Review this Top 20 List of What to Do When Your Lawyer Won’t Respond Put it in Writing. 1. Put you*re question/request in writing. Lawyers are required to reasonably respond. 2. Send your request by email, fax or overnight mail. 3. Do not repeatedly contact the lawyer. Reasonable requests means reasonable in number, frequency and topic.
On the initial application, your lawyer can offer advice on your " alleged onset date " of disability, argue that your condition meets one of the listed impairments in Social Security's "blue book," and help you focus on the facts that will be most persuasive to Social Security.
Because disability lawyers get paid only if they win, they sometimes decline to represent a person if they believe there is little chance of success of winning or if they determine that if the disability applicant is approved, there will be very little backpay or retroactive benefits from which to be paid.
At the next stages of appeal, the Appeals Council and federal court, your lawyer can craft sophisticated legal arguments to show that Social Security wrongly denied your case. When Should I Call a Lawyer? The general rule is "the earlier, the better."
If you have called your attorney, left messages, sent emails, and you still haven't heard a response, the best course of action is to send a certified letter to his or her office questioning the failure to communicate and informing them that you are prepared to find a new lawyer if the situation does not improve.
Throughout the process of getting your financial settlement after becoming injured, there may be periods of time that you do not hear from your attorney. Although this can be unnerving, it is a normal part of the legal process.
Perhaps the most common kinds of complaints against lawyers involve delay or neglect. This doesn't mean that occasionally you've had to wait for a phone call to be returned. It means there has been a pattern of the lawyer's failing to respond or to take action over a period of months.
Even if your lawyer is working on another case, they should still get back to you within a day or two at the most. Your lawyer owes you responsive communication, even if you're not their only client. There's no excuse for an attorney who takes weeks to return calls or emails.
If your lawyer still does not respond, you can send him or her a letter explaining the communication problems. If at this point you do not hear anything from your lawyer, you should consult with a legal malpractice attorney.
A: The lawyer should be responsive to your questions within 24-48 hours after you left a message. If the lawyer is not responsive, perhaps he or she is on vacation and unable to return.
Dennis BeaverThe attorney does not return phone calls in a reasonable amount of time, and;In a meeting with the client, if the lawyer is being very short, taking phone calls, trying to re-schedule, not giving enough time to the client, does not listen, ignores what is asked or is not answering questions.
Formal complaint against [name of lawyer or law firm] describe what the lawyer had been hired to do for you [for example dealing with the sale or purchase of a house] • say when this was [give the date or dates when the problem occurred]. My complaint is that [list what you think went wrong or wasn't done properly.
Send your complaint Email [email protected] with your written complaint or by attaching the completed form.
There is no set formula for how often you will hear from your attorney. However, the key to a successful attorney client relationship is communication. Whenever there is an important occurrence in your case you will be contacted or notified.
This is how the practice of law is supposed to work. So often when a lawyer does not return your call for a few days it may simply mean your lawyer is busy getting some important work done in your case or in another client's case. There is nothing going on with your case.
Ask to meet again. Cordially make your request for the followup meeting. Include your phone numbers and email address, even though your attorney already has them from the previous meeting. If there is a best time or manner to contact you, let them know what it is.
Recently on our forum we had a user ask, What if I need to appeal my Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) application denial but disability lawyers will not help me? Can I make the appeal on my own? This is a great question, but the better question is should you appeal the denial. We will discuss this question below.
Disability lawyers work on a contingency fee basis which means they will only take a case if they think they have a chance to win; otherwise, they do not get paid. So, before you decide whether to file an appeal on your own you need to find out why you were denied and why the disability lawyer refuses to help you.
Yes, you have 60 days to file the Reconsideration paperwork to the Social Security Administration (SSA). If you do not file the paperwork in time, under most conditions, you will have to file another SSDI disability application and start the process again.
This is perhaps the most disheartening reason that an attorney in Harrisburg may decline to accept your case. If the attorney believes that you will not be able to win your claim—even on appeal—he or she should not give you false hope.
Because the laws regarding any one type of claim are so complicated, an attorney will typically specialize in one or two particular areas. For example, one attorney may focus on auto accident injuries while another is skilled in handling claims for Social Security disability in Pennsylvania.
Finally, a conscientious lawyer may turn you down simply because he or she has a full workload and cannot put in the hours of time necessary to do your case justice. Putting together an initial claim or appealing a decision for Social Security disability is a time-consuming, complicated matter.
Just like they don’t mind after-hours calls. Sometimes it’s necessary for you to volunteer. You’ll be surprised how receptive your attorney is to your assistance. Believe it or not, the amount of attorney’s fees is usually not a major complaint.
We know that every case is not a winner. An army of marching attorneys can’t help some clients. The key is to be able to focus on the relevant law and facts immediately, so you don’t waste the client’s money and your time. If the attorney isn’t prosecuting your case, this probably wasn’t done. You can help.
So even though it’s a killer, it’s a sure-fire attention-getter. In fact, it’s so reliable that if the attorney doesn’t respond, you’re probably better off with another.
If at this point you do not hear anything from your lawyer, you should consult with a legal malpractice attorney. A knowledgeable legal malpractice attorney can review the circumstances of a case and attempt to communicate with your unresponsive lawyer.
If your attorney has stopped responding to your message, you may wonder if they have committed legal malpractice.
Before contacting a malpractice attorney, you should attempt to contact your attorney multiple times by phone, email and other communication platforms you have used to reach him or her . If your lawyer still does not respond, you can send him or her a letter explaining the communication problems.
You might ask the attorney or paralegal you spoke to for details on why they don't think you have a good case. If it has to do with your medical records, recent work, substance use, or receipt of unemployment benefits, you can address these issues before continuing with your claim.
If you aren't currently seeing a doctor, and don't have a history over the past several years of seeing a doctor, you'll have a harder time finding a lawyer to take your case. Good medical records are probably the most important factor in getting an approval for benefits, and this is especially true for mental claims.
Here are some of the factors lawyers consider when they decide to take a case. Some of the factors, such as age or medical condition, you can't change, but with other factors, you might be able to take actions to make your case more attractive to a disability attorney.
Because medical records are complicated, and a lawyer isn't always in the best position to assess whether Social Security is likely to grant a medical allowance for a complex medical condition, lawyers often focus on other factors when deciding to take a case.
Some disability lawyers won't take your case until you've been denied benefits. They'd rather not help out at the application stage, but they'd be more than willing to represent you at the appeal hearing.
Having what appears to be a severe medical condition will obviously help convince a lawyer to take your case, but there are certain conditions that some lawyers don't like to see in your medical file. Fibromyalgia is one of them. Historically it's been difficult to get benefits for fibromyalgia, though it's gotten easier since Social Security published a ruling on the subject. Also, applying for fibromyalgia along with similar conditions, especially a lesser known condition like Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, may signal to Social Security that you still haven't received the proper diagnosis.
Whether There Is Substance Abuse. Most lawyers will not take clients with a current substance abuse problem, unless their medical conditions are extremely severe and quitting the alcohol or drug use very clearly wouldn't make their problems less disabling.
Therefore, if you have behaved inappropriately towards an attorney or firm staff member, you should apologize directly to the attorney or staff member and provide a written letter of apology. Remember, though, that an attorney can cease to represent you if there is a relapse in your behavior.
Concerns about disability applicant. An attorney or law firm may decline to take a case if they feel the client may be troublesome or is not trustworthy, which may be evident if any of the following factors are present: inconsistent statements from the claimant, or dishonesty.
This usually happens when a claimant has not had access to health insurance or is ineligible for medical assistance. If the claimant has older supportive medical records that indicate a disability, an attorney or firm may decide to take the case and help the claimant get further testing either by requesting a consultative examination by the SSA or by helping the claimant find affordable community healthcare.
Disrespectful Behavior. The disability process is stressful and attorneys and their staff members well understand this. However, attorneys will not tolerate abusive or disrespectful language directed at themselves or their staff no matter how good the case.
Lack of Medical Evidence. If there are legitimate reasons that a claimant has not had consistent medical treatment, an attorney or law firm could still decide to take the case. This usually happens when a claimant has not had access to health insurance or is ineligible for medical assistance. If the claimant has older supportive medical records ...
It is also because clients who have had issues with a previous firm or advocate are more likely to have the same issues even with a new attorney.
Also, the SSA is generally unwilling to reschedule hearings unless the claimant can demonstrate a good reason to do so (such as illness).
No. In fact, it is a common misconception that a disability lawyer can do this. In some cases, a lawyer can, for a case that is at the hearing level, ask for an expedite based on dire financial need, but this does not happen much due to the extreme backlog of disability cases at hearing offices.
For the sake of clarity, SSDRC.com is not the Social Security Administration, nor is it associated or affiliated with SSA. This site is a personal, private website that is published, edited, and maintained by former caseworker and former disability claims examiner, Tim Moore, who was interviewed by the New York Times on the topic ...
When you think you won't be able to work for a long time, have a free consultation with a disability lawyer.
The most important reason to hire an attorney to help with your disability case is that your chances of being approved are significantly increased.
The general rule is "the earlier, the better." If you're even considering filing for disability, you should call a disability attorney for a free consultation. Your attorney can help you evaluate the strength of your case and assist you with your initial application.
As was suggested, contacting your US Senator or Representative may be helpful. You may also want to send a certified letter to your office addressing the issue, keeping a copy for yourself. It is important that you are able to document when you contact SSA, what information and documents you provided and with whom you spoke.
Unfortunately, your issue is all too common. In my experience, it takes Social Security a very long time to correct this sort of problem. That being said, a month is not that long when dealing with Social Security or any similar system. You could give it some more time.
It is time for you to hire a lawyer. Use the AVVO find a lawyer tool to locate an attorney near you. Show your hired lawyer these papers and reveal the remainder of your story so you may obtain a well organized plan to take your next steps