Disability Lawyer New York City

We Are a Disability Lawyer Serving New York City

Do you have a Social Security Disability application, appeal or hearing request and are looking for a Disability Lawyer that serves New York City? If so, you’ve come to the right place! We know how to win applications, when possible, without ever having to appeal. Read section two below for details on winning applications. If an appeal or Request for Hearing is necessary, our lawyers have won thousands of cases for millions of dollars. Read section three below for details on winning hearings. We help clients from Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island! Going it alone in an SSDI or SSI case can be tough, especially when you’re also dealing with the hustle and bustle of NYC. One can easily get caught up in the challenges of life and miss the 60-day deadline to file a request for reconsideration of your 1st denial or a hearing request to appeal your 2nd denial. There’s good news though: getting a Social Security Disability lawyer costs zero dollars up front, you only pay a fee if you win!

Winning a Social Security Disability (SSDI) Application in New York City

Did you know that the chances of winning a SSDI case in NYC is from 79%-91%, depending on the neighborhood the claimant lives in? The reason is that different Social Security Hearing Offices serve different neighborhoods, as explained in the above video. The Manhattan hearing office serves some of Brooklyn, as does the Queens hearing office. And the Jersey City, NJ Hearing Office serves the entirety of Staten Island! But before you go to a hearing, you have to apply for benefits either by: 1. using an online account at SSA.gov, 2. calling the SSA National Phone Line at 1-800-772-1213 or 3. applying in person at a Social Security field office.

SSDI/SSI Application Tip: You don’t have to send in your medical records when you apply for disability! Many people we speak with think that they have to wait until they get all of their medical records to apply for benefits. That is not true: just apply as soon as you can, no documents are usually required. You’ll have the chance to submit your medical records at a later time, usually 1-6 months after the application is filed. Social Security will usually take a few months to send the case to the State you live in to perform the Disability Determination, where doctors (or other medical professionals) will decide if you’re medically disabled. The administrative staff at the Disability Determination office will ask you for your medical records at that time, and also request them on your behalf. A Disability Lawyer serving New York City, like us, can help you gather the medical evidence you need to win your case without an appeal!

So how hard will it be for YOU to get approved for SSDI or SSI if you live in NYC? The answer depends on many factors, especially how serious your medical condition is and how old you are. But it also heavily depends on where in the city you live, more specifically what borough. Amazingly enough, even what zip code you live in is tremendously important. Find your neighborhood from the list below and get answers!

Winning a Social Security Hearing in New York City

How can you win your Social Security Disability or SSI hearing in NYC? Most people who file Social Security disability claims get denied at the first two stages, the application stage and the reconsideration stage. After those stages, you must file a request for hearing to continue your case. Your case will then be sent from your Social Security field office to the Social Security Office of Hearing Operations closest to you. The hearing request will be processed but not assigned to a judge until 3-6 months (on average) after you file your request for hearing. When it’s assigned to a judge, it will usually also be scheduled for a hearing date about 3 months in the future. You will be sent a notice of the hearing date, so watch your mail! After the hearing, the judge usually takes about 60-90 days to write the decision. You should receive the written decision in the mail.

Hearing Tip: In most cases, all of the evidence that the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) will consider at your hearing is in the “E-File”. The E-File has internal SSA documents pertaining to your case, along with your medical records and any paperwork you completed during the application and appeal processes. You can get a CD with your E-File on it, but you would have to have a computer to view it. If you have a lawyer, your lawyer will have access to your E-File through a special representative portal website. The E-File should contain almost all of your medical records and supportive letters/forms from your doctors. A Disability Lawyer serving New York City, like us, can help you put the necessary evidence on the E-File in order to win your hearing! Contact us for a free consultation or more information.

What are your chances of winning at a New York City Social Security hearing? The chances of winning your hearing are very different depending on which hearing office you’re assigned to and what Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) gets assigned to your case. The ALJs in New York City have case approval rates that range from as low as 25% to as high as 94%. Click on Judge Ratings for NYC, or for the specific boroughs click the following links to find out what judge you might get in your Social Security Disability hearing:

• Judge Ratings for Manhattan Social Security Hearings 
• Judge Ratings for Bronx Social Security Hearings
• Judge Ratings for Brooklyn Social Security Hearings
• Judge Ratings for Queens Social Security Hearings
• Judge Ratings for Staten Island Social Security Hearings (Staten Island is served by the Jersey City Social Security hearing office)

How to Get Help

Representation Tip: Getting a lawyer is usually vital for your Social Security Disability hearing. It is so vital, in fact, that in their first hearing judges will often advise unrepresented claimants to get a lawyer. A judge will almost always give an unrepresented person one postponement in order to get a lawyer. Lawyers are paid only if you win, and there is almost never any up-front cost. The exception is an overpayment cases where there won’t be any back pay, so some lawyers will ask for a retainer up front then petition the judge for a fee after the hearing (we don’t accept overpayment cases so there is never any upfront fee for representation in a Social Security Disability case). But in all other cases, a lawyer is only allowed to charge 25% of past due benefits for the first hearing, with a $9,200 cap on the fee. A Disability Lawyer serving New York City, like us, can explain in more detail how the hearing process Impacts your case. Contact us for a free consultation or more information.

We have experience at every phase of the application, reconsideration or hearing process for SSDI or SSI claims. Call now to talk to a Disability Lawyer serving New York City, there’s no need to wait and you pay nothing until your case is done. We know that looking for a lawyer can be tough, because you don’t know who to trust. But with us, you can count on getting an expert in the field, someone who has decades of experience with Social Security Disability and who knows the best way to make sure you have a great chance of winning. The longer you wait, the more chances Social Security has of screwing up your case. Everyone has heard how bad the SSA is, and almost all the rumors are true. They are part of the government, after all. We are used to dealing with them and know all the strategies that will get your case done as soon as is humanly possible. So contact us by clicking here if you want a free case evaluation.