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Regarding the issue of representation and representatives:
Sadly, the vast majority of Social Security Disability and ssi claims in Connecticut are denied at the Initial Claim and Reconsideration levels. For this reason, most claimants in Connecticut will need to be heard by an Administrative Law Judge before a claimant can hope to receive benefits. It is at the level of an ALJ hearing, though, that one should always be accompanied by a Disability Attorney or Non Attorney Claimant's Representative. While a disability lawyer or non attorney advocate cannot guarantee that an ssd or ssi claimant will be awarded social security disability or ssi benefits, such an individual can guarantee that a case will be properly developed prior to a hearing date. The simple truth and reality is this: the vast majority of ssdi claimants will have no idea how to properly and thoroughly prepare a disability case for a hearing, whereas an attorney or non attorney disability representative can apply a certain level of familiarity and expertise with social security rules and regulations toward the goal of obtaining a favorable outcome on a case. And, in many cases, an attorney or non attorney representative will have several years of invaluable ssdi and ssi claim experience to lend to a claimant's disability case. Can a claimant who is not represented by a disability attorney or non attorney representative still win an ssd or ssi disability claim at an ALJ hearing? Yes. And, in fact, this does occasionally happen. However, the odds of winning a social security disability or ssi claim in Connecticut before an Administrative Law Judge are substantially decreased when an appellant does not employ the services of a lawyer or non attorney advocate representative; therefore, an ssdi claimant should weigh the risk of going unrepresented to an ALJ hearing when their future livelihood is literally on the line---particularly when it takes so very long to get to a disability hearing in the first place. And even unrepresented claimants who are successful and win their ssd or ssi claims may not obtain the most favorable onset date for the commencement of their benefits. The date of onset and the date of entitlement, of course, will determine how much a claimant will receive in backpay; therefore, being able to prove the earliest possbile onset is of extreme importance for a social security disability or ssi claimant. Disability attorneys and lawyers do a great many things to ensure that a social security disability or ssi claim will have the best chance of winning. This includes gathering medical records, obtaining detailed statements from a claimant's treating physicians, and, at the time of the hearing, applying a thorough understanding of SSA regulations and requirements to the disability adjudication process. Though attorney or non attorney representation is never required in a disability claim, to attend a hearing before a judge in Connecticutt without the assistance of a disability attorney or non attorney representative is unwise and may result in a lost opportunity to win social security disability or ssi disability benefits. |
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