Disability Advocates

By: Joseph Palladino Click author's name for more of his/her articles

If you have been requested to attend a Social Security Disability hearing and you do not have any legal representation like a SSDI Advocate or Attorney you may delay or even jeopardize your chances of winning your case to collect the benefits you need.

Here is a very strong argument that you may not have heard before when it comes to getting adequate representation from disability advocates, and it happens to be based on experience from advocates that have been in the business for well over a decade.

A disability advocate was contacted by a claimant that was denied during their SSDI hearing. The advocate received a copy of the tape from the hearing, as all live disability hearings are recorded for just this purpose. When the advocate listened to the audio tape, he noticed a few things that stood out immediately as proof that having an advocate on your side can really make a difference.

The hearing in question lasted less than a total of ten minutes, despite the fact that the average hearing typically goes for at least thirty minutes. When a hearing doesn't even take twenty minutes, red flags are thrown up.

During the hearing in question, the judge never made an effort to advise the claimant that she had a right to fair representation.

Finally, the judge didn't take the time to ask the claimant about any recent medical treatment since her initial application, nor did he try to gather any updated medical information so that her record could be updated, meaning that the SSA did not have her most recent information on file, and was lacking evidence that could have helped her in this process.

If this claimant had an attorney or another representative with her, this would not have been allowed to happen. She would have had someone on her side who could have informed her of her options, and made sure that the judge had all of the pertinent information, old and new.

From here, then, you have a choice between two options. There are advocates that will work to represent the claimants, or you have the choice to choose an attorney to hire, for this you can choose a lawyer that mainly handles these claims or one who is not a specialist in this line of law.

Neither of these options can provide you with a guarantee that they will be successful in securing the benefits that you are making the application for. What they will do is ensure that when you do go in for your hearing that you will be ready with a case that has been properly prepared. One of the most important things you can do when you apply for SSDI benefits is use these experts because they will know what and how to look for things that is in the best interest to your case.

There is no reason not to come equipped with an advocate on your side when applying for SSDI or appealing a decision regarding your SSDI and SSI benefits. Having SSDI experts on your side provides you with relief that someone is in your corner who knows what they are doing when filing for disability insurance or appealing a decision.

Article Source: ABC Article Directory

About The Author: Freedom Disability has helped thousands of people across the country with their Social Security Disability Insurance claims. Over 90% of people who complete the SSDI process with Freedom Disability are awarded benefits and we are rated "A+" by the Better Business Bureau.