When Is The Best Time To Hire A Disability Lawyer?

When is the best time to hire a disability lawyer is a common question of my clients.

It is important to consult a disability lawyer as soon as you become concerned that it may be necessary to pursue disability benefits, whether on a Short Term or Long Term basis. It may not be necessary to actually retain a disability lawyer at this time but it would be important to get some advice about the “in and outs” of the process so that you can determine when it is, in fact, necessary to retain a disability lawyer. Also, establishing a relationship with an attorney early on would allow you to get input throughout the process as necessary. This is especially true when you have questions about the process.

You must remember that the insurance company’s claims representative is answering your questions in a manner most beneficial to the interests of the insurance company, not in your interest. Many persons with a clear entitlement to benefits either lose those rights or hamper the ability to secure prompt payment thereof as a result of trying to go it alone. Remember you are seeking to protect the very income stream on which you will rely to maintain your lifestyle. It is fair to say that this is one of the most valuable assets you have. The attempt to “go it alone” routinely results in mis-steps in the application phase of the claim or thereafter resulting from either ignorance of the intricacies of that process or misplaced reliance on representations made by the claims representative.

Remember that while this is a right you earned and paid for, that fact does not necessarily mean the insurance company has any intention of paying or making the process easy.

There are deadlines and job continuation issues which must be successfully dealt with during the application phase. These are delicate issues. In fact, there have been claims handled by this law office in which the insurance company attempted to use the claimant’s continued efforts to work as evidence that the claimant was not disabled!

Please keep in mind that the foregoing about hen is the best time to hire a disability lawyer is not intended as legal advice applicable to any individual person’s unique legal situation. Its sole purpose is to give a general idea of the existing status of the law as it applies to the point of law addressed above. You cannot rely on the foregoing as legal advice. You cannot make legal decisions based on its contents. If you have questions arising out of this point of law, you should contact an attorney who routinely handles claims involving policies of disability insurance. The law offices of Herbert M. Hill, P.A. handles such cases and would welcome the opportunity to discuss your case with you, at no charge. You can contact me at 407-839-0005 or at hmh@herbertmhill.com.

If you would like, after discussing your case, we can set a conference. That conference would be free of charge and you would be under no obligation to hire me nor would you feel any pressure from me to do so.

Herbert M. Hill, P.A. is a law firm located in Orlando, Florida with a practice extending throughout the state of Florida and the southeastern part of the United States. Areas of practice include disability and employee benefit claims of all sorts. The firm handles any claims arising under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (known and referred to as “ERISA”) for disability benefits, medical benefits, retirement benefits of any sort, including pension, 401k, termination agreements or the like as well as claims arising under private disability policies.