Nevada Social Security Disability

There are approximately 1.6 million residents living in the State of Nevada. Of this population, approximately 3.2 percent receive disability benefits from the Social Security Administration (SSA). In the coming year, there will be thousands of new Nevada Social Security Disability claims. With the past years as an indicator, it is likely that the SSA will deny a little more than 50 percent of the disability claims received in 2011. To compound the issue, over seventy percent of Nevada Social Security Disability applicants will also be denied during the first stages of the disability appeal process.

Although some Nevada Social Security Disability applicants are able to obtain disability benefits in just a few short months, a large number of disability claimants must wait a year or more before being awarded the disability benefits they vitally need. This is due to the fact that the majority of applicants must appear before an administrative law judge before being awarded their disability benefits. Within the State of Nevada, it can take disability applicants an average of 443 days to have a hearing scheduled before an administrative law judge. Even after you've obtained your day in court, it can take another two to three months before receiving the judge's decision regarding your disability case.

There are several reasons that the hearing wait times are so extensive, but the most prominent issue is the large backlog of disability cases in the offices responsible for scheduling the SSA's disability hearings. These offices, known as ODAR or the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review, are the Social Security agency responsible for scheduling hearings before an administrative law judge. The area of Nevada that you live in will determine which ODAR office handles your disability hearing. It will also determine how long you must wait for your hearing to be scheduled. The ODAR offices that handle the hearings for Nevada Social Security Disability applicants are as follows:

• Sacramento, California

The ODAR office located in Sacramento is responsible for managing the disability hearings for the Nevada Social Security field offices in Elko and Reno. On average, it will take this office an average of 463 days to schedule a disability hearing for Nevada Social Security Disability applicants.

• Las Vegas, Nevada

The Las Vegas ODAR office is responsible for managing the disability hearings for the Social Security field offices in Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas. It takes this office an average of 393 days to schedule a disability hearing before an administrative law judge.

Hiring a Nevada Social Security Disability Attorney

In some cases, Nevada Social Security Disability applicants must wait well over a year to be seen before an administrative law judge. By nature, many applicants wonder if there is any way to avoid such long wait times and the complicated appeal processes in order to overturn the SSA's decision to deny disability benefits. While it is not always possible to avoid a denial of your initial disability application, retaining the services of a Nevada Social Security Disability lawyer can increase your chances of being awarded benefits during the initial stages of the claim process.

When you work with a qualified Nevada Social Security Disability attorney, your attorney will work with you to gather all of the needed medical records that will be required to prove your disability case. Your lawyer will also work to ensure that your disability claim is prepared properly and submitted to the SSA in the best light possible. If your initial application is still denied by the SSA, your Nevada Social Security Disability lawyer can also represent you during your disability appeal.

While you do have the right to represent yourself through the disability appeal process, it is not always best to do so. The statistics show that applicants who obtain legal counsel for their disability hearing are more likely to be awarded benefits than applicants who choose not to. The fact is that you will often wait months, if not years, for your hearing date to arrive. For this reason, you need to make sure that you do everything in your power to receive a ruling in your favor. That means hiring the services of a qualified Nevada Social security Disability attorney.

Fortunately, the services of a qualified Nevada Social Security Disability lawyer do not have to put added financial stress on your family. These lawyers work on a contingency basis, collecting 25 percent of the back pay you are awarded by the SSA, up to a maximum limit of $6,000. If you do not win your disability case, your lawyer does not receive a fee. This makes hiring a disability attorney affordable for almost all Social Security Disability applicants.

Click here if you would like to learn more about hiring a Nevada Social Security Disability lawyer and to receive a free evaluation of your Social Security Disability case.