What Does a Disability Lawyer Do?

There are multiple tasks a disability lawyer does that greatly influence the trajectory of your SSDI or SSI claim. They range from:

• Gathering correct medical evidence and documentation
• Talking with medical professionals regarding your condition
• Preparing for an appeal if your initial application was denied
• Representing you in court if your case moves to trial

Putting forward a disability application to the SSA involves evidence, constant communication, and several weeks of time. A Social Security disability lawyer seeks to make all three aspects easier for you while raising your claim’s chances of approval.

Do You Need a Lawyer to Get Disability?

It’s not mandatory to hire a lawyer for your disability case, but their work can prove indispensable to your claim.

The Government Accountability Office reported in 2017 that those who hired a disability attorney were almost 3 times more likely to get approved compared to those without one.

There are several pitfalls in the disability application process you can fall into if you apply without legal help. Things like:

• Not providing enough information
• Late submission of evidence
• Failing to respond to the SSA’s messages

Attorneys can also spot “bad facts” in your medical documents that can be omitted from your claim. These details can come in the form of:

• An unfavorable testimony from a medical provider
• Medical records that can be used to show you’re not following the SSA’s treatment plan
• Documents that can downplay the severity of your disability

You always have the choice to move forward with your application without a disability attorney. However, the legal help one can provide may be the difference between your initial claim getting approved or denied.

Top Reasons Why Disability Lawyers are Worth It

The most important service a disability lawyer can provide is their experience in handling cases like yours.

Oftentimes a disability claim gets rejected because of “lack of information.” This usually means the SSA received too few relevant documents in your claim.

Application problems like the one above can be avoided by hiring a disability attorney to determine what information gets sent. They can order the right medical exams and screenings to further prove your case.

Consider the reasons below on why hiring a disability lawyer may be worth it throughout all steps of the legal process.

1. They Can Verify Your Eligibility for Benefits

Determining whether someone qualifies for Social Security benefits is not as cut-and-dry as it seems. Both SSDI and SSI have separate requirements, and you also have to consider how much work credits you have.

What disability lawyers do to verify your eligibility for benefits is determine whether your condition falls under the SSA’s Listing of Impairments. Also called the “Blue Book”, this is a list of disabilities with their own criteria in qualifying for Social Security.

If your condition is not listed, your disability attorney can use Social Security’s grid system, a set of rules that determine if you’re disabled.

This system looks at various factors that influence your eligibility for benefits, such as:

• Your age
• Residual functional capacity (RFC) level
• Work history

Sometimes these categories vary case-by-case, so it’s important to retain an attorney to make sure your evidence is properly presented.

2. Lawyers Know What Medical Evidence You Need

Medical evidence can come in various forms, and sending too little may cause your claim to get delayed. Not sending enough information is one of the key reasons Social Security claims get denied in the United States.

Sending too much medical evidence may be detrimental to your case as well. The administrative law judges (ALJ) looking over your claim may not readily approve you for disability if they have to sift through hundreds of irrelevant medical documents.

A competent disability lawyer knows which documents to submit as they often work with and know the ALJs looking over your case.

Attorneys may know a specific ALJ’s preferences when grading a case, such as:

• The types of conditions an ALJ tends to favor for approval
• How an ALJ wants a case to be structured

Preparing medical evidence may be especially difficult if you need documents from multiple providers. Ease the work you’ll have to do by working with an attorney for your case.

3. They Can Effectively Communicate With Medical Providers

Doctors may have several reasons to not assist you with your disability claim when asking for evidence yourself:

• They may feel you don’t qualify for benefits
• Your claim’s forms may distract them from their work
• The fear of legal repercussion from the SSA if you get rejected

A doctor may feel more willing to help if they talked with a disability attorney who can go over your case.

They may have questions you may not be able to answer effectively without attorney representation present. Attorneys are used to talking with medical professionals, and they can increase the chances of them assisting you when a testimony can make or break your claim.

4. Disability Attorneys Can Help You Avoid Application Pitfalls

A SSDI or SSI claim is vulnerable to several pitfalls in the application process if you file incorrect information. To get approval for disability, you’ll have to prove the following:

• You cannot work due to your disability for at least a year.
• Your disability is severe enough to satisfy the SSA’s grid rules and/or is listed in the SSA’s Blue Book.
• You paid into the system long enough through five or more years of work history.
• You don’t make enough income alone to sustain yourself, requiring federal aid.

Proving such claims requires a tremendous amount of paperwork, all of which is vulnerable to mistakes if you file everything yourself.

What a disability lawyer can do for your case is compile what’s required of your application themselves. They’re experts in navigating through such documents, helping you avoid potential delays or denial along the way.

5. An Attorney Knows How to Navigate a Disability Appeal

Submitting a strong initial application is crucial to getting approved for disability. Even so, sometimes you may still face denials from the SSA due to incomplete information.

The SSA may misunderstand the nature of your condition, believing the following:

• Your impairment won’t last more than 12 months
• You can perform your job even with your condition or transfer to another job role
• This condition was caused by drug or alcohol use
• Your case is not severe enough to warrant disability benefits

The SSA’s reasons to deny your claim are mostly listed in your denial letter. A disability lawyer can analyze your letter to determine the right evidence to submit for an appeal.

Even though you were initially denied, you still have a chance for approval through a disability appeal.

6. Disability Lawyers Can Fight For You in Trial if Needed

If submitting appeals has not worked and you believe the SSA mishandled your case, a disability lawyer can help you bring your case to trial.

After getting denied, SSDI or SSI claims go through the appeals process involving multiple steps:

1. Reconsideration
2. Initial hearing
3. Review by the Appeals Council
4. Federal court review

Most appeals end in reconsideration, but if you need to move forward with your case, hiring a disability attorney may prove essential.

Is a Disability Lawyer Expensive to Hire?

One of the common misconceptions surrounding disability attorneys is that they’re too expensive to hire.

However, most Social Security disability attorneys work under contingency, meaning they only get compensation if you win your case.

There are no upfront costs to hiring a Social Security disability lawyer throughout the legal process. They only get compensation from the back pay you’ve accumulated only after you’re approved of disability.

The percentage they take from your back pay is usually 20-30%, and there are regulations preventing them from taking more. Attorneys only request for higher percentages if your case involves further hearings.

If You Need a Disability Lawyer, Connect to One With LegalASAP

The roles a disability lawyer can do for your case are important and vary from claim-to-claim. If you’re having trouble connecting with a lawyer you can trust, contact LegalASAP and use our attorney network.

We host a reliable attorney referral service with 500+ law firms spanning across the United States. We’re connected with hundreds of attorneys who may be ready to assist you with your case.

To schedule a FREE consultation with an attorney in our network, fill out this short evaluation form or call 1-888-927-3080 to connect with a representative as soon as possible.