The quick answer to this question is yes. There are no demands placed on you, if you do not want the assistance of a Social Security attorney in Belleville to help with your disability hearing then you can go it alone. However, an experienced attorney will greatly enhance your chances of winning your appeal. Statistics show that twice as many applicants with legal representation that reach the appeal level have their appeal approved over an unrepresented appellant.
Your first appeal is a request for reconsideration, if this is also denied your next step is to request a hearing. The hearing will be in front of an administrative law judge; the judge will review and consider all the evidence you have provided and hear your testimony plus the testimony of any other witnesses that can help prove your disability. The most important evidence by far is medical evidence; the judge uses all your medical records to assess your disability. Having a Social Security attorney in Belleville can help win your disability claim at the hearing.
Your medical records:
It is important that all your medical records are complete; if any of the reports have an inconsistency or a gap of some sort then the judge will have grounds for denying your claim. Your attorney will work diligently to gather all your medical records and ensure they are submitted to the court. An attorney can usually get records faster and easier than you can and the attorney will know from experience when they need to be updated. As well as gathering your medical records your attorney will review them to decide if they should be submitted or not. This is extremely important as the attorney can decide if you need additional supporting evidence or if the existing evidence is missing a specific issue that is bound to arise.
Preparing for questioning:
As is true with most unfamiliar situations, nervousness can be an issue; it is this that can cause you to make errors. As your Social Security attorney in Belleville will have had past experiences with the administrative hearing process and in many cases, the judge as well, he or she will know what to expect. Knowing in advance what questions you might be asked can go a long way to allaying your fears.
Your attorney will ask you questions that you can expect to be asked by the judge, having this happen in advance of the hearing can make it less likely that you will hurt your case by saying something that perhaps you should not have said.
