At Schiffman Law Office, P.C., we have the experience to help you on your social security disability claim if you live in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Read on for answers to the most common questions regarding social security disability lawyers and the legal help they provide.
Q: What can social security disability lawyers do for my claim?
- At the pending stage, social security disability lawyers can help explain the process and help you respond to social security administration requests.
- If your initial application is denied (as occurs in 70% of cases) having legal help in place will enable you to speedily and correctly file your reconsideration appeal paperwork.
- If your request for reconsideration appeal is denied (as are about 85% of such requests), your social security disability attorney will submit a request for a hearing before an administrative law judge.
- A social security disability lawyer will then monitor the claim and receive all related paperwork. He or she may request updated medical records, ensuring that they can present the most recent medical record documentation to the administrative law judge.
- At the disability hearing itself, a social security disability attorney will present the case and argue that the claimant meets the standards required for receiving disability benefits. It is unwise to enter a hearing without legal help from an experienced social security disability lawyers.
- A social security disability attorney will often respond to hypothetical scenarios that are proposed by Social Security Administration consultants or Vocational Experts.
Q: How will a social security disability lawyer help me win disability benefits?
Social security disability lawyers have the expertise to prepare a case and argument, supported by objective medical evidence, which justifies the awarding of benefits.
Q: Does having a social security disability attorney speed up my disability hearing?
Unfortunately, there is nothing a lawyer can do to accelerate the scheduling of a hearing. Claims are assigned to Administrative Law Judges and the Judge will schedule the hearing based upon the Judge’s schedule. The Judge will not move one claimant’s matter ahead of another claimant’s matter because of an attorney’s request. However, under very limited circumstances an accelerated hearing can be provided. In certain cases the attorney can eliminate the need for a hearing altogether if the evidence is adequate to justify this.
Q: Will social security disability attorneys file forms for me?
In our office we assist clients in filing their forms, including the initial claim.
Q: Do lawyers improve the chances of winning Social Security Disability?
Social security disability attorneys have a higher approval rate than individual disability applicants at the hearing stage.
Q: Does Social Security pay the attorney’s fee?
If a social security disability attorney wins your case, it is likely that Social Security will deduct the fee owed to your representative from the back pay amount that you are owed.
Q: How much can a social security disability attorney charge?
Most claims that are approved result in a fee of 25% of the past due benefits. Future benefits are usually not subject to a fee.
