WHY YOU NEED AN ATTORNEY

Technically you are not required to have an attorney when trying to get Social Security benefits. Practically, however, you DO need an attorney-advocate. This is true for several reasons.

1. Social Security disability is a very complicated, complex and hard to understand government program, ripe with strange terms, acronyms, rules, regulations, grid rules, listings, and other things that you may not understand.

2. Social Security is stacked against you. About 75 percent of disability claims are denied. Only a fraction of these will get approved on appeal. Appeals are almost hopeless without representation to guide you.

3. Your chance of approval increases dramatically when you have an attorney. Statistics show that only 31 percent of claimants every get approved without representation. But over 60 percent who have attorneys get approved.

4. You will face seasoned expert witnesses at your hearing. They will speak a language foreign to you. They will use rules that you never heard of. Unless you have your own expert (attorney) with you, you will be in a no-win contest and hopelessly lost at the hearing.

5. In most cases, if you show up at a hearing unrepresented, the judge will postpone the hearing for several months and tell you to find an attorney and come back. This only delays a decision and leaves you waiting longer for benefits.

6. You won't know what evidence to get, how to get it, or how to use it. Medical evidence is required to win your case. You cannot win without it. Your representative will know how to obtain evidence, how to interpret it and how to use it in your favor.

7. Only an attorney or advocate will understand the Social Security listings, grid rules, onset date requirements, back pay and the technical aspects of your case. If there is anything that raises a red flag (alcohol or drug abuse, you worked after your onset date, negative medical evidence, a negative report from a Social Security doctor, etc.), only your legal counsel will know how to mitigate the damage.

8. Social Security will always have a vocational expert to testify at your hearing. These experts speak of exertion levels, Specific Vocational Preparation (SVP), number of jobs in the US economy, etc. In nearly every hearing the VE (Vocational Expert) will present testimony that damages the claimant's case. The claimant cannot be expected to know how to cross examine these experts. Only an attorney or trained advocate knows how to cross examine this expert. In addition, some hearings will bring a medical doctor (medical expert) into the hearing. These witnesses are very difficult to deal with and require a highly skilled advocate to cross examine them.

Get experienced counsel from someone like the Forsythe Firm in Huntsville to assist you. You won't pay any money up front and the firm will cover all expenses. You only pay a fee if you win your case and it results in recovery of back pay for you. Free consultations are available. (256) 799-9297. forsythefirm@gmail.com