Why Should You Hire a Louisiana Social Security Disability Lawyer?

You are facing an incredible change in your life. You have to file for Social Security Disability because your illness or injury has made it impossible for you to continue to work. You know there’s a website you can use, and the process seems simple.

That is one of the biggest misconceptions, though. Trying to file for Social Security Disability on your own can be a challenge, and a tiny mistake can cost you your benefits. At the Law Office of James A. Graham, we work with clients at all stages of filing for Social Security Disability. However, we recommend contacting us and working with our team now, long before you start the application. There are several benefits when you do this.

The benefits of working with a Social Security disability lawyer in New Orleans

Working with our Social Security Disability attorney is one of the best tools you have for ensuring you receive benefits as quickly as possible. Consider some of the reasons to do this.

It may help improve your odds

The Social Security Administration makes it clear from the data they publish that initial claims are more likely to be denied than to be approved. That is worrisome for anyone that does not have the time to wait for their disability to come through. Yet, in 2019, only about 20% of claims were approved on their first attempt. That means that four out of five people were denied their first time.

There are many reasons for this, but one of the most impactful is technical denials, which often means that there is some type of error that led to the initial denial. With the help of our New Orleans disability attorney, we may be able to help you avoid those types of oversights, minimizing the risk that your claim will be denied.

Get help with medical evidence

Ultimately, the Social Security Administration needs to see medical evidence that proves that you cannot work. While many agents are quite compassionate and helpful, there are many situations where a person is denied because they do not have enough verifiable medical evidence on their application for disability to receive approval.

The bottom line is that working with our Louisiana disability attorney ensures that you provide all of the information the agency needs, and that your medical evidence meets the specific requirements set by the agency to be approved for compensation. Your attorney can help you with this in several ways:

• Help you understand the requirements that must be met to qualify for SSD
• Help you to obtain medical records from your doctor to verify that you qualify
• Gather other evidence of your limitations to prove that you qualify for disability

Even if you love your doctors and they are helping you, they often have very specific steps in place that you must meet in order to obtain your medical records. These providers have to protect themselves from security risks. With the help of an attorney, you can streamline this medical evidence gathering process.

We know the process for securing Disability benefits

Let’s be frank. Applying for disability is not as easy as answering a few questions. There are dozens of steps and qualifications along the way. You need to know how to navigate the process to ensure it goes well for you, and that is not easy to do if you have never done it before. Our team can help you to do that from the start including:

• Helping you to complete the entire application
• Provide accurate and detailed documentation as required
• Providing for any communication with the SSA if there is a need for it later
• Guide you in meeting any additional requests for information
• Streamline the entire communication process

Because we are familiar with the process of obtaining Social Security Disability in Louisiana, we can help you avoid some of the most common pitfalls related to the process as well.

It may speed up the process

There is no way that your attorney can speed up the process from the standpoint of the Social Security Administration itself. However, we can help to minimize delays. It takes over 100 days, in many cases, to receive some type of notification from the SSA about your claim – and most people need help sooner than three months. Our goal is to help ensure there are no additional delays.

Also, note that we can help you to qualify for compassionate care and immediate access to benefits depending on the type of condition you have. This takes some additional work from your attorney to prove that you deserve compensation right away, but it is one of the tools available to help those in dire situations to get the help they need. If you think you may qualify for compassionate care, such as due to a terminal illness or renal disease, we encourage you to take action now by giving us a call.

We can help you with an appeal if you’ve already tried to secure benefits

While we encourage you to work with our disability attorney prior to the actual application with the SSA, we are always happy to help our clients to navigate the outcome if they are denied. We can offer support in creating a legal strategy that supports your best outcome through appeal.

Make sure you take appeals seriously. It is not uncommon for an appeal to be rejected as well, especially if you have not met all of the requirements stated. For that reason, we encourage you to work with an attorney if you have to appeal a denial for disability.

At the Law Office of James A. Graham, we know how important it is for you to receive approval for your Social Security Disability application. That is why we work closely with you to ensure you have a full understanding of your rights, a comprehensive and complete application, and a way to respond immediately to questions that arise. Call our office or submit our contact form to schedule a consultation with a Social Security disability attorney today. We serve New Orleans and all of South Louisiana.