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A claimant needs to be disabled for at least 12 months or have a medical condition that is terminal or expected to lead to death. Sometimes a claimant is not disabled permanently. In a certain time frame, when they are disabled from working, they could qualify for disability benefits.

It is possible, but rare to receive benefits without any medical evidence to back up your claim. If you do not have recent medical records, it is much harder to win a case. There is a possibility, though not common, that your case might be approved simply by going to a consultative exam by the SSA, where a doctor gives you a physical or mental examination.

One benefit of working with our office is that we will look carefully at your case. If you do not have enough current medical evidence for your claim, we can often give you information about low-income or indigent health services that can help establish a medical record for a low cost or free.

No fees, unless we win your claim! Our law firm, the Law Office of Gerard Lynch, only charges our clients if we win their SSD or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. We charge on a contingency basis, 25% of the back pay awarded to a claimant when we win the case. As of Summer 2024, our fee is capped at $7,200. The fee cap is set by the Social Security Administration (SSA) for all representatives, and is periodically adjusted for inflation just like monthly SSD and SSI benefits. Social Security pays us directly so our claimants don’t have to write a check. If we do not win a case, we do not charge anything no matter how much work we have done. Once a client wins and their monthly checks begin, they will keep 100% of their checks.

Social Security Disability (SSD) comes from FICA taxes that are deducted from paychecks during the work history of a person. Every month that a person works and reports income to the government, taxes are deducted which are paid into social security. When FICA taxes are taken out of paychecks, most of it goes into the general Social Security retirement fund. However, a smaller portion goes into the general Social Security disability fund.

Contrary to popular belief, no one has an account set up with the SSA by default, even though all Americans are required to pay taxes into social security. People who become disabled over their lifetime and are not yet eligible to get their full-age retirement benefits can get benefits from the disability fund. They’ll need to apply for these benefits and get approved to receive them.

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a different program for disabled people and it is like a form of welfare. More specifically, it is for people who are either too young to have paid enough into the system or have not worked recently enough to receive Social Security Disability (SSD). To receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI), a claimant has to be equally disabled as a person who receives Social Security Disability (SSD) – the standard for determining disability is the same. One of the main differences in deciding which claimant receives Social Security Disability (SSD) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) comes from the amount of money paid into the Social Security system over one’s lifetime.

It should also be noted that SSI carries much stricter income and resource qualifications for someone to get approved and maintain these benefits.

If you have any additional questions that we did not answer above, please get in touch with our team at The Law Office of Gerard Lynch. Unlike the larger Social Security disability lawyers of Houston, our office will make sure you’re treated as more than just a claim. Let our attorney review your disability claim and help you seek the peace you deserve.