According to the United States Census Bureau, 15.5% of the Allentown population under the age of 65 suffers from a disability. If your condition is severe enough to prevent you from working, you may be wondering how you will get by without your usual paycheck. Fortunately, while you are unable to work you may be eligible to receive disability benefits from a long term disability (LTD) insurance carrier or Social Security Disability benefits from the Social Security Administration.
An Allentown disability lawyer at our firm can assist you in obtaining your benefits. We handle long term disability appeals and LTD lawsuits, and we represent Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI or SSD) claimants from the initial application through a hearing with an Administrative Law Judge. Call us today at (888) 321-8131 to schedule a free consultation with a disability insurance and Social Security Disability lawyer.
Ortiz Law Firm Handles Allentown Long Term Disability Claims
Unfortunately, many Allentown residents who are disabled and unable to work will not receive the benefits they deserve. Disability insurance companies will use tricks and tactics to deny your claim in an effort to save money. After all, an insurance company is a business and its goal is to make a profit. However, an experienced long term disability attorney can help you recover the benefits you deserve.
You should speak with an Allentown LTD attorney to learn more about how we can help get your long term disability claim approved or reinstated. An experienced disability attorney can provide guidance to help you through the administrative appeal process, filing a lawsuit against the disability insurance company, or even negotiating a lump-sum settlement.
We Represent Claimants Nationwide
Many of the claimants in Allentown, PA., that contact our office ask the same question: “Can I hire you if I’m not in your local area?”
The answer is yes! You are free to work with a lawyer anywhere in the country – you are not restricted to the attorneys in Allentown, PA., or even those in the state of Pennsylvania. We can represent individuals anywhere in the United States, even anywhere in the world! Below we’ll explain to you why.
Our firm is based primarily in Pensacola, Florida, but because most group plans are governed by ERISA, Nick Ortiz can handle a case anywhere in the United States. In fact, in the past few years, he has represented individuals from Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and even claimants around the world (prior clients have lived in Morocco and the Philippines, for example).
Many LTD claims (not all, but most) are governed by a federal regulation called ERISA. Under ERISA, you do not have the right to a jury trial, and – in most cases – you do not have the right to engage in extensive discovery. This means that most of the work is paper-driven, involves a lot of brief writing, and a lot of correspondence by mail. It is highly unlikely that a court appearance will be required, and as a result, we can handle a federal court case anywhere in the state.
Our firm is equipped to communicate with you regardless of your location. We use an electronic signature service for most of the correspondence, and we also e-mail and fax, and communicate by phone. Everything that we will need to do can be handled with mail, fax, and e-mail.
There are some cases where we may not be able to represent a claimant due to their location, but we still evaluate each case on a case-by-case basis. Nick Ortiz can either be admitted to your local federal court by what we would call a pro hac vice admission, or he can file a lawsuit here in the state of Florida. If we cannot assist you, we will make every effort to refer you to another firm that can.
Allentown, PA Courts, Government, and Department of Insurance Information
United States District Court | Eastern District of Pennsylvania
United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
Official government website for the State of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Department of Insurance
Eastern District of Pennsylvania Case Summaries
Video Surveillance May Offer Significant Support For Denying An LTD Claim
Traumatic Brain Injury From Playing Football In The NFL
Court Dismisses Case for Failure to State Claim
Court Rules Denial of Benefits Was an Abuse of Discretion
Court Rules Reliance Did Not Act Arbitrarily or Capriciously
Our Allentown Disability Lawyer Will Fight for the Benefits You Deserve
Most LTD appeals must be submitted to the insurance carrier within 180 days of the date of the denial or termination. If you fail to submit your appeal within the specified time frame may be ineligible to receive the benefits you deserve. Under many long term disability insurance policies, you cannot file a lawsuit against the insurance carrier unless you have “exhausted” your appeals. Therefore, you should speak with an Allentown long term disability attorney as soon as possible after receiving your denial or termination letter.
ERISA laws are very complex, but an ERISA lawyer will understand the administrative deadlines and critical issues that must be addressed for a successful claim. While the insurance company will explain your right to submit an appeal, they will not usually disclose that any future lawsuit will be limited to the evidence submitted during the administrative appeal process. It is essential that an experienced lawyer review the claim file at the appeal stage in order to determine what additional medical and/or vocational evidence needs to be added to the administrative file and to determine what adverse information needs to be rebutted.
Allentown Social Security Disability Lawyers
More often than not, when a person decides to file for Social Security Disability benefits, they will start by contacting Social Security Disability lawyers in their local area to ask questions and potentially obtain representation for their claim. But what if there aren’t many Social Security Disability lawyers to choose from? Maybe you scheduled a free consultation with an Allentown Social Security Disability attorney or two, but it just didn’t feel like the right fit.
Fortunately, Social Security Disability claims are part of a federal program administered by the Social Security Administration (SSA)
Although we are based in Pensacola, Florida, we do represent Social Security Disability Insurance claimants in Allentown and the surrounding areas. Whether you are just beginning to research how to file an application for benefits or you have a hearing scheduled with an Administrative Law Judge, the disability attorneys at our firm will fight for the benefits you deserve. We offer a free consultation for qualified SSD claims at the following stages:
Allentown Social Security Disability Locations and Resources
Directions to the local Social Security Administration Offices
Top 10 Mistakes Social Security Disability Claimants Make
Call for a Free Case Evaluation with an Allentown Disability Insurance and Social Security Lawyer
In summary, you should not allow our geographic location to limit your contacting us to see what we can do to help you. We represent disabled individuals in Allentown, PA. Ortiz Law Firm offers a free consultation for LTD claims that have been denied or terminated and Social Security claimants from the initial application process to the hearing stage. We have recovered millions in benefits. Please give us a call right away at (888) 321-8131 to schedule your free consultation to discuss your claim with an Allentown disability attorney. We would welcome the opportunity to discuss your legal rights with you.