Will County Social Security Disability Lawyer

Attorney to Assist with Applications and Appeals for Social Security Disability Benefits in Joliet, Lockport, and New Lenox 

If you have applied for federal Social Security Disability benefits and been denied, do not be discouraged. Many people are initially denied benefits but are successful on appeal.

At McNamara Phelan McSteen, LLC, we empathize with the pain and suffering you have already been through by the time you seek disability benefits. Our firm has provided legal representation to clients seeking Social Security Disability and Supplemental Security Income benefits for over 20 years. Our success rate is outstanding, and you pay no attorney fees unless your benefits are approved.

Our office hosts one of the only video hearing sites in the state of Illinois, so you will not need to travel to any other location for hearings related to your application for disability benefits.

If your disability was the result of an on-the-job accident, you may separately qualify for Illinois Workers' Compensation benefits. If your disability was the result of another party's negligence or wrongdoing, you may be able to claim compensation through a personal injury lawsuit. Our firm can also assist you with those claims.

Criteria Necessary to Qualify for Social Security Disability

If you meet all of these criteria, we should be able to help you obtain Social Security Disability benefits:

• You suffer from a severe mental or physical impairment that appears on the Social Security Disability Listing of Impairments.
• If your impairment is not on that list, you may be able to qualify if your impairment is "medically determinable" and it prevents you from doing the type of work you did prior to the impairment and, given your condition, age, education, and work experience, you are unable to perform another type of work.
• The impairment has lasted for a minimum of 12 continuous months, or a doctor states that it will last that long.
• Because of the impairment, you are unable to engage in "substantial gainful activity."

The Appeals Process for Social Security Disability

Many people are initially denied but are able to obtain disability benefits through the appeals process. We can help you with the following steps in the process:

• File a request for reconsideration.
• File a request for a hearing before an administrative law judge (ALJ).
• Select and prepare witnesses for your hearing.
• Prepare you for your testimony at the hearing.
• Present your case before the ALJ, handle questioning, and make a closing argument.

If we believe you have been wrongly denied benefits by the Social Security Administration, our firm can help you file an action in federal civil court. For example, we believed one of our clients should have been approved for benefits as of his 50th birthday. The federal civil court agreed with our position, and we were able to obtain a settlement of over $70,000 for the client.

A Joliet Social Security Disability Appeals Lawyer

If you or a loved one has been disabled and needs Social Security benefits, contact McNamara Phelan McSteen, LLC at 815-727-0100 for a free initial consultation. We will help you assess the strength of your claim and, should you choose to engage us, take your case through the appeals process. We handle Social Security Disability claims and appeals for clients throughout northern Illinois, including Will County, Kendall County, Kankakee County, Grundy County, DuPage County, and Cook County.