, and the limitations caused by your impairments.
After an SSA field office establishes that you have enough quarters of coverage, it forwards the application on to Disability Determination Services (DDS), which uses the five-step sequential evaluation process to determine whether claimants are disabled:
- Is the individual working and earning substantial gainful activity?
- Does the claimant have a severe mental or physical impairment?
- Does the claimant have any impairment(s) that meet or equal any of the listed impairments?
- Can the claimant perform his or her past relevant work?
- Can the claimant perform any other work in the national economy?
Disability benefits are also available for disabled adult children who become disabled before age 22, whose parent is retired, diseased, or disabled, and is receiving Social Security benefits. If you are over age 50 and your spouse has passed away within the past seven years, you can claim disability under your spouse’s work history as well.
There is a five-month waiting period after you become disabled before you are eligible to receive SSDI benefits. It runs from the onset date of the disability, and not when you apply. The SSA will pay benefits retroactively as far as one year before your application date. After you receive SSDI benefits for two years, you become eligible for Medicare.
It can be a difficult, discouraging process — but we are here to help
Douglas M. Greene, Esq has more than a decade of experience practicing Social Security Disability law and worked for the Social Security Administration directly with administrative law judges. He will personally represent you during all stages of the SSDI application and approval process.
As lead attorney for SSDI Lawyers of New Jersey, Mr. Greene will help you determine whether you even should apply for disability benefits. If so, he will help you fill out the initial application and all of the various forms that come afterward, including function reports and work history reports. The way these forms are completed can make a big difference in whether a claim is approved within a few months or might even drag on for a few years. He will work hard to get your case approved at the earliest stage possible by developing expert medical and opinion evidence to support your claim.
Mr. Greene also can help rejected applicants who come to our office appeal at reconsideration, winning cases at that stage despite the low approval rates at reconsideration. He has argued before administrative law judges hundreds of times and understands how to get a client’s story across effectively.
Mr. Greene has successfully won both remands and reversals from the Appeals Council after an unfavorable administrative law judge decision.
Compare our results to the national averages
Initial Case Wins,
Our Firm:
Initial Case Wins,
Our Firm:
Reconsideration Wins, National Average:
Reconsideration Wins,
Our Firm:
National data sources (2016): Initial and Reconsideration Data: SSA State Agency Operations Report, Administrative Law Judge and Appeals Council data: SSA Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (ODAR), and Federal Court data: SSA Office of General Council. “Our firm” statistics are only for SSDI Lawyers of New Jersey; chart statistics are updated during December and June of each year.
As you can see, our firm enjoys success rates that are double or even triple the national average. While we cannot guarantee success for your case, we can certainly guaranteed that you will have a highly successful SSDI lawyer in your corner, doing his very best to advise you properly and deliver any beneficial judgements for which you qualify.
Frequently asked questions for SSDI
Yes, under certain circumstances. These combined payments are commonly referred to as “concurrent benefits.” You can learn more about SSI here.
If you are over age 62, you can apply for and/or receive both benefits at the same time. You can also receive your retirement benefits while you are appealing the determination of whether or not you are disabled. If you are eventually approved for disability benefits, you will receive the difference between your disability amount and retirement amount.
Yes, but the Social Security Administration might adjust your SSDI payment based upon how much you are receiving from workers’ compensation, or vice-versa if you reside in a reverse-offset state (NJ reduces your workers’ comp if you are 100% disabled).
Need an SSDI Lawyer Today?
“This is a Lawyer with both heart and conviction.
“He is a GREAT listener.
“He was able to help me to get what I fairly deserved.
“His knowledge and expertise within working with the disability courts and system is a invaluable asset.
“I would recommend him to EVERYBODY that is in need of help with a disability issue.
“I would trust this man to help me with anything.” – Jason
“Douglas Greene was an excellent attorney and is very passionate about his clients. He always made himself available and answered all my questions in a prompt manner. I appreciated all of his time and effort and assured me everything would be fine. I would highly recommend him.” – Rachelle
“I hired Douglas M. Green because my claim for Disability benefits has been denied.
“By working on my case I’ve realized that Douglas is a highly professional, knowledgeable, and experienced attorney. He cares for his clients and has their best interests in mind.
“He always responded to all my questions, phone calls, e-mail communication and appointment requests immediately. I always felt that I have a true advocate on my side in the most difficult situations during the progression of my case.
“Douglas won my difficult case. I couldn’t be more happier and satisfied with his service. If anyone ever needs legal help, Douglas M. Green will certainly be the first and only that I recommend.
“Thank you, Douglas, for your excellent work!” – Tatiana
“Doug formerly worked for the Social Security Administration and therefore knows the ins and outs of the disability process.” – Stephanie Imbesi, Attorney
