Your Advantage

We are a Disability Law Firm. It is what we do and who we are.

The Disability Process

The health problems and financial difficulties when you are disabled and unable to work are extremely frustrating. For many people, obtaining Disability benefits is their only hope of living a happy and independent life while being disabled. At the Mitzner Law Firm, we understand these struggles, and we have happily helped thousands of clients just like you through every step of the Disability process.

The best way for you to get started is to call our office now! We will provide you with the information you need to get started as a client with us. At the Mitzner Law Firm, we have the ability to handle your Disability claim from beginning to end, even if your case goes all the way to Federal Court. Our attorneys and staff are highly skilled at each stage of the Disability process. We love what we do, and we would love to help you too.

Call Our Office

It is important to file your Disability claim as soon as possible. Waiting to file your Social Security Disability claim could cause you to lose benefits you have a right to. So, please call our office today so that we can gather your information and see what we can do to help you with your case.

How to Apply for Social Security Disability

The Social Security Administration (also called SSA) has thousands of rules concerning disability benefits, and it can be a daunting process for many people. There are five steps to a Social Security Disability claim.

Step 1—The Initial Application (Apply):

• The first step in a Social Security Disability claim is to file an application. We will get information from you and put that information in the correct form to help complete your application. At this time, we will also get information about your disabilities and medical providers. Once completed and submitted to the Social Security Administration, your application will be reviewed by a medical professional and a case worker, both of whom work for the Social Security Administration. This team will decide whether to award you Social Security Disability benefits, or to deny you. It is very difficult to win at this stage, and most clients do not, so do not get disappointed.

Step 2—Reconsideration (Apply Again):

• If the Social Security Administration denies your claim after your initial application, you have the right to appeal. This appeal consists of essentially re-filing your application. The same information will be required yet again, and we will again submit this paperwork for you. Your application will then be reviewed by another team at Social Security, again consisting of a medical professional and a case worker. As with the initial application, that team will decide whether to award you Social Security Disability Benefits, or to deny you. Since this is the same group of people reviewing your case, usually a majority of applicants are denied and required to go to step 3, especially those under the age of 55.

Step 3—The Hearing:

• If you get denied at reconsideration (Step 2), you can request a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge (you might also hear them called an “ALJ”). Administrative Law Judges are Judges who work for the Social Security Administration. These ALJs only preside over Social Security Disability Cases (so no divorces or criminal prosecutions) and will give you the opportunity to present your claim in person. This is the first opportunity a Social Security Disability applicant has to plead their case face-to-face with a representative of the Social Security Administration. The ALJ will hear your case and make his own decision as to whether or not to award you Social Security Disability benefits. At this stage, one of our experienced attorneys at the Mitzner Law Firm will help best present your case in front of the Judge.

• What to Expect at a Social Security Disability Hearing:

1. The hearing itself will take place at an Office of Hearing Operations (you might also hear it called “OHO” for short).

2. There will not be very many people there. Generally, the only people present at a Social Security Disability hearing are the claimant (you), your attorney, the Administrative Law Judge (the person who makes the decision), a hearing reporter (this person will make an audio recording of the hearing and make periodic notes on their computer, but otherwise will not speak), and a Vocational Expert (a witness for the Social Security Agency who will, after listening to your testimony, offer their opinion as to what, if any, jobs a hypothetical individual with your impairments is capable of performing).

Sometimes, if the ALJ thinks it is necessary, there will be a Medical Expert (a doctor of some kind) who has read your medical record and listened to your testimony at the hearing. That medical expert will offer their opinion as to the severity of your impairments.

There will be no jury, and there will be no opposing counsel waiting to object to anything and everything you say (it’s not like what you see in the movies or on TV). Also, there will be no spectators (this is to protect your privacy). Witnesses, in most cases, are unnecessary and unwanted by ALJs except for cases involving seizures or blackouts.

3. The hearing will be informal. While you will be sworn in before you give testimony, the hearing itself is more along the lines of a conversation between you, your attorney, and the ALJ.

The ALJ and your attorney will ask you questions about why you can’t work, how your injury/illness affects you on a daily basis, and generally what daily life is like for you. The ALJ will try to get an idea of how severe your injury/illness is, and to what extent it will prevent you from working.

4. As the Social Security Disability Claimant, your job at the hearing will be rather straight forward. You will offer testimony (under oath) about your medical condition, and how your medical condition prevents you from working.

The ALJ and your attorney will also ask you questions (nothing complicated) about your medical condition and what life is like for you living with that condition. Your attorney will then present legal arguments to the judge as to why you should be awarded benefits (just a heads up, this part of the hearing is often very technical, so don’t be surprised if you don’t understand what is happening).

This part of the hearing is also the primary reason to hire an attorney to represent you. There are so many rules and laws most people will mess it up on their own because they are not a disability lawyer. And no, just any old lawyer won’t do.

Step 1—The Initial Application (Apply):

•The first step in a Social Security Disability claim is to file an application. We will get information from you and put that information in the correct form to help complete your application. At this time, we will also get information about your disabilities and medical providers. Once completed and submitted to the Social Security Administration, your application will be reviewed by a medical professional and a case worker, both of whom work for the Social Security Administration. This team will decide whether to award you Social Security Disability benefits, or to deny you. It is very difficult to win at this stage, and most clients do not, so do not get disappointed.

Step 2—Reconsideration (Apply Again):

•If the Social Security Administration denies your claim after your initial application, you have the right to appeal. This appeal consists of essentially re-filing your application. The same information will be required yet again, and we will again submit this paperwork for you. Your application will then be reviewed by another team at Social Security, again consisting of a medical professional and a case worker. As with the initial application, that team will decide whether to award you Social Security Disability Benefits, or to deny you. Since this is the same group of people reviewing your case, usually a majority of applicants are denied and required to go to step 3, especially those under the age of 55.

Step 3—The Hearing:

•If you get denied at reconsideration (Step 2), you can request a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge (you might also hear them called an “ALJ”). Administrative Law Judges are Judges who work for the Social Security Administration. These ALJs only preside over Social Security Disability Cases (so no divorces or criminal prosecutions) and will give you the opportunity to present your claim in person. This is the first opportunity a Social Security Disability applicant has to plead their case face-to-face with a representative of the Social Security Administration. The ALJ will hear your case and make his own decision as to whether or not to award you Social Security Disability benefits. At this stage, one of our experienced attorneys at the Mitzner Law Firm will help best present your case in front of the Judge.