Preparing You for Your Disability Hearing in the Age of COVID

More than two out of three initial applications for Social Security Disability benefits are denied. Most disability cases are won on appeal after a second denial, at a hearing in front of a Social Security Administrative Law Judge. An appeal hearing is your absolute best opportunity to tell your story. But to tell your story effectively and with a focus on the right details, it is critically important to be fully prepared for this all-so-important phase in your battle for benefits.

At Nash Disability Law, we take getting you ready for your hearing very seriously. Honed by decades of experience, we are local Chicago attorneys who take great professional pride in how well we can prepare our clients for one of the most important events of their lives. In more normal times, strategy and hearing prep meetings would be conducted face-to-face with our clients in our offices. But these are not normal times. We’re practicing social distancing, working from home, and even sheltering-in-place. These are all necessary precautions—precautions we shouldn’t lift until public health experts believe we can return to normal. That may take some time; how long is uncertain.

So to insure your safety and still provide the strongest possible advocacy, we are conducting strategy and pre-hearing prep meetings via Zoom or other video teleconference methods. We want to see you, not just talk with you on the phone. We want to get the best sense we can of what you are going through. Nash Attorney Dan Rosen offered this point of view: “I’ve done several client meetings via Zoom and I can attest to how beneficial they are. Seeing our clients, looking them in the eye and establishing rapport can be crucial in obtaining the details of how they are struggling and understanding their story. This is especially true because all hearings are currently being held by phone. Although the judge will not see our client, our ability to do so when preparing for a hearing allows us to gain the best perspective of our client’s case, and impart that to the judge.”

Recently we asked our attorneys and staff what they missed most about being in the office and they answered that they most missed seeing you, our clients. But until the time comes when we can regularly meet face-to-face, know that your law firm is better equipped to meet this challenge today than at any time in the past, because we have ramped up our capacity to serve you electronically.

You Have More Chances to Win Social Security Disability Benefits.