Let Our Attorneys Speak for You
Whether you have yet to file your disability claim or have already been denied benefits - how you communicate with the Social Security Administration (SSA) from here on out will likely have a tremendous impact on your chances for future success.
At Milam Law, we can offer you the voice of experience with Social Security Disability (SSD) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) claims. Our founding attorney, Jeffrey Milam, has devoted his entire 27-year career to these issues, the first seven of which were spent working as an attorney-advisor to Social Security Administration judges. Our other lawyers have significant experience as well. Together, we will work hard to help you get the benefits you deserve.
If you are anywhere in California's Central Valleys, from Bakersfield to Sacramento - call us for a free consultation or contact our firm online. We have an office within an hour of where you reside in most cases.
Actions, Words and Perceptions
As a general rule, the Social Security Administration will tend to believe its own caseworkers and doctors over anyone making a disability claim. In other words, your interactions, verbal communications and written communications with the agency are likely to be misperceived unless you are extremely careful.
For instance, suppose you have been asked to meet with an SSA doctor for an exam. Your first instinct might naturally be to show up looking your best. After all, you are meeting someone for the first time. Unfortunately, if you rest so you are at your best that day, you are hurting your own claim. So, as is the case with your own doctor visits, you need to present your normal-to-worst day to them. The doctors need to see your symptoms and signs the way they usually are. Many clients make this mistake. In this example, we would also recommend that you bring someone to witness the exam as well and take them into the exam room with you. We offer you a form to fill out right after the exam happens so that if the Social Security doctor misreports what he or she did, or what they saw or heard, there is a record of it.
To be clear, we are in no way suggesting anything dishonest. Absolutely not. However, just telling the truth to those few questions the doctors ask is often not good enough when it comes to a large bureaucratic institution such as the SSA. Instead, you have to be able to tell the truth in such a way that it will be correctly perceived. Through years of practice and experience with Social Security Disability and Supplemental Security Income claims, our attorneys understand that skill which we will pass along to you where possible, if needed.
