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Regarding the issue of representation and representatives:
Unfortunately, the great majority of Social Security Disability and ssi claims are denied at the Initial Claim and Reconsideration levels. For this reason, most claims that proceed in DC 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 that one should always be accompanied by a Disability Lawyer or Non Attorney Claimant's advocate. While a disability attorney or non attorney representative cannot guarantee that a claimant in the district of Columbia 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 fact of the matter is this: the vast majority of claimants in DC 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 experience 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 case. Can a claimant who is not represented by an attorney or non attorney in the district of columbia 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 DC before an Administrative Law Judge are markedly decreased when a claimant does not employ the services of an attorney or non attorney representative; therefore, a claimant should weigh the risk of going unrepresented to a hearing when their future livelihood is literally at stake---particularly when it takes so long to get to a disability hearing in the first place. And even unrepresented claimants who are successful and are approved for their 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 very many things to guarantee that a social security disability or ssi claim will have the very best chance of winning. This includes gathering treatment 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 for ssd and ssi benefits. Though attorney or non attorney representation is never required in an ssdi disability claim, to attend a hearing before a judge without the assistance of a disability attorney or non attorney representative is unwise and may result in a lost opportunity to win disability benefits. |
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