TimMoore

jdawg, Disability Digest is a referral site run by Brian Therrien. mags1023 - There is no "they" in that sense. The site refers vets and Social Security Disability claimants to attorneys who handle those types of claims. I honestly don't know anything about veterans disability. I'm a former disability examiner for the Social Security Administration's DDS, or disability determination service (www.ssdrc.com). However, I would be wary of anyone stating that they could increase a person's disability rating, just as I am wary of certain social security attorneys who advertise a 90% win rate. On that issue, do those attorneys actually get a 90 percent win rate? Yes, but that's only by being extremely selective about the cases they take, effectively cherry-picking only the winners. They achieve those high win ratios that way, then go out and advertise their win ratios to draw attention to their firm or practice so they can continue cherry-picking cases. The best disability attorneys, IMO, are those that get maligned as "the ambulance chasers" of the social security representation field. These are the guys who take every case that walks through the door. Others tend to speak negatively about this approach, but these reps tend to be the ones who work a little harder to win more difficult cases and aren't looking for every guaranteed slam-dunk win (and an easy paycheck). Don't get me wrong. They may be looking for those too, but they're also looking to provide assistance to people who need help. Two of the best ones I came across were former legal aid lawyers (obviously, you don't get rich working for legal aid). Re: "I now have coronary artery disease and hypertension. I filed a claim in Jan 09 saying that coronary artery disease and hypertension were secondary to my diabetes II. This claim was denied in April--fast work did even read the file?" I don't know what your other conditions might be but it's usually pretty difficult to get approved on ischemic (coronary artery) disease. Diabetes type II as well. In fact, in recent years, SSA has worked to minimize the ability to win cases based on diabetes. However, I will say this: most cases get denied by a disability examiner at the initial claim and reconsideration levels. And the majority of claims get approved at hearing level. You most likely have a good chance of being approved by an ALJ (administrative law judge). The most important things to keep in mind will be obtaining and sending to the ALJ updated medical records (because SSA stops all case development once the case moves beyond the reconsideration appeal level and into the domain of the hearing offices). Most important, however, will be obtaining a medical source statement from your treating physician(s). Unlike disability examiners, disability judges tend to give more consideration (and by comparison, substantial consideration) to the opinions of the doctors who actually provide treatment to claimants.