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Whether an individual in Pennsylvania is filing for Social Security Disability or SSI Disability benefits, the issue of representation usually arises at some point. And with that issue there are naturally questions. Here are just a few that claimants typically have with regard to seeking a lawyer or claimant's representative:
How do you pay a disability attorney?, Are the fees for disability representation held to a certain limit?, Will the attorney do everything on my disability case, including the appeal paperwork and preparation?, and Will I stand a much better chance of winning disability benefits with a representative? |
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Regarding the issue of representation and representatives:
Statistically, the vast majority of Social Security Disability and ssi claims that are filed in Pennsylvania are denied at DDS at the Initial Claim and Reconsideration levels. For this unfortunate reason, most claims will eventually 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 Pennsylvania disability attorney or non attorney representative cannot guarantee that a claimant will be awarded social security disability or ssi benefits, they can guarantee that a case will be properly prepared before 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 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 before an Administrative Law Judge in Pennyslvania are much lower when a claimant does not employ the services of an attorney or non attorney representative; therefore, a claimant should think carefully about going unrepresented to an ssdi 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. Even unrepresented claimants who win 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 ssd or ssi 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 try 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 an ssi or ssd disability claim, to attend a ssdi 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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