After sustaining an injury, illness, or disability that prevents continued employment, that person must experience the additional hardship of obtaining an alternative source of income payments. If you are lucky enough to enjoy long-term disability insurance coverage, then you are lucky and should (emphasis should) enjoy access to that alternative source of income.
Unfortunately, a large number of people who enjoy this form of insurance and who must file a claim on their disability policy are denied benefits that they or their employers may have paid dearly for years.
It is at this point, and realizing this, that one will seek the advice of an experienced long-term disability attorney. Here are 4 tips for choosing one:
1) Rent, Rent, Rent
Choose an attorney who practices in your jurisdiction, province, or state. Before or when calling an attorney, the first thing to verify is that the attorney you are seeking assistance from is practicing in the appropriate jurisdiction. The best help a lawyer can give you if you don’t is to point you in the direction of another lawyer.
2) Focus of practice – expert or amateur
One of the next questions to ask your potential disability attorney is “what is your area of expertise?” Does the attorney you are speaking with practice in the area in which you need assistance?
The area of law that a lawyer practices can be any area in which he has a competence and a client. Unfortunately, this way of regulating lawyers, allowing them to practice in any area in which they have competence, is difficult to enforce.
For that reason, you need to make sure that the attorney you are looking to hire has real-world experience in long-term disability law. Read their website, see what they’ve written, does it focus on disability law or some other area with disability law only as an aside, if it appears at all.
3) Billing method – hourly vs. contingency
Most long-term disability beneficiaries are not in a position to pay hourly legal fees or advance retainers. Make sure the attorney you are talking to offers contingency fee billing, which means you are paid before any legal fees are paid and only as a portion of what you receive. This eliminates much of the risk of a lawsuit for many clients.
4) Relationship and chemistry
Finally, and possibly most importantly, talk to your potential attorney to see if you have chemistry. This will be the person to guide you through your disability claim, which can take some time, even years. Make sure it’s someone you feel comfortable calling and talking to when you’re in your hour of need.
Happy lawyer hunting.