Why hire a lawyer for your Social Security Disability (SSDI) case ?
A long-time client, one whom I had helped successfully in several accident cases, asked this very question. He knew that I handled Social Security cases all over the country. He knew that I had been recognized as one of the BEST LAWYERS and as a “Super Lawyer” for my efforts on behalf of the injured, disabled and their families. Yet his question was a valid one.
After his most recent on the job injury, he developed severe, life-threatening illnesses that rendered him completely disabled from work. His Long Term Disability (LTD) Insurance company offered to provide him with representation, at no cost. However, as I explained to him, there were several “catches.”
- This “free” representation, was not by a lawyer; in fact, the company had NO lawyers affiliated with it !
- This “free” representation was not subject to any ethics rules of any State’s Bar Association,
- This “free” representation was not required to have malpractice insurance, in case things went wrong,
- If successful, his LTD benefits would be reduced by what he would get from Social Security,
- If he lost, the LTD carrier could use the medical and other records developed in the case against him to deny continued benefits,
- This “free” representative was a volume business, that received cases from this insurance company all the time, and thus there is an inherent conflict of interest (if the LTD Insurance Company stopped sending them business),
- This “free” representative was not located in the same town, county or even state as the disabled worker, so he could not visit this person who was “assigned” to him by the insurance company,
- The Retainer that the injured worker is asked to sign notes that the “free” representative is “a non-attorney who is participating in the direct fee payment demonstration project.”
- The fee agreement is signed by a half dozen people, with no explanation as to who they are, what they will do or even their printed names !
- The injured worker may not even know what this “free representative” even looks like until the day of the Hearing in front of the Federal Administrative Law Judge !