A right to Social Security Disability appeal representation

Sep 24 2014

Some things in life are unnecessarily complicated. Many people would agree that the law is one of those things. There’s no doubt that the terms and language used can be difficult for the layperson to understand whenever they find themselves dealing with an aspect of the legal system.

Though few people think of Social Security Disability as being part of the legal system, the fact is that an appeal of a denial of benefits is held before an administrative law judge. Fortunately, everyone who goes through the appeals process has the right to legal representation at those hearings. 

The Social Security Administration (SSA) reassures people who apply for disability benefits that they can have representation and that they “will work with your representative, just as we would with you.”    

Your representative can act on your behalf, retrieving needed information from your Social Security file. They can also help you to get the medical records crucial to proving to the SSA that you are indeed disabled and cannot return to your job or take up an alternate career.

Representatives can also accompany claimants to interviews, conferences or hearings or go to them for you. They can also ask for hearings, reconsideration or an Appeals Council review.

Your SSDI attorney can also help you prepare for the crucial hearing. And they can help your witnesses prepare, and they can conduct questioning of witnesses at the hearing.

Perhaps best of all, representatives have brought peace of mind to many thousands of SSDI applicants who have successfully gone through the appeals process.