Years ago, I traveled to Valparaiso, Indiana for a hearing. My client was late and there was one other lady in the waiting room. She mentioned that her friend, who was helping her, could not be there that day. She wondered what I thought about her chances of winning her hearing by herself. She said suffered from Bi-polar Disorder, and I realized she had no idea how to win her case, what evidence she should already have, and, worse, what to expect when the door to the hearing room closed. She was afraid. I tried to help.
I am not a salesman. I am not a self-promoter. In a business full of people who desperately shout how great they are, I am not a person who yells about himself. I don’t even know if she had a good case. But, I knew she was afraid of what happened when she had to enter that hearing room and the door closed and she was alone.
She should have called a lawyer. Specifically, she should have called Keller & Keller, our Indianapolis-based law firm which practices Social Security Disability law. But, even if she did not, she should have had an attorney.
A Social Security Attorney is Your Best Chance at Receiving Your Disability Benefits
Does a lawyer cost money? Certainly, but we don’t win a dime unless you win. Keep in mind, NOT using an attorney is the easiest way to lose, and 25% of $0 is still $0.
What do you get for that money? Well, I doubt that lady was aware that the section of the Federal Register that governs disability law has 102 parts and thousands of pages. I do know that. I will not pretend that I have memorized §404.1500ff, but I know I have used the rules in those thousands of pages (which are not even all the important rules!) I am familiar with the Social Security Rulings (“SSR’s”) and the recent Court decisions governing my circuit. I have to be to do my job well.
I’ve been doing work in Social Security since I was 21 years old (and I’m now in my 50’s). I have argued these rules in front of Administrative Law Judges, Federal District Court Judges, and Court of Appeals’ Judges. I have taught other lawyers in training sessions and trained new lawyers how to win cases. I win most of my cases, because I know you have to be able to tell a judge more than “trust me, fella, I can’t work.”
The #1 Reason to Hire a Social Security Lawyer to Handle Your Disability Claim
In the end, the best reason to call me is this: I DO know what happens when that door closes. I’ve been in that room several thousand times, always ready to make a case, based on the law and facts. That day, I was pretty happy to say the lady I spoke with emerged from the hearing room 5 minutes. The hearing was continued so she could obtain a lawyer to protect her rights. That was the right decision, even if that attorney was not me.
You should call us at Keller & Keller and protect yourself with our decades of experience in Disability law.
