Do you need to file for disability through Social Security?
Have you already filed disability and been denied?
Maybe we can help!
Hiring a disability lawyer is both helpful for new disability claimants and critical for those who have been denied.
Here’s how & why hiring a disability lawyer is a great idea in your Social Security claim.
Disability Appeal Success Rate When Using a Disability Lawyer
Did you know that those who are filing for disability increase their chances significantly when hiring a lawyer? Nearly three times more successful to be exact. We wrote about this in depth in our article, The Odds: Getting Your Social Security Claim Approved.
Cost of a Disability Lawyer for Your Appeal
For most, the biggest concern comes with how a disability lawyer is paid. You may worry that you cannot afford a lawyer and therefore will not be able to receive the help. The truth is that a disability lawyer is only paid if you are approved for social security disability. When you are approved for disability social security will owe you back pay for the time that you suffered from your disability, but were not yet receiving benefits. Once your case is approved your lawyer fee will be taken from your back pay (up to twenty-five percent or $6,000).
Best Time to Contact a Disability Lawyer
When is a good time to contact a disability lawyer? That depends on how comfortable and confident you are with filling out all of the necessary paperwork for disability applications.
Remember the chances of getting your initial claim approved hover around 20%, for a variety of reasons. With a lawyer involved at this stage, chances increase by almost 10 percent, and if you stick with them through your appeal, your chances of success grow to well over 50%.
A disability lawyer comes in handy later on when going through the rigamarole of Social Security.
Advantages of Hiring a Disability Lawyer
Here are some clear-cut advantages to hiring a disability lawyer:
- You will not have to keep going to the social security office and spend so much time waiting
- The paperwork alone is easily more than forty pages long. An attorney can help to gather all the paperwork needed.
- Disability Lawyers know the language. Social security and courts are very wordy and hard to understand at times. Your lawyer will know all the terms and appropriate ways of responding.
- An experienced attorney knows the system like the back of their hand. This means that the whole process will be a lot faster and no guesswork for you!
- You will never miss a deadline. The social security administration is very serious about their deadlines, and if one is missed, you may have to start the whole application process over again. A lawyer can be there for you and stay on top of mundane things such as this.
- When appealing a claim that has already been denied your attorney may be able to send in a brief that compels the judge to not need a hearing and approve your benefits then and there.
- Rest assured that your attorney will be professional and ethical; it’s the law and rules of conduct for the social security administration
- No upfront payments are needed. No payments until you start receiving back pay and only then will your lawyer receive payment from your backpay before you even receive your first check.
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