Can an Attorney Increase My Chances of Getting Disability?

     Imagine for a moment that you are a vibrant, energetic forty-five-year-old who wakes up one morning with a lump on the side of your neck.  You try to ignore the problem for a few days, but to your dismay, the pain and stiffness worsen.  You head to the local emergency room hoping for a quick fix but are stunned to find out that your diagnosis is Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.  This frightening scenario became a reality for one of our disability clients the Winter of 2018.  What followed were months of chemotherapy which not only resulted in extreme fatigue and nausea, but also psychological symptoms of depression and anxiety.  She went from working two jobs to not having the energy to get out of bed in the mornings.  The chemotherapy lasted for ten months, with her prognosis being fair.  In addition to the cancer treatment, our client had also suffered from severe degenerative disc disease and arthritis in her lower back and hip joint.  No longer able to earn a living, she filed for Social Security Disability and was denied.  She filed for reconsideration, and she was denied again.  Feeling hopeless, she contacted our office for a consultation. 

     How could someone so clearly disabled be denied?  Well, the Social Security Administration found that our client’s symptoms were severe enough to prevent her from working at the time, but the evidence indicated that her condition was not expected to remain severe enough to prevent her from working twelve months in a row.  We filed for a request for hearing before an administrative law judge.  In preparation for the hearing, we obtained additional medical records and statements from her treating physicians regarding her medical conditions, treatments and what type of restrictions they would place upon her due to those conditions and treatments.  We also prepared a pre-hearing brief outlining our theory of the case and indicating medical evidence in support thereof. Two days prior to the hearing, the judge’s office called to inform us that he was finding our client disabled without the need for a hearing.  Our client was ecstatic.  She was so deserving of her disability.  

 

    Please understand that we cannot guarantee a successful outcome.  Every claim is different, and very few cases are approved without a hearing once they make it to the hearing level.  One of the benefits of hiring a legal professional to assist you is our knowledge of the rules and regulations used to determine whether an individual is disabled pursuant to the Social Security Act.   If you have questions about your Social Security Disability claim, we invite you to contact us for a free consultation to see if we can help.  

- Lisa Long Cotten

Associate Attorney
Martin, Jones, & Piemonte

Website: www.mjpdisability.com