THINGS A LAWYER CAN DO WITH A DISABILITY CLAIM

THINGS A LAWYER CAN DO FOR YOU IN A DISABILITY CLAIM

Lawyers or non-attorney advocates (called "representatives") can be of great assistance to claimants trying to obtain Social Security disability benefits. Some things your lawyer can do for you:

1. Advise you if you are ready to file a claim. Do you have adequate medical evidence? Are you still insured by Social Security? If you work, does your work disqualify you? What type of claim should you file?

2. File the long, complicated application for you. There is the application itself (several pages), a Disability Report (about 12 pages), a Function Report (14 pages) and a Work History Report (up to 8pages). That's over 30 pages of forms that must be completed correctly and on time. In addition, there be additional questionnaires to fill out.

3. Gather medical evidence to help prove your claim. Federal regulations require you to prove that you have a severe medically determinable impairment and that it has lasted or will last at least 12 consecutive months OR end in death. You must also prove that the symptoms of your medical condition are so severe that they prevent you from doing full-time work. Your attorney can work with your medical professionals to gather evidence required to prove your disability. Of all the claims that are denied, most are denied due to lack of proof to satisfy the strict definition of "disability" used by Social Security.

4. Appeal denials and take them to the next level of consideration. About 75 percent of all claims will need to be appealed in order to have a chance of success.

5. Your attorney-representative can appear before administrative law judges with you at a hearing to protect your interests. The obvious goal here is to win your claim. Another goal is to get as much back pay or past due benefits as possible. Your attorney speaks the "legal language" of Social Security and knows the rules; therefore, he or she can protect your interests during the hearing.

6. You will have lots of questions along the way. Some of them are complicated and require an understanding of Social Security regulations and the law in order to give competent answers and advice. This is another function of your attorney/representative--to help you understand the process, requirements and all the written communications you will receive from the Social Security Administration.