Indiana Social Security Disability Attorney » hire an attorney http://disabilitytse.com Tom S. Ebbinghouse, Attorney At Law, Social Security Disability Indianapolis, Indiana Wed, 16 Jun 2010 13:04:24 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 Most People Still Turned Down on Initial Social Security Disability Benefits Application in Indiana http://disabilitytse.com/38/most-people-still-turned-down-on-initial-social-security-disability-benefits-application-in-indiana/ http://disabilitytse.com/38/most-people-still-turned-down-on-initial-social-security-disability-benefits-application-in-indiana/#comments Thu, 11 Jun 2009 16:12:26 +0000 admin http://disabilitytse.com/?p=38 The report for Fiscal Year 2008 is out on the Initial and Reconsideration denial rates for Indiana. 63.8% of the Initial Applications for disability benefits were denied and at the Reconsideration level 93.2% were denied. These levels have not changed much since last year.

Most people tell me that they have heard that ‘everyone gets turned down twice,’ but they always think it will not happen to them. With odds like these, year after year, you have to know the rules . You need to know when to hire an attorney to represent you.

]]> http://disabilitytse.com/38/most-people-still-turned-down-on-initial-social-security-disability-benefits-application-in-indiana/feed/ 0 Most People Turned Down on Initial Social Security Disability Application http://disabilitytse.com/21/most-people-turned-down-on-initial-social-security-disability-application/ http://disabilitytse.com/21/most-people-turned-down-on-initial-social-security-disability-application/#comments Fri, 22 Aug 2008 02:38:08 +0000 admin http://disabilitytse.com/?p=21 According to Social Security Office of Disability Programs, for Fiscal Year 2007, in Indiana 67.5% of all applications for disability benefits were denied at the Initial Level. At the Reconsideration level, 93.8% are denied.

I try to warn clients that most claims are denied at these levels because everyone thinks the ‘other guy who really does not deserve it will be denied, but I will not.’ These statistics prove that most people should be prepared to be turned down and should be prepared to go to hearing. They should not go it alone thinking they have a good change to win without someone who knows the rules . They need to know when to hire an attorney to represent them.

]]> http://disabilitytse.com/21/most-people-turned-down-on-initial-social-security-disability-application/feed/ 0 When Should I Hire An Attorney For My Disability Case? http://disabilitytse.com/12/when-should-i-hire-an-attorney-for-my-disability-case/ http://disabilitytse.com/12/when-should-i-hire-an-attorney-for-my-disability-case/#comments Tue, 17 Jun 2008 17:45:00 +0000 admin http://disabilitytse.com/?p=12 I recently was the moderator of a panel discussion at the Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum Social Security disability seminar “Persuasion at Social Security Hearings: Beyond the Mechanics at ODAR Hearings”. During another part of the seminar, an attorney was asked when he would begin representing clients in their Social Security Claim. He responded that he would not represent a claimant until they had been turned down at least once. I used to do it that way.

When I first started representing claimants in 1994, I also would not take a client until they had been turned down at least once. I reasoned that if someone could be approved on their initial application without an attorney, why not let them go ahead on their own and find out if their claim could be approved. They could save an attorney fee and it would not hurt their case if they did lose, so why not wait to see who really needed an attorney to help them?

But then I started to notice something. When people applied by themselves, they were making it harder to win their case by not having an attorney at the beginning to explain to them the rules of Social Security. They were unknowingly lowering the odds for success at that stage and at the appeal stages. They were not realizing that they were making strategic decisions that might ruin their claim before some administrative law judges. They did not have someone to help them figure out what was the relevant evidence that they needed to be sure they presented to Social Security. I figured out that I was wrong-people were hurting their case by not having an attorney at the beginning of their case.

Several years ago I decided that I had to start taking claimants as clients as soon as possible. Claimants needed to be represented before they filed their claim. If I made a claimant wait until they were turned down before I would represent them, their not knowing the rules put them at a disadvantage: bad evidence was created, good evidence was not brought forward, other strategic choices were being made that could not be undone, and good claims were being unnecessarily tainted with misinformation.

Do not wait to hire an attorney. Get competent help before you file so that the job will be done correctly from the beginning. Do not hope that the attorney can tear out the bad and re-do it. Do it right the first time. It can shorten the whole disability process. Get an attorney that will represent you from the beginning of your claim. Have someone on your side that knows the rules of Social Security and can explain them to you.

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