We have received the second denal letter from Social Security telling us that they have denied Bill's request for benefits. Something about not showing signs of the disease. Must be the whole misunderstanding that the Social Security Administration has about the disease, but that was another blog...
So, we have filed an appeal yet again. This time, it is the request for a hearing. Basically, the case goes before a judge and he will decide Bill's fate. When the hearing will take place is anyone's guess. Current backlog is averaging about 364 days, according the Social Security Administration website. I sure hope it does not take that long.
The decision we have been wrestling with in this appeals process is if we should get a lawyer for him to appear at the hearing. SSA even provides a list of lawyers to contact if interested. And they are free of charge if you don't win a settlement. Sounds like a good deal. A lawyer will take the lesser of 25% or $6000 of the back pay that is awarded to the person. Back pay is usually the amount the claimant will receive each month back dated to when first filed or another date the judge decides on. Sometimes, the judge will decide no back pay. It is the judges opinion of when the conditions really set it that make the person disabled and unable to work.
Using the premise that Bill will get back pay from the date the first request was filed - approximately one year ago - and the estimated monthly amount we have been told he will receive of $640, the lawyer could get roughly $2000 if the claim was approved today. Then, when you factor in that the average processing time from when a hearing is requested to when the hearing takes place is approximately a year, you can pretty much double that amount. For a person that will have to set up some sort of living arrangements and buy many of the basics that a person needs, losing that amount will not be easy for deal with.
On the flip side, if he does not win the case, then the lawyer gets nothing. Basically, he takes the case for free. So, it does seem like a good idea, right? If we lose, we lose nothing. We have nothing less than what we started with. Plus, most lawyers will not take the case unless they are confident the judgement will be favorable for the claimant. They aren't going to take a case that will not get them a payout of some kind. They want to make money just like everyone else. And a lawyer will take care of making sure all the paper work is filed, all medical information is received and anything else that comes up.
So, maybe hiring a lawyer is a good idea. It will make things a lot easier and give us an advocate that wants to win for us but also understand the laws and knows if we really have a case or not. Granted, it will cost if the settlement is won, but isn't it better to get something than nothing at all? And the consultation is free, so if the lawyer doesn't think you have a case, then he doesn't take your case on.
Now, how to pick the lawyer...
Actually, that part is pretty easy. In the paperwork that is sent confirming the request for a hearing, the Social Security Administration provides you with a number to contact someone. You are then directed to attorneys in your area. So, we have contacted an attorney. Now, we wait and see what he thinks and how long it takes to get the next phase of this lengthy process started.
So, we have filed an appeal yet again. This time, it is the request for a hearing. Basically, the case goes before a judge and he will decide Bill's fate. When the hearing will take place is anyone's guess. Current backlog is averaging about 364 days, according the Social Security Administration website. I sure hope it does not take that long.
The decision we have been wrestling with in this appeals process is if we should get a lawyer for him to appear at the hearing. SSA even provides a list of lawyers to contact if interested. And they are free of charge if you don't win a settlement. Sounds like a good deal. A lawyer will take the lesser of 25% or $6000 of the back pay that is awarded to the person. Back pay is usually the amount the claimant will receive each month back dated to when first filed or another date the judge decides on. Sometimes, the judge will decide no back pay. It is the judges opinion of when the conditions really set it that make the person disabled and unable to work.
Using the premise that Bill will get back pay from the date the first request was filed - approximately one year ago - and the estimated monthly amount we have been told he will receive of $640, the lawyer could get roughly $2000 if the claim was approved today. Then, when you factor in that the average processing time from when a hearing is requested to when the hearing takes place is approximately a year, you can pretty much double that amount. For a person that will have to set up some sort of living arrangements and buy many of the basics that a person needs, losing that amount will not be easy for deal with.
On the flip side, if he does not win the case, then the lawyer gets nothing. Basically, he takes the case for free. So, it does seem like a good idea, right? If we lose, we lose nothing. We have nothing less than what we started with. Plus, most lawyers will not take the case unless they are confident the judgement will be favorable for the claimant. They aren't going to take a case that will not get them a payout of some kind. They want to make money just like everyone else. And a lawyer will take care of making sure all the paper work is filed, all medical information is received and anything else that comes up.
So, maybe hiring a lawyer is a good idea. It will make things a lot easier and give us an advocate that wants to win for us but also understand the laws and knows if we really have a case or not. Granted, it will cost if the settlement is won, but isn't it better to get something than nothing at all? And the consultation is free, so if the lawyer doesn't think you have a case, then he doesn't take your case on.
Now, how to pick the lawyer...
Actually, that part is pretty easy. In the paperwork that is sent confirming the request for a hearing, the Social Security Administration provides you with a number to contact someone. You are then directed to attorneys in your area. So, we have contacted an attorney. Now, we wait and see what he thinks and how long it takes to get the next phase of this lengthy process started.
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