This content written for Willhoite Law, PLLC.
If you are an applicant of a Social Security disability claim, you have a choice to hire a disability lawyer. Disability claims are usually complex and difficult to file on your own. If you are filing a disability claim alone, you need to fill up several pages of the disability application form. The application form requires several information including the type of disability, percentage of disability, your work history and medical records. It also takes into consideration if your disability is for a specific period of time or it is permanent disability.
You can consider filing a social security disability claim if you are finding it difficult or unable to work or you already filed a claim and it is denied. Most disability claims are denied at its initial level. If you are thinking about hiring a social security disability lawyer, first you need to understand the need of a social security lawyer and how he or she can help you to win your claim. The cost of hiring a lawyer is transparent as given by the federal law; a lawyer will generally charge 25% of the total amount you receive after winning the claim.
There are lots of benefits of hiring a lawyer than to fight alone. If your case is already denied, you should consider hiring a lawyer.
Why You Should Hire a Social Security Lawyer?
One of the most important reasons behind hiring a lawyer is that the chances of winning your disability claim increases. No one denies the fact that lots of people fight with their disability claim alone and few of them get approval for the disability benefits. Statistics of previous disability cases clearly show that you have more chances to win or get approved of your disability case if it is represented by a lawyer or legal representative.
Social security disability lawyer knows how to present the case from the very initial level like filling up the disability application form to the trials of each step. If you are not hiring a lawyer at the initial level, you may take suggestions from a lawyer. A lawyer can give you the best suggestions to fill up a disability form and also can judge if you meet with the disability benefits requirements or not. If your claim is in the trial period, your lawyer can help you to collect or find out the relevant documents and prepare you for the trial that may help in making your claim in your favour.
The Chances of Winning Disability Claim without Lawyer
Can an applicant alone win an SSDI or SSI disability claim at an ALJ trial? Yes, it is achievable. However, the chances of succeeding in a disability claim before an ALJ are considerably lowered when an applicant does not hire a lawyer or legal representative for the trial.
Although a lawyer is not required by the law in a disability claim, going through a trial without the help of a lawyer or legal representative can result in a lost chance to win disability benefits.
Prepare a Disability Claim for Trial
The majority of SSDI and SSI applicants don’t know how to accurately and completely prepare a disability claim for a trial, whereas a lawyer or legal representative has a great level of knowledge and expertise with Social Security laws and regulations. A lawyer has several years of precious SSDI and SSI claim expertise to give to a disability claim and knows very well what a judge will look with a specific medical condition. And also a lawyer knows what type of questions to ask your doctor and what medical examinations to order.
A lawyer gets paid on promise basis only if he or she wins so because of this they are always motivated to succeed and do several things to assure that an SSDI or SSI claim has the best chances of getting settled. This involves learning all the important medical records and test results, getting detailed reports from an applicant’s treating doctors, and, at the time of the trial, applying a careful understanding of SSA laws and previous decisions to the disability adjudication process.
When to Hire a Social Security Disability Lawyer?
If you’re thinking about filing for a disability claim, you should take a free consultation from an expert lawyer. A lawyer can assist you in evaluating the health of your claim and help you with your initial form. While several people prefer to deal with this stage without any legal representation, your disability claim is more likely to be approved if you have a lawyer on your side. There is another advantage that if a victim gets approval of their claim at the initial application level with the help of a lawyer, he/she only need to pay a small lawyer’s fee.
If a lawyer’s help in the initial application form is a smart idea, hiring a lawyer after receiving an initial denial should be an easy thing. For increasing your possibilities of winning, a disability lawyer can sometimes pass your claim faster through the system, particularly when if your medical condition is very poor or your financial situation is not that much good, for example, you are homeless or have no money to perform daily activities. Moreover, your lawyer can send a request to the judge for a quick judgment, which indicates that your claim can get approved for benefits without a trial.
But you should remember that a lawyer’s efforts for your claim are oftentimes unsuccessful and that most applicants, including those who are represented by an expert disability lawyer, need to wait several months or even years for their claim to be approved.
You should avoid calling or take advice from a lawyer if you have already filed your initial application form to the Social Security and you are expecting an answer. At this point, a lawyer rarely can do something. Practically in every other circumstance, the advantages of hiring an expert legal representative on your side considerably exceed the costs.