Nobody wants to need Social Security Disability (SSD) benefits but many do. In 2014, 64.2 million people received the benefits. About 5.4 million of them were new to the program. If you find yourself looking to disability attorneys, you need to go in to your first consultation with them. Here is a list of the questions you should ask.
- Ask them about their experience. How long have they handled SSD cases and how much of their practice is devoted to it? What made them go into this kind of law? You do not someone who is “phoning it in” but you want a passionate advocate. You need to find a lawyer with a ton of experience in this area. Lawyers specialize you need to find a lawyer who has a lot of experience with disability claims.
- How much experience do they have with your specific kind of case? Ideally they will have a high level of experience dealing with your kind of case. If the disability attorneys that you talk to show a hesitation on their response, you should go to a different law firm. This is a standard question and you need the very best lawyer for your kind of case. Ask them about their success rates on these cases.
- What are their resources that they plan to allocate to your case? Do they have a cadre of medical experts that they can call upon to help with your case? You need to find a law firm that has the capability to have your claim researched and backed by facts that are supplied by experts. Your case will be worked on by a number of people and you should know who will be working on yours.
- When can the law firm can to your case? This may be different for the different disability attorneys. The process is long enough as it is. You need your benefits toute de suite and cannot afford to drag it out any longer than it will run otherwise.. Nail them down on when they can start and get the name of your specific attorney.
- Ask for testimonials. Most disability attorneys have these on their websites but you should make it a point to check them. It can be easy to create these on their own. If they have references you can talk to you will get a lot more information about the different disability attorneys.
- Ask about their pay structure. Every law firm handles their billing differently. You need a law firm that is totally transparent so that you can compare and contrast disability attorneys. There will be costs other and additional to your legal fees there are also costs associated with researching your case such as for the experts and the others in the law firm. Good and reputable disability attorneys will have no problem going through this all with you.
- Before you go, talk to your friends and relatives. Given the number of disability claims, the chances are good that you know someone who works in disability law. They need to be local to your state because the complicated process is different in different states. One of the best ways to get any goods or services is to get a personal recommendation. Ask them how they found them and what they thought of the process of working with them.
You will want to check out the disability attorneys reputation. You can do this online. Facebook has a lot of sites that are devoted to promoting local businesses so you should look into that as an option when you research the various options you have for disability attorneys in your area. Be careful with anonymous comments. People are more likely to complain than compliment.
When you become disabled, the process can seem long and complicated and is fraught with frustrations. Good disability attorneys can make all of that go more smoothly. Finding the right one to help you with your case can make all of the difference in terms of the outcome and the process. If you do some research, you should be able to find the right person and law firm for your specific case and needs.