Why Get Help With Your Disability Claim?

Do It Yourself (DIY) can be fun, challenging and effective.....

But not when your financial future is on the line.

For most disabled individuals, Social Security is their main or ONLY lifeline for financial assistance. You don't have the option to take chances with your financial future.

Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) is a complicated, lengthy and difficult undertaking. One wrong step can either get you denied or cause you to wait months or years to get the benefits you need now.

There is a statistic that stands out in my mind. It comes from a 2017 study by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO). It states that

With an attorney, 60 percent of claimants get approved for SSDI benefits.

Without an attorney, only 30 percent ever get approved. (GAO, 2017 Study).

You enter an entirely new world when you deal with Social Security disability. It is a masssive US Government agency and it speaks its own language, has its own complex rules, and denies far more claims than it approves.

You will likely appear before a federal administrative law judge before you are approved. Like any court proceeding, this requires professional assistance by an advocate who knows the federal law and the process.

You must PROVE your disability using objective evidence that is acceptable to the government and is presented properly in the hearing. You will usually encounter one or more government expert's that you must question or cross examine. Impossible, of course, if you've had no training or experience. The government calls a Vocational Expert (VE) to nearly every adult hearing. This expert will deal with exertion levels, Specific Vocational Preparation, job numbers, DOT codes and a dozen things you won't understand. This expert will probably find thousands of jobs in the national economy which will deny your benefits. Your attorney/advocate will know how to deal with this expert; you will not.

If Do-It-Yourself representation for disability was easy, everyone would do it. There would not be an entire legal professional built around SSDI.

You will only get one disability hearing. If it goes wrong, it is unlikely you will ever get another hearing. The hearing is your best chance to be awarded benefits. You cannot afford to try without any experience, any training or any help. It will not go well.

Ask yourself this test question: What 5 steps will I take to prepare for my hearing?

If you don't know, you are not ready to go to a hearing.

• What evidence will I need?

• How can I get that evidence?

• What is my residual functional capacity (RFC)?

• How many jobs are available in the US for my RFC?

• What if I can only perform light or sedentary work?