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Individuals in North Carolina who are applying for Disability benefits from the Social Security Administration (in the form of Social Security Disability or SSI) will generally wonder at some point if they should obtain representation. Here are just a few questions that disability claimants typically have about representation and disability lawyers and advocates:
What kind of preparation is done by a disability lawyer to win a case?, What is the fee for representation on a disability case?, Is representation necessary to win a disability case?, and Should you consult with a lawyer before you file a disability claim with the social security administration? |
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Regarding the issue of representation and representatives:
Because most disability claims 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 Attorney or Non Attorney Claimant's Representative. While a disability attorney or non attorney representative cannot guarantee that a claimant in North Carolina 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 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 North Carolina ssdi 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 North Carolina before an Administrative Law Judge are greatly 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 ssdi disability hearing in the first place. And even unrepresented claimants who are successful at a hearing 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 generally work hard to ensure that a social security disability or ssi claim will have the most favorable 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 disability adjudication process. Though attorney or non attorney representation is never required in a ssd or ssi 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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