Chose a lawyer over doing it myself for my SSDI appeal and it paid off

I was stuck between hiring a disability lawyer or handling my SSDI appeal solo. After 4 months of gathering medical records and getting nowhere, I finally called a local firm in Toledo. They found two reports my doctor forgot to send and fixed a date error that was costing me. My hearing is next month but the pre-hearing review already looks way better. Anyone else have better luck with a lawyer than going it alone?

3 comments

3 Comments

angelarivera2d ago

Oh wow, that's a huge relief! I bet that date error alone would've been a nightmare to untangle on your own. So what made you finally decide to call the lawyer after those four months? Was it just hitting a wall, or did something specific happen that pushed you over the edge? I'm always curious about that tipping point when people realize DIY isn't cutting it.

keith_bennett2d ago

Had the same wall with my own case @angelarivera, just got sick of spinning my wheels.

bennett.harper2d ago

My buddy Mike had a similar thing happen with his disability case in Cleveland. He spent almost 6 months fighting with the SSA on his own, got denied twice, and was ready to give up. His wife finally made him call a lawyer after she found out he was missing a key form from a specialist he saw three years ago. The lawyer got that report in like two weeks and found a typo in his work history dates that made it look like he quit his job instead of getting fired due to his condition. His hearing got rescheduled twice but once the lawyer fixed all that mess he got approved within 2 months. He told me he wasted so much time and energy trying to be stubborn and do it himself when all he really needed was someone who knew what boxes to check.