Colorado Disability Law Practice

Nevin A. Seeger, P.C.

Our office provides services to applicants for disability benefits, both under private disability insurance plans and the federal Social Security law. We are local to the Front Range area.

We have no offices in New York or New Jersey, like many of the nameless law firms that advertise in our area. We deal directly with our clients, not through a firm that has no contacts with Colorado other than that they advertise here.

 Disability benefit cases are confusing and difficult cases, and we are proud to offer continuing assistance to our clients based on their needs and the programs that are available to them.

We help our clients to understand the disability insurance programs and to prepare proof for submission to the disability insurance plan or carrier, or the Social Security Administration. We review your medical records, update them for the carrier or the Social Security Administration as needed, and get medical evidence prepared in the correct format.

We get you ready for hearing, so you will do the best you can do at the hearing. We get everything ready for you to give you the best chance of having a successful claim.

The requirements of proof to show that you are entitled to disability benefits are different depending on the type of insurance policy or Social Security plan under which you claim benefits, and the stage of payment of claims. For example, most private disability insurance plans provide that you must be unable to work at your “own occupation” for a period of time, most often one or two years. After that time period you must prove that you are unable to work at “any occupation”.

Because disability insurance plans are all different, it is essential to read the disability insurance policy with great care to determine how to prove you are “disabled” as the plan defines the term.

These plans can be quite complex, and it is important to seek assistance before you have exhausted your right to appeal with the disability insurance carrier or plan. If you do so, your attorney may not be able to provide additional critical evidence to support your claim. We often contact medical providers and get very comprehensive statements from them that include your diagnosis, plan for treatment, prognosis, and a detailed description of the way that your medical condition “disables” you as defined by your plan.

Our questions and answers are sometimes as detailed as they would be on direct examination of your physician at trial because you do not get a trial for most of these cases, especially where your employer provided the disability benefit plan.

Some disability plans provide a choice between taking a lump sum for your benefits or a stream of income in the future. While the lump sum payment may look good to you in the short run, most plans provide that you waive future benefits if you take the lump sum. It is therefore important that you talk to your attorney before doing anything on your own that might jeopardize your right to future benefits.

The federal Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs provide disability benefits.

Each requires proof that you are unable to work as defined by the federal statutes and regulations. These requirements are usually different from the requirements of a private disability insurance policy or program that might provide benefits to you. These requirements are not as obvious as many people think. Careful advance planning and preparation are necessary in order to give the best presentation of your case before the federal administrative law judge.

Finally, it is important to coordinate all of your potential disability benefit sources with one another. For example, it is possible to receive both SSI and SSDI if you meet the requirements for both programs. This can provide different and earlier benefits to you.

Most disability insurance plans and carriers also require you to file for SSDI, which will reduce the amount the private carrier or plan must pay. For example, if you have a disability insurance plan that pays you $3,000 per month, the plan will require you to apply for SSDI benefits. If you were to receive $1,500 in SSDI benefits, you would still only receive a total of $3,000 per month. The difference is that SSDI would pay $1,500, and your disability carrier would pay the difference of $1,500. Under most disability insurance plans the same dollar for dollar reductions apply for worker’s compensation benefits, and disability benefit plans provided by public entities.

It is important to have your disability specialist help you to coordinate all of these plans and to not do anything that is not coordinated with the other disability benefit plans.

If you need help with your disability claim, please contact us and we will help you and guide you through the process.

The above information is provided for informational purposes only, and does not constitute legal advice in this or any other state. We cannot and do not guarantee results, as the cases are decided by judges, not us.  You may contact us for further information and assistance. There is no attorney client relationship created by this information, as the relationship is only established by entry into a written contract.

Please contact Nevin A. Seeger at (303) 996-0700