Accident Lawyers and Social Security Disability

Good accident lawyers know that full compensation for their clients is not always possible.  There are a number of reasons for this if a person is hurt in an auto accident, construction accident, highway accident, truck accident, or hit by a drunk driver.  This often times results in terrible injuries, including back injuries, brain injury, spinal cord injury, and paralysis.  More often than not, if the injuries are caused by a car accident, the  person who caused the accident does not have enough liability insurance to fully compensate the victim of these terrible injuries.  If the injured person does not have adequate underinsured motorist coverage,  he cannot be fully compensated for the lost wages and medical bills that will be in the his future.

A good accident attorney will recommend that his client file an application for benefits with the Social Security administration.  This can be done online.  The applicant can also go to his local Social Security office to fill out an application.  We have spoken of this in other blogs, but it bears repeating.  Take with you a list of your doctors, with addresses and telephone numbers.  Take with you a list of your medications, with dosages and side effects.  Take with you a list of your employers for the last 15 years, with addresses and a short description of what you did in that employment.  It will make the process go a lot smoother.

If you have a back injury or disease, which includes disc herniations, degenerative disc disease, osteoporosis, osteopenia, spinal cord injury, compression fractures and a whole host of other back problems there is a reasonable chance that you may be entitled to benefits.  It makes no difference that the condition was from a disease, or from a car accident, or construction accident.  What is important is that the condition prevents you from working and is expected to last more than a year.

You must be able to show the Social Security Administration medical documentation confirming the presence of the medical problem.  That medical documentation must also demonstrate the severity of the condition.  Without documentation, you have little to no chance of successfully obtaining benefits, even if the condition is real and disabling.

If you have a back injury or disease, your claim will be analyzed under the first section of the listings of impairments.   The Listing of Impairments is exactly what it sounds like, a list of injuries, illnesses and diseases.  If you have one of the listed conditions, and it is severe enough, you are entitled to benefits.  The first section of the listings deals with the musculoskeletal system.  If your back injury is a neurological problem, your condition will also be analyzed under Section 11, Neurological.  This section is for someone with a spinal cord injury and paralysis, like Christopher Reeve, who once played Superman.

A good accident lawyer will help guide you through this process.  All fees for this work are contingent, meaning there is no fee unless you are granted benefits.  The Social Security Administration must approve all fees before they are charged.