Social Security Disability Claims
Ty Groat is a disability lawyer in Abilene, TX and the Concho Valley who helps people apply for SSDI and SSI and appeal denied claims. Call (325) 659-2305 to talk it through.
Ty GroatAttorney Licensed in Texas Since 2009
The Law Office of Ty Groat is locally owned and operated. It was built for people who need a lawyer who answers the phone and explains what is happening. Ty Groat has been licensed to practice law in Texas since December 2009, and he opened his own firm in January 2018. As a disability lawyer in Abilene, TX and the towns around it, he brings over a decade of experience to every claim.
He earned his bachelor's degree in Government and Mathematics at Angelo State University and his law degree at St. Mary's University School of Law. Both subjects show up in disability work.
A claim depends on the rules of a federal agency. It also depends on careful counting of onset dates, work credits and the months before Medicare begins.
San Angelo Office 1002 S Koenigheim St Ste BMost of the work of a disability lawyer in Abilene, TX is Social Security disability. SSDI pays monthly benefits to people who worked and paid Social Security taxes until a medical condition stopped them. SSI pays benefits to adults and children with limited income and resources, whatever their work history. For adults, both programs ask if a condition keeps you from substantial work for at least 12 months.
A denial in either program can be appealed, starting with reconsideration and moving on to a hearing before an administrative law judge. Closer to the office, Ty Groat also defends drivers against traffic tickets in San Angelo. The aim there is to keep an avoidable conviction off a driving record.
Ty Groat is an SSDI lawyer in Abilene, TX who helps people who can no longer work because of a medical condition apply for disability insurance and see the claim through to a...
Ty Groat is an SSI lawyer in Abilene, TX who helps adults and children with disabilities and limited income apply for monthly SSI benefits and the Medicaid coverage that comes...
A disability appeal lawyer in Abilene, TX can help you challenge a denied Social Security disability claim before your appeal deadline passes.
A traffic ticket lawyer in San Angelo, TX can review your citation and explain your options before the answer date on your ticket.
Why Clients Call Ty Groat
A disability claim can run for many months. Much of it happens out of sight, in files Social Security reviews without ever meeting you. Through that stretch, you need a disability lawyer in Abilene, TX who knows the file, answers questions and keeps every deadline.
Those needs shaped how the office works since it opened in January 2018. They describe how Ty Groat handles claims day to day, never a promise about how any claim will end.
Ty Groat handles each claim himself, from the first meeting to the final decision. You talk with the person who reads your records and prepares your filings, backed by a friendly staff who know your file and help you set up meetings.
Calls are returned, and questions are answered in plain language. You know what was filed, what is still missing and what Social Security asked for, so you are never left guessing where your claim stands or what comes next.
One office tracks your medical records, notices and deadlines from the first application through each appeal level. Nothing is handed to someone who has to learn your history again, and every letter you receive gets read with the whole file in mind.
Payment arrangements are discussed at the first meeting, before you commit to anything. Federal rules also require Social Security to approve the fee a representative charges for work on a disability claim, which adds a layer of protection for you.
No lawyer can promise how Social Security will decide a claim, and Ty Groat never does. What he offers is a careful file, deadlines that are met and a straight answer about the strengths and the gaps in your case.
Social Security decides a claim on the records in front of it. The people who decide never meet you. The job of a disability lawyer in Abilene, TX is to make that paper file match the life you are living, and to get it in on time.
Each claim moves through the same core stages, whether it is a first application or an appeal. What changes is how much evidence the file still needs.
You call the office and set a time to meet in San Angelo, or start by phone or email if you live farther away. Ty Groat listens to your health history, your work history and any letters you have received, then explains whether SSDI, SSI or both may fit.
The office requests records from every doctor, clinic and hospital you name, then reads them for missing visits, test results and treatment gaps. Your doctors are asked to put your limits in writing: how long you can sit, stand, lift and focus.
The application or appeal goes in complete and on time. Answers given early in a claim are read again at every later stage, so consistent, accurate answers protect your credibility from the first form onward.
If a hearing is needed, you are prepared for the questions a judge asks about your health, your treatment and your past work. Throughout, the office answers Social Security's requests and keeps you informed as the claim moves forward.
A denial letter is not the end of a claim. Social Security generally gives you 60 days from the day you receive a decision to ask for the next level of review, and it assumes the letter reached you five days after the date printed on it. Miss that window, and you usually start over.
The first appeal is reconsideration, a complete new review by someone who took no part in the first decision.
If that is denied too, the next step is a hearing before a judge. There you can explain your limits in your own words. Each level is a chance to add what the first file lacked: new treatment notes, opinions from your doctors and statements from people who see your limits.
If a denial has already arrived, bring the letter and any newer records to the office. Ty Groat, a disability appeal lawyer in Abilene and the surrounding counties, notes the deadline first and builds the appeal around it.
An approval brings questions of its own. People entitled to SSDI become eligible for Medicare after a 24 month qualifying period, counted from the start of benefit entitlement rather than from the application date. In Texas, people who receive an SSI cash payment generally qualify for Medicaid as well. Those rules decide when coverage begins and what a change in income could cost you.
Many people also want to try working again if their health allows. Under the SSDI trial work period, you can work for nine months within a rolling five year period and keep full benefits, as long as you report the work. Earnings that go unreported can lead to overpayments Social Security later asks you to repay. An SSDI lawyer in Abilene can walk you through those rules before you take a job.
The firm also helps parents with children's benefits through SSI in Abilene and the Concho Valley. People near retirement age get help with Social Security retirement benefits, too, and with how they fit beside a disability claim.
Clients from Abilene, San Angelo and the small towns between them have written about the office in their own words. Each review was posted by the client who wrote it.
Gregory de la Rosa
a year ago
Rated 5 out of 5
Helped me iron out problems with a divorce. Smiles, upbeat..sharp, knows his business. Highly recommend.
Charity Perry
4 years ago
Rated 5 out of 5
I love this office they are the best.
Blazed By “blazed By H.” Heather
4 years ago
Rated 5 out of 5
Awesome talent & knowledgeable
Eric Williams
5 years ago
Rated 5 out of 5
He's a awesome attorney
James Long
5 years ago
Rated 5 out of 5
This is the most sharp attorney in San Angelo. Never go to the old guys in town. They are jaded, overloaded, and way to comfortable with the prosecutor. Ty is smart and obviously hungry to win.
Customer
Call Law Office of Ty Groat at (325) 659-2305.
Abilene is the firm's main focus. From the office in San Angelo, Ty Groat also serves the Concho Valley and the towns around it. SSDI and SSI are federal programs, so the rules are the same in Taylor County as in Sutton County. What changes from town to town is where the records live: a family doctor close to home, a hospital in a larger city, scans taken somewhere else, and every one of them has to reach the file.
Clients in the farther towns often start with a phone call or an email, then meet at the office at a time that fits their schedule. The firm also serves smaller towns nearby, including Miles, Robert Lee, Sterling City, Colorado City, Winters, Coleman, Menard, Eden, Junction and Ozona.
No. Anyone can apply on their own, and some people are approved without help. A lawyer is most useful when you have several conditions, records spread across many providers, a short or unclear work history, or a denial letter already in hand. Ty Groat reviews your situation at the first meeting and tells you plainly whether the claim needs more work before it is filed.
No. Many clients from Abilene begin with a phone call or an email to the office, and the friendly staff helps arrange a meeting in San Angelo at a time that fits your schedule. Records, notices and updates move by phone, mail and email after that, so a claim keeps moving without a trip for each step.
The firm handles Social Security disability work: SSDI and SSI applications, denied claims and appeals, medical evidence, children's benefits, Medicare and Medicaid eligibility, and working while on benefits. It also helps with Social Security retirement benefits. Outside of Social Security, Ty Groat defends drivers against traffic tickets in San Angelo, including speeding tickets that could put a license at risk.
The onset date is the day Social Security finds your disability began. SSDI generally requires five full calendar months after that date before entitlement starts, and Medicare follows a 24 month qualifying period counted from entitlement. An onset date set too late can shorten the benefits you receive, so medical records showing when your condition became disabling carry real weight.
Yes. Ty Groat is the attorney on every claim the firm takes, and he meets with you, reviews your records and prepares your filings. A friendly staff supports him by answering calls, scheduling meetings and keeping your file organized, so you always have someone to reach during office hours and an attorney who already knows your history.
Talk With Ty Groat
Maybe you are about to file a first application. Maybe you hold a denial letter with a deadline on it. Either way, one talk with a disability lawyer in Abilene, TX can sort out what comes next. Call (325) 659-2305 Monday to Thursday, 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM, or Friday, 8:30 AM to 12:00 PM, or send a message through the contact form and the office will follow up.
Call the office: (325) 659-2305
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