How to find the "best" attorney for Social Security Disability?
This question was asked recently in a forum. A majority of the responders, including one disability examiner (not me) stated that disability representation was unnecessary.
Well, I'm a former disability examiner. I would agree that most claimants will not need disability representation at the initial claim or reconsideration level. However, that's "most". There is a percentage of claimants who may benefit from representation if they have difficulty with memory or other impairments which may affect their ability to complete certain tasks, such as returning forms, going to scheduled consultative exams, and filing a disability appeal in a timely manner.
As an examiner, I routinely saw cases in which individuals had clearly filed for disability more than a dozen times without ever once trying to appeal (I've seen "unique numbers" as high as 24, meaning the individual had possibly--I say possibly because concurrent SSD, SSI cases count more than once--been denied up to 23 times without ever once filing an appeal).
My guess is that these individuals somehow had the notion that filing a new claim was synonymous with appealing. And, in fact, I've heard claimants practically say as much. Which is unfortunate, because if you keep filing new claims, the odds are good that you will keep getting denied for disability time and time again. And by filing new claims over and over, you'll never get your case to the level of a disability hearing before an administrative law judge, which is where claimants who have been denied for disability on an initial claim will have their best chance of later being approved.
Representation, in instances like this, may not be a bad idea, i.e. for some it can be an excellent idea.
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Well, I'm a former disability examiner. I would agree that most claimants will not need disability representation at the initial claim or reconsideration level. However, that's "most". There is a percentage of claimants who may benefit from representation if they have difficulty with memory or other impairments which may affect their ability to complete certain tasks, such as returning forms, going to scheduled consultative exams, and filing a disability appeal in a timely manner.
As an examiner, I routinely saw cases in which individuals had clearly filed for disability more than a dozen times without ever once trying to appeal (I've seen "unique numbers" as high as 24, meaning the individual had possibly--I say possibly because concurrent SSD, SSI cases count more than once--been denied up to 23 times without ever once filing an appeal).
My guess is that these individuals somehow had the notion that filing a new claim was synonymous with appealing. And, in fact, I've heard claimants practically say as much. Which is unfortunate, because if you keep filing new claims, the odds are good that you will keep getting denied for disability time and time again. And by filing new claims over and over, you'll never get your case to the level of a disability hearing before an administrative law judge, which is where claimants who have been denied for disability on an initial claim will have their best chance of later being approved.
Representation, in instances like this, may not be a bad idea, i.e. for some it can be an excellent idea.
Return to:
Additional Posts
Denied for disability, should I try to keep working?
Will being in my thirties cause me to be denied for disability?
Denied disability claims - what makes for a denied disability case?
Application for disability
Social security disability appeal
Denied at a Disability Hearing, What do I do next?
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