Winning a social security disability insurance (SSDI) case can be very difficult, especially if you’re young and not completely incapacitated. Many disability case processors do not know the harrowing effects that multiple sclerosis can have and how fatigue and weakness alone can keep an otherwise motivated person from maintaining a steady, well-paying job. Sometimes it’s necessary to employ a disability lawyer to secure the case. And it is affordable, because reputable lawyers make it this way.
When I found myself going from a full-time, busy health career to a part-time, low-stress library job, I sensed that my multiple sclerosis would become an obstacle from that point forward. My premonition couldn’t have been more on-target: because of my MS, I began to have problems with fatigue and leg weakness that hindered me even at the library. A few years ago I was let go from the library due to MS-related absences, so I applied for social security (my sketchy employment had been a problem since 2003, so I knew it was time to seek some help.) My first application for disability was rejected about five months later, so I called my local MS Society chapter and inquired about disability lawyers.
I phoned and met with the first lawyer the MS Society recommended. He informed me that about 80% of his clients were through the MS Society, and he won about 95% of his cases. I felt very confident. But what made me feel the most secure was his payment policy: he would represent me and actively gather my evidence and and he would receive payment only AFTER he won my case. It was his gamble, not mine. He would receive payment through my accumulated back-pay, either a flat fee or 20% — the lesser of the two. This completely put my mind at ease and we moved forward. My case went on for 2 and a 1/2 years (from my initial application until my court appearance after my second rejection.) I doubt I could have presented as thorough a case to the judge— my lawyer presented full medical and work files with doctors’ and employers’ notes and surveys that he largely obtained himself— and so I was completely grateful to have employed him to represent me. The case dragged on so long that I ended up paying him the flat fee because it was less: between 15-20% of my back-pay.
I have come to note that this is the standard, ethical procedure for disability lawyers. They should not demand any sorts of fees up front— initial consultation or otherwise. The fee schedule is in place to afford middle- and lower-income clients a fair shot at SSDI. Anything else is unethical.
**To find a reputable disability lawyer, contact your local MS organizational chapter (The National MS Society in the United States.)
