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If you live in New Jersey and have filed a Social Security Disability or SSI application with the Social Security Administration, should you get a lawyer? This is a valid question for anyone who has applied for disability, or been denied, and here are a few examples of other questions that claimants typically have regarding the subject of representation:
Can you afford to hire an attorney for your disability case, Should you get a lawyer when you apply?, Should you wait until your claim has been denied before seeking assistance?, and What will a lawyer do to win your disability claim with the social security administration? |
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Regarding the issue of representation and representatives:
It is at the level of an ALJ hearing that an ssdi claimant is most likely to be awarded disability benefits. However, the vast majority of 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 New Jersey claimant who is not represented by an attorney or non attorney 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 New Jersey 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 an ssd or ssi disability hearing in the first place. And even unrepresented claimants who are successful 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 in New Jersey 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 ssdi adjudication process. Though attorney or non attorney representation is never required in a 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. |
| Social Security Disability attorney lawyer list The chances of winning on a disability case |
