did i hire the wrong law firm?
so here i am again, relying on the kindness of strangers.

1. hired them based on a presentation they gave at a parkinson's support group,
3. went in for an interview, wanted to meet someone and see their office, it was nice and in an office building where rent wasn't cheap. gave my report to paralegal along with proof i had pd, figured they wanted to see it, plus my tax returns and what IRS transcripts I could get from the IRS, figured they wanted proof.
4. paralegal glanced at my paperwork, we talked about my chances of getting ssdi, then she asked if i wanted to fill out a claim on-line, that kind of surprised me but said "sure".

5. she asked me what date i "became" disabled and i said 10/01/2011 since that was the last day i received income from my job, i



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1. they seemed to miss the problem i was going to have with the tax returns, i brought this up in the first meeting, not the 3year3month15day problem which i didn't know about but they should have known about that?
2. they filed the claim during my first visit, it was by chance i brought something proving i had pd. i found that odd that they didn't want any proof about my disability on the first visit.
3. after the SSA claim was denied, i was given a different paralegal, no phone call, just an email from this person with a list of questions to answer. i emailed that person a few times, called, said i had questions about the questions, no call back, got a call from the first paralegal saying my paralegal was on vacation.
4. so, answered the questions the best i could, emailed them to this person and said i still had some questions about my answers.
5. no call back, got an email from this person saying thanks for my answers, they had filed the appeal and had included the letter from my GP, but not my neuro, even though there was one mentioned by SSA in the denial letter.

so i guess my question is, is any other firm going to be any better? nice people but hard to get a call back, they don't apologize, it's like their not returning my calls never happened.

i'm assuming they will kick into high gear when i get to the court phase
TIA for any advice.

The system has flaws as you have observed first hand. The right hand often doesn't know what the left hand is doing.
SSDI is impossible to get if you have any assets at all. At least this was the issue in this state of Fl. Ginnie

I'm sure you meant to say SSI instead of SSDI?

Just wanted to say I'm sorry for what you are going through with SS Disability. I never dreamed at 51 I would be filing for SSDI. I'm in GA and was initially denied....I'm now in the reconsideration stage....if I'm denied this time it goes to a hearing in front of a judge. I have done the reconsideration on my own with advise from an advocate.

If I'm denied this time I will have to hire a law firm. Scares me to death to even think about trying to find one that will actually do what is needed for the hearing.

I'm guessing you can change lawyers if you want....might be a good idea to call around to different ones and just feel them out.

I wish you much luck in this journey. The disability world will drive a sane person absolutely crazy !

Debi from Georgia

Yes I meant to say SSDI. You can have no monies over a certain amount. ginnie

??? Are you sure ???

I thought if you are found to be disabled- that is SSDI & assents don't matter.

SSI is for very low income/no income and very few assets are allowed??


ginnie, I know you had a very complicated claim with a trust & such so other things came into play due to the complexity..

The attys are working for YOU. You are not working for them! Their fee will be part of your SSD settlement if you win.
If you are not comfortable with them, discuss this w/them and/or fire them & hire another firm that YOU feel comfortable with.
Yes, if the law firm feels there is a chance of winning. It is recommended that you find a firm that handles only SSD cases.
In a way yes. You should request copies of all your medical records including dr notes. Keep copies for yourself and provide copies to your atty. Make sure you keep your atty updated on your disability and dr visits.
Read the stickies at the top of this website.
In a way you are. Remember, you are NOT their only client. Especially if the law firm is a large one and/or the ones you see on the tv commercials.
If you have the funds, you can privately hire a SSD atty on a retainer. This way, the atty will only rep you as you will be his/her only client.


GOOD LUCK!

From my reading here over the years,,,
Most do get a denial first off, then you go forward with more proof and go from there.

Unfortunately due to the aging baby boomer generation, and economy, many are applying I think, so each is a number...
And if you read the threads you will see how slow the system ends up being due to the glut.. so try not to stress over that , don't expect things to be done quickly...

I don't know if you have looked thru the useful stickys on starting a claim and the others but those do have great tips for how to proceed.


Since you mentioned earlier not having many regular drs appts, I would suggest you start going regularly now so your condition can be documented going forward.

Not a quickie appt -maybe a full assessment first with a dr, or a complete evaluation from a qualified PT that reports to the dr.. then again every few months, so changes will be noted. Be sure to tell of any changes that don't show up during appts..

There is something called a functional capacity exam FCE - at some point you may be asked to go for one of those.
Basically a testing of what functions you are able to do or not..

But read thru the sticky threads - it really helps to know those tips and possible pitfalls.
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread148967.html
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread120255.html

SSI/SSDI attorneys can't legally charge fees for their services upfront, other than for expenses. http://www.nolo.com/legal-encycloped...wyer-cost.html So, hiring an attorney on a retainer in this case is not an option.

OP--

Attorneys for SSI/SSDI cases can only be paid out of a portion of your backpay. They have little incentive to put in much work until you've racked up some significant backpay. What you're experiencing is not unusual. I generally think it's a bad idea to hire one this early on. A compromise is to go with a non-attorney rep--they are often former SS employees. Allsup is an example ofsuch a company.

If you choose to fire them, they can still request part of the eventual % of attorney fees. It would be best to get them to release you by being a PITA... A new attorney or service will not want to have to split their fee.

You can ammend you Alleged Onset Date of disability. If you can prove a major reduction of monthly billings, so long the billings were below the SGA level for that year, that would be a date to choose. If you have any communications in writing with clients that you recommend they make other arrangements due to your failing health, that might help.

Did you stop driving or hire someone to clean your home, run errands, etc. during any period? Did your meds increase? Did you discontinue any activities from a decline in health?

The issue with back payments came up a few years back in a thread and I believe it was compared at the time as getting the opportunity to pay an insurance policy years later after when a health problem pops up. Is it unfortunate in your case, especially since you've been ill such a long time? Yes. But I don't believe exceptions are made.

Regarding age issues, once you are over 55 you qualify in the "advanced age" category for the grid rules: http://www.ultimatedisabilityguide.com/grid_rules.html