Top 10 Questions to Ask Your Disability Lawyer

  1. Are you a lawyer?
    Unfortunately, anyone can be a social security representative – there is no requirement that the representative have a law degree. As a matter of fact, SSA does not have a minimum education requirement. The fees are exactly the same whether you hire an attorney or a non-attorney representative. Therefore, the first question you want to ask is whether or not your representative is also an attorney licensed by the State of Florida. We suggest that you check to make sure as we have had clients advise us in the past that their representative was a lawyer only to find out later that the representative wasn’t a lawyer at all, had no legal training whatsoever and was not licensed or trained in taking depositions or filing notices.
  2. What exactly will you do for me?
    Unfortunately, some representatives believe that the only thing they need to do for their client is to show up at the hearing. You don’t need that kind of representative. Ask your representative what affirmative acts will be done on your behalf.
  3. What medical pay websites does your representative subscribe to and pay for?
    In order to prevail in a social security disability claim, it is vital that you have the most up-to-date and reliable medical research tools available. Lawyers at our firm subscribe to a number of pay websites including and not limited to www.mdconsult.com and www.epocrates.com. With our software, we are able to input the various medications you are given and determine the disabling affect of the combination. We also have other private pay sites which permit us to access information on doctors who may testify for the Social Security Administration.
  4. What experts do you hire? What does that cost and how do you know they are reliable?
    The senior partner of SSH created www.mdinabox.com. She and her physician husband traveled to India and trained physicians in developing nations to assist lawyers in our country to understand the medical issues in the claims that they handle. Instead of paying experts $500 to $1000 an hour, which would come out of your pocket, lawyers at Sims, Stakenborg and Henry utilize services that will minimize the out-of-pocket cost to you.
  5. How long has that law firm been practicing in disability law?
    The senior partner has been practicing disability law since 1982 - over 25 years.
  6. How long does it take and what are you basing your opinion on?
    Ask the lawyer how long it will take your case from beginning to end - end being defined as when you get your check in your hand. This will require the attorney to engage in a certain amount of estimation because each case is different. Make sure you ask the attorney so your expectation and the attorney’s expectation are reasonable under the circumstances. Go on and ask the attorney the basis upon which he or she reaches that conclusion.
  7. Ask the attorney how many cases he/she has handled.
    The lawyers at Sims, Stakenborg & Henry, PA have handled thousands of disability cases for over 25 years. It is important that the lawyer you interview has experience, is honest with you and advises you if he is new to this area of law.
  8. What will you do for me if the medical records are not strong enough to win my case?
    We will tell you after we have reviewed the medical evidence if we do not believe it is strong enough to win. We will also tell you what we believe you need to do in order to strengthen your medical records and your claim. Sometimes it is simply to go back to your doctor and ask certain questions. Alternatively, we might suggest particular medical tests be conducted. For example, in an asthma case we might suggest a pulmonary function study to determine your FEV. We may ask you to take in a series of questions for your doctor to answer regarding your physical and/or mental impairments and how they affect your ability to work.
  9. Do the Judges ask you to write orders for them granting benefits?
    This is the best indication whether or not the social security judges respect your attorney. At Sims, Stakenborg & Henry we are often asked to prepare orders awarding benefits to our clients based upon the legal arguments and memoranda we have prepared for those claims.
  10. Can I communicate directly with your law firm by email and is your law firm set up to scan and email me my entire social security file?
    At Sims, Stakenborg & Henry, PA we can send you the entire copy of your social security file on a CD. Why is that important? Because only you know what doctors you have seen. Going through your social security file might jar your memory about other doctors you have seen and forgotten about so you can contact your lawyer and give the names of additional treatment you may have had which may help your case. Furthermore, reviewing your social security file gives you the ability to determine if the Administration did something incorrect or misunderstood something that you may have said in your initial interview or to various medical providers. The Social Security Administration has documents in your file, which reflect phone conversations you might have had with the Administration. If the social security representative misrepresented or misunderstood what you said, then you will be able to explain it in a document and supplement your social security file, thus helping your attorney increase the odds of prevailing.