The sudden onset of a disability can change a person's life forever. From personal relationships to job skills and hobbies to health, there is little that a debilitating illness or injury leaves stable and untarnished. Many who have come to terms with a disability have been thankful to learn of the Social Security Administration's disability benefits program, set up by the federal government in hopes of assuaging some of the medical and financial hardships that such a condition can foment.

However, due to myriad factors at both national and local levels, the availability of access to disability benefits for those who truly need it has been severely limited. Applicants here in North Carolina and across the nation with valid disabilities, even those expressly covered under administration rules, are frequently denied benefits and forced into a process of appeals and hearing that can take months, years, or as it turned out for one woman, over a decade.

A Florida woman late last year finally claimed victory (along with the support payments she rightfully deserved) after a 12-year struggle through appeals and hearings in her effort to secure Social Security disability (SSD) benefits. Filing her lawsuit in January 2000, the woman cited both degenerative disk disease and depression adjustment disorder as the causes of her disabled condition.

Last November the woman's legal counsel proved successful in convincing a District Court Judge to grant her monthly disability benefits. Hers became one of the very few cases to prove successful after such a lengthy court battle-many of those appealing are either forced to bow out for financial reasons or, sadly enough, pass away as a result of their condition(s).

The wait for an approved SSD claim can take sometimes be arduous in length. However, it can indeed prove successful through the help of an experienced social security law attorney, and the back benefits owed are often paid in full immediately upon securing a claim. As soon as disability becomes a reality, those in need of added support should contact an attorney as expediently as possible.

Source: Daytona Beach News-Journal, "Port Orange law firm Rue, Ziffra, and Caldwell wins 12-year-old case," ffernandez, Jan. 30, 2013