I am in my thirties, healthy, and able to work. If you are like me, you might not even be aware of your social security benefits or thinking about what would happen if you became disabled. Local attorney Jeanette Laffoon says, unfortunately this is the case for many people and they end up falling through the cracks. At her law office, Maddox & Laffoon, she and her partner Stephen Maddox are working to educate people about their benefits. “If you’re legitimately unable to work because of an impairment you should be on the benefit. That’s what it’s there for, that’s why you’ve paid your taxes,” she tells me.
Why hire an attorney for social security disability benefits?
At first glance, the system can seem a little daunting and very complicated, even though Jeanette says it’s set up to be user-friendly. Maddox & Laffoon are there to help you with every step. It starts with just a phone call. Jeanette says usually once someone becomes unable to work, due to a mental or physical impairment, they apply for their social security disability benefits. “People will apply for benefits and get turned down, get discouraged and don’t appeal, not understanding that only about 1 in 3 are approved at the initial level now. As the system has tightened up, people that should be approved at the initial level are being denied.” Jeanette says this occurs for a number of reasons, but it’s no reason to just give up. “If they apply and are denied, that’s probably the time they want to start looking around and talk to somebody.”