When your health condition forced you out of work, it put you in a double bind. Not only did you lose your income, you lost your health insurance, too. How will you pay your bills and get the medical treatments you need?
Social Security Disability benefits could help you regain some of your financial stability.
But it can feel overwhelming to think about getting from where you are now to where you need to be. Social Security is a maze of rules and regulations, and you’re not sure your condition even qualifies for benefits.
How can you get through this? A disability lawyer can be your guide.
At the Lachman & Gorton Law Office, we know how the system works, and how to make the process easier for you. And you pay no fee for a disability lawyer until you win benefits.
Lachman & Gorton has helped thousands of people for decades.
If you’re in Binghamton, Elmira, Rochester or anywhere in upstate New York, and you can’t work because of your health, get in touch with our disability attorneys.
If you’re applying . . .
You could try applying for SSD benefits without the help of an attorney, but you run the risk of making a mistake or not submitting all the required supporting evidence.
Most first-time disability benefits applications are denied (a recent Social Security report showed an average 79 percent denial rate).
An experienced disability lawyer can help you put together an application that’s complete, correct, and accompanied by all the necessary documentation, handling the legwork for you.
If you need to appeal a denial . . .
If you’ve already applied and been denied benefits, a disability attorney can help you appeal Social Security’s decision.
The process gets much more legalistic when you appeal. It can involve submitting more evidence, filing briefs on your behalf and arguing your case for benefits in front of a disability judge. Getting help from an attorney becomes even more important.
One study from the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that people are almost three times more likely to be awarded benefits after a disability hearing with a judge if they have a representative like a disability lawyer with them.
So this is a major reason to work with a disability lawyer: It’s possible to increase your chances of winning benefits when you have a disability attorney working on your claim.
An experienced Binghamton disability lawyer from our firm can help you at any stage of the process, whether you’re applying or appealing.
If you’re not sure what to do, you can start by having Lachman & Gorton look at your situation and let you know what your case will involve—at no cost to you.
Working with a local disability attorney (as opposed to a national or out-of-state firm) has several distinct advantages:
Also because we’re local, and not a large national firm trying to push through as many cases as possible, at Lachman & Gorton, we provide the personal care and attention that you need in a difficult time and when you’re dealing with a system that can seem cold and uncaring.
Let us help you get Social Security Disability benefits—so you can move forward after illnesses or injuries disrupted your life.