Well let me kind of give you a brief run down for you guys can tell me your thoughts on our situation. Most you Clutchfans are more intelligent than I am so I figured I would lay this out on the board to see what other opinions were. A few years ago (about 5 years) a family member had a stroke, and lost most their movement in one of their legs. We hired this disability law firm to help us get him on social security disability. This went on for a few years and he was never approved for social security. Basically what this law firm told us was that they would keep on petitioning every year, and when it would eventually pass he would get all the back pay, as well as the monthly payments starting up. So as you can see we are talking about a good amount of money here.... Last year (about the time we would start the petition process) they called up to the law firm and they informed us that they missed the petition date and that they would have to start completly over from scratch. Meaning they lost all back pay that was due, and would have to start over. I guess how it works is that you can petiton the decision of social security annually for as long as you want, and if and when it is fianlly approved, you will get back pay as well. However, since the law firm did not file in time they lost all back pay and they would have to start over. Im not one of those people who are sue happy and try to get money that is not deserving, but it appears to me that the law firm completley dropped the ball on this, and because of them my family member lost all that back pay. Do you think this is something that they should hire another law firm to go after on their E&O insurance? Do they have a claim? just trying to see what you all think before we go off and hire an attorney and start paying them 250 an hour!
Have you complained to the law firm? What did they say they'd do about it? Are you switching to a different firm to resubmit the petition?
When they complained to the law firm they told them they they would have to start from scratch again. meaning they lost all the back pay from when they first started. They have no problem starting the process back up, but the point is they dropped the ball on the claim and as a result of that all the back pay was lost
They admitted that they screwed up and said nothing about how they'd make it better? I guess I would start by negotiating with the law firm to be compensated from them for the lost backpay. Ideally, they'd cut you a check for the amount, but not likely they say okay to that. Perhaps they would pay some fraction of it, or provide services in lieu of pay, like continuing to file the petition in the future without payment. Or, they may agree to payment at a future date, like when and if the petition is won. If they aren't open to doing something to placate you, a lawsuit is probably in order. If you can show that you first made an honest effort to resolve it without courts, it'll probably go better for you. If it comes to this, obviously, you should stop doing business with them. Look at whatever agreements you may have with the firm. The sneaky lawyers may have snuck some language in that they can screw up with impunity.
Why would you want to continue down the path with a firm that clearly isn't competent enough to meet an annual deadline? I think the point is you need to hire a new firm to help you petition going forward, and that new firm should be able to provide legal advice in regards to how to proceed with the potential lost back-payments. I think it's pretty obvious that you do have a case against the old firm.
Was this a reputable firm? Were they working for a contingency fee? So you can only petition annually? They missed the deadline on this petition and lost all of the back pay (assuming that means amount accrued from injury to present) correct? So by starting over, your family member is only entitled to the amount accrued from the time the new petition is filed, correct? They told you that the petition would eventually pass, and that they would just send in a petition annually until that happened? Is there an assertion that you family member's ineligibility had more to do with the firm's incompetence, or was there a specific reason for the multiple cases (about 5 times) of denied approval. Missing a statute of limitation or any deadline for that manner is a lawyer's worst nightmare. There is a malpractice case there.
I'd hesitate on switching immediately just to increase the likelihood that the old firm will work with him to fix what they screwed up. If he takes his business elsewhere, they're more likely to take a hard line. But, the fees this firm is collecting are probably small compared to 5-years of back pay, so they'd probably be inclined to take a hard line anyway.
I don't know much about that disability law or the way attorneys work, but I know that publicity that says "the firm admitted they missed the deadline" would be bad for them. Would they be willing to ADD to the back pay since they missed the deadline if the appeal process with them (providing they agree) goes through in the next year? What I mean to ask, it's not an extortion or a blackmail or threat, but do let them know that it is in their best interest to let your family member get the disability compensation they failed to file.
Just so I have it straight... 1. You have to petition over and over again, because they don't "accept" it the first time, or ever, necessarily. 2. When and if you get approved, you get the back pay you would have received in an amount relative to when you started petitioning? 3. They can "refuse" or "ignore" your petition as long as they see fit, with only the promise they'll repay you for those years of denial on their part, ONLY IF YOU MAKE THE DEADLINE EVERY YEAR? It just doesn't really make sense, I mean, it's on record that you started petitioning on X date, I would assume, why would one missed year forfeit you? Maybe it does, but that just sounds .... fishy. Combine that with no offered recourse on the part of the legal firm, and it just seems jacked up. Maybe that's how it is, I wouldn't know, but it seems peculiar in such a scenario. What do you bet it 'goes through' first time now? yes, I know, cynical... but...
Yes, the application process does sound pretty jacked up. But, since it is run by the government, it's at least as likely to really be that jacked up as it is to be a silly excuse made up by the law firm.
