SOCIAL SECURITY The Law Office of Julie A. Monberg, P.C. handles Social Security Disability appeals on a contingent basis, which means there is NO LEGAL FEE UNLESS WE WIN! The office's on-staff Social Security consultant is a retired Social Security Administration branch manager and has over 35 years of experience with the administration! Many initial disability applications and requests for reconsideration are denied. While you are not required to retain an attorney to represent you in your social security appeal, statistics from the Government Affairs Office show that legal representation increases your chances of winning. The federal government runs two separate Social Security maintenance programs: Retirement, Disability and Health Insurance, which provides income and Medicare insurance for retired and disabled workers; and Supplemental Security Income, which is a federally supported welfare program for any person who is disabled and satisfies a minimum income and resource requirement. There are several types of Social Security Disability claims recognized by the Social Security Administration: *Childhood Disability *Disabled Supplemental Security Income *Widow's Disability *Worker's Disability Typically, disability means the inability to engage in "substantial gainful employment" for at least one year. Childhood disability follows a similar standard but evaluates age-appropriate activities and medical limitations. Individuals whose disability is under review with the threat of having his or her benefits terminated must show that they have not improved enough medically to return to work. An appeal must be filed within 60 days of any denial; if it is not, the entire process must begin again. The next step in the appeal process after the reconsideration decision is a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge, where a claimant has the right to present information regarding his or her disability. This is the stage at which most denied claims are reversed in favor of the claimant. If a claim is denied administratively at the hearing level, the next step is an Appeals Council Review. If the Appeals Council Review is unfavorable, an applicant has the right to a federal court review. This is an extremely important level of review because it is the first time someone completely outside of the Social Security system evaluates a disability applicant's case.