How does an experienced disability attorney decide to proceed with a federal court lawsuit you come to the end of all your appeals before the Social Security Administration
The only other option to obtain benefits is to file a new application. If you are still eligible for benefits (and not everyone is), you would have to start from scratch with a new application, which means that you forfeit all the back benefits you have been fighting for..
Only a handful of lawyers have years of experience in filing these lawsuits. They are difficult cases to win. Be sure to ask how many civil actions your attorney has filed when you hire an attorney to sue the Commissioner of Social Security.
Remember when you hire me or any attorney to represent you in a disability claim that a real human is sitting across the desk, on the other end of the conversation, in consultation, on video conference, or FaceTime. Warm wishes and appreciation mean a great deal to me and generally, to the kind of big-hearted attorneys who do this work…Knowing that you appreciate the long hours, skill, and attention that are going to be required makes the hard work easier and much more rewarding!
For work done before the Social Security Administration, only when I win for my client do I charge a percentage of the back award, and the bulk of the award goes to my client. The fee is only paid after the SSA approves the fee…So, if your claim was denied by an Administrative Law Judge for Social Security, and then you were denied by the Appeals Council, I was not paid for working for you. There is no payment for representation before the agency that is due, no matter how much work I have done on your case, if I did not succeed in obtaining an award of benefits for you. These cases carry a significant financial risk because of the extensive time and labor that I will devote to you and your cause. If I don’t win benefits for you during the proceedings, I don’t get paid, and neither do you
At the end of the administrative agency appeal, with the receipt of a denial from the Appeals Council, I will have to complete a review of the evidence in your case. A year or even more may have passed since the Administrative Law Judge issued a decision denying your claim. In many cases, clients hire me after they have exhausted all their appeals before the Social Security Administration. Some clients may have hired another attorney or represented themselves to the point that they have exhausted all appeals before the Social Security Administration. The notice from the Appeals Council is the last stop on the Social Security train, so to speak.
However, lawyers are paid differently and separately for work before the Social Security Administration and for lawsuits suing the government in U.S. District Court. These lawsuits are brought against the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration. When I sue the Social Security Administration in court, the entire burden of ensuring a victory in the civil lawsuit is on me. There is no part for you to play and nothing you need to do that will have any impact on or affect the outcome of the lawsuit.
The lawsuit will be based, in virtually every case, on the past administrative proceeding. This is regardless of whoever may have represented you at the hearing, and regardless of whether you, the client, represented yourself pro se.
I often receive questions on how long the court case will take. On average, it will take no less than 5 to 6 months for a final judgment from the U.S. District Court. It could take longer if the judge deciding the case needs more time to issue a decision.
In the court case, the risk is virtually all mine. During that time, I must sometimes devote up to 80 hours, laboring to complete about two full weeks of legal work, and there is no guarantee of victory. It can happen, however, that judges presiding over these cases can make bad decisions, although it is rare, the exception and not the rule. Our federal court system works fairly well, and the U.S. District Court judges sitting on the bench are fair and issue sound decisions. I have tremendous respect for the judges who decide these court cases. I do expect to prevail and almost always succeed.
Before I commence any action in federal court I have to certify that the claim, defenses and contentions are warranted by existing law and that my arguments are nonfrivolous for extending, modifying or reversing the final decision of the agency or law of the case, and that the factual contentions I am making have evidentiary support. In some cases, I have a high degree of confidence that there will be evidentiary support in the future after a reasonable opportunity for further investigation or discovery. I must certify that the denial of factual contentions of the Administrative Law Judge is warranted on the evidence I have reviewed.
That review is time-consuming. The rule is wordy and a bit tedious to read, but essentially, it means that before I file a lawsuit in federal court, I need to make sure there is a meritorious claim for benefits.
If I need more time to review your claim, I may request an extension of time in which to file an appeal or a civil action for reasons listed below.
Review is especially important in cases where I was not involved in the matter. Another attorney may have represented the you or you may have represented yourself. In any case, there is a deadline to file the lawsuit.
For your information, while the lawsuit is pending, you will not be able to log in to your My Social Security Account. If you try to see the status of your case, you will see a message that your case is closed. Please don’t panic about that; technically, your claim before the Social Security Administration will remain closed unless and until we have a victory in the federal court lawsuit.
If you paid a fee for my review of your claim, the funds will be held in escrow. I won’t know where the money came from. I won’t know if, for example, you have savings, if you borrowed money that you have to pay back, or maxed out a credit card. I don’t investigate clients’ finances. I trust in the integrity of my clients and their ability to know their financial circumstances.
If you feel you have limited resources and cannot pay court filing fees, I will provide a waiver form to waive the filing fee that the court charges me for filing the lawsuit. It is a sworn statement. If you receive food stamps or cash assistance, or family assistance of any sort from the state, or receive HUD housing assistance, attach proof (letters confirming that you qualify and receive food stamps, etc) to the waiver form. Letters from the State of Connecticut Department of Social Services will help to get the waiver granted. You will need to be thorough in completing the financial disclosures with rent or mortgage expenses, food and shelter, transportation, insurance, clothing, and basic needs expenses shown along with your income. I will ask you to sign it and return it to me. If I have accepted your case and agreed to work on your claim, I can file a lawsuit right away if you return the filing fee waiver completed with the letters from the state attached within the same week.
If you do not qualify for a filing fee waiver because of income (for example, your monthly VA benefits), I will use the escrowed money to pay for the filing fee and the costs of printing and copying. I work best with paper copies of documents, which require printing and a paper transcript. I estimate printing, paper, and toner costs are about $75.00. The total costs are estimated to be $350.00. Those amounts will be adjusted from time to time. The payment received in any amount over and above $425.00 will be held in escrow until I receive approval of attorney’s fees by the Social Security Administration.
When I win the case, I will disclose the money that was previously paid on the attorney fee petition and then I will have to wait for approval to be paid for my work.
Feel free to contact me to discuss filing a civil action in your disability case.
With best wishes,
Meryl Anne Spat
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