Q: What is the standard for disability under the Social Security System?
A: The claimant has to be totally disabled from being able to perform any substantial gainful activity or that his or her condition is likely to result in death.

Q: What if my employer will say in writing that I can no longer perform my job?
A: The social security rules and regulations provide that there is a basic presumption of disability in this situation, depending on the other evidence.

Q: Will the Social Security Administration (SSA) send me to specialists?
A: SSA may send you for an examination by a doctor they have picked. This is why our office often will send you for an expert consult by a specialist before we file the claim, so that we can submit a favorable expert opinion with the claim at the time it is filed, thereby increasing the chances of obtaining an award of disability benefits.

Q: How long will it take me to get benefits?
A: If the application for benefits is filed without much supporting information, it is quite possible that SSA will deny benefits. Hearings before an administrative law judge may take an extra year or year and a half to occur and then a decision may take another half year after that. Because of this, our office works with the claimant to get all their medical records together, determine if going out to a medical expert for a consult would be helpful, and submit the most complete package possible with the initial claim. This increases the chances of having benefits granted in the first six months of the claim pending instead of having to fight for one, two, three or more years.

Q: How is my attorney fee determined?
A: Social Security Act sets the maximum contingency fee at 25% of past due benefits. The attorney is also allowed under SSA regulations to be reimbursed for his or her expenses of litigation and costs. If the claim is granted on initial review before the need for a hearing before an administrative law judge, SSA regulations limit the attorney fee to a reduced amount, set by SSA, which comes out of the past due benefits. These rules will be reviewed with the claimant by the attorney at their initial consultation.